With Saved! indie filmmaker Brian Dannelly takes the sort of angst-ridden high school comedy made famous by John Hughes in the 80s and gives it a Bible-bashing twist. Jena Malone, Mandy Moore and Macaulay Culkin star in this "devilishly funny", albeit ultimately sentimental movie, which was one of the highlights of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

Pray, Tell

"It puts a magnifying glass to zealotry," explains Dannelly in the very brief behind-the-scenes featurette Heaven Help Us. On the other hand, it's also about, "tolerance and acceptance and finding out who you are," says Jena Malone, with an annoying all-embracing earnestness that perfectly encapsulates the major problem with this film. Likewise, Malone's commentary with Mandy Moore is all sugar and spice, throwing out gushing statements like, "It was like a magical, other-world experience!"

Thankfully Dannelly's commentary (with co-writer Michael Urban, and producer Sandy Stern) offers more to sink you teeth into. Up for discussion are tricky issues like the casting of Jesus and wrangling with the MPAA ratings board over the sexual content of the film. In fact it turns out the studio was so worried about offending Christian moviegoers that they insisted Dannelly shoot "a test scene" to demonstrate the tone. On a lighter note, Dannelly also points out his cameo in the film as a leather-clad homosexual inviting children to "come and get it!" Who could've guessed the censors would be so concerned!?

Salvaged Scenes

11 deleted and extended scenes are sure to raise a smile - or cause offence depending on your sensibility. The best of these finds Martin Donovan as Pastor Skip, preaching to the kids' in their own language - "Let's get our Christ on and kick it Jesus style!". Meanwhile, in a section of bloopers, Malone attempts to outdo Meryl Streep in the scenery chewing stakes by throwing herself against a locker and howling when she discovers that her boyfriend is gay.

Rounding of the extras are Six Saved! Revelations, in other words, snippets from the film with newly inserted footage to reveal what the characters are "really thinking". Most of it is unprintable here, but we can tell you that Culkin's ubiquitous comicbook is merely a dust jacket for a dog-eared lingerie catalogue. (You get the idea.) While there are no great revelations, this DVD is certainly very spirited.

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