Saved!

While waiting for UPS to deliver Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I had to find something to keep me busy. So first I went to cheer on my sister do her first 5K run and then I came home and watched DVDs.

Saved! was more than a great diversion that kept me from checking the front door every ten minutes. It was a great movie!

The Plot: Mary and Hilary Fay are best friends at a Christian high school. Mary finds out her boyfriend is gay; Mary decides that Jesus wants her to have sex with her boyfriend to stop him from being gay. Not only is the boyfriend still gay; but Mary gets pregnant. This movie is not about Mary's friends excluding her because she is pregnant; rather, it is about Mary having a crisis of faith once she realizes that she is pregnant and that her faith didn't prevent pregnancy and restore her virginity and save her boyfriend. It is about Mary's friends having a hard time dealing with someone who is questioning and looking for answers, rather than accepting without question.

This movie was equal parts funny, warm, and thought provoking. It was not anti-religion or anti-Christian (I understand that the movie has been criticized as both; I thought Saved! was sympathetic, and had some characters who were religious and positively portrayed). If the movie was anything, it was anti-zealotry. It was pro compassion. It was sympathetic to Mary's struggles. Even Hilary Fay -- who wields her faith like a sword to hurt others and protect herself -- is viewed as a whole person, not a typical mean girl lacking feelings and motivation. And it didn't hurt that the new kid in town was played by Patrick Fugit.

As for Half-Blood Prince: it arrived at about 4 p.m. Saturday. I finished it late Sunday night. A review without significant spoilers will be coming soon.