God, as we all know from bible class, moves in mysterious ways...but none more so than at American Eagle Christian High School.

It's a seminary of arm-waving, happy-clappers, who run a Christian Skateboard Association and are of the opinion that prayer works - "it's been medically proven."

Chief among the pious pupils is 17-year-old Mary (Malone), who believes God wants her to give up her virginity to convert a gay friend back onto the road of the righteous.

However, when she beds him and gets pregnant her changing attitude sees her kicked out of the Jewels, a God-bothering bitchette clique led by Hilary Faye (Moore).

Meanwhile, the school's only Jewish girl and rebel Cassandra (Susan Sarandon's daughter Eva Amurri) has hooked up with Faye's wheelchair-bound brother Roland (Culkin).

The pariahs - Mary, Cassandra, Roland - team up and declare a holy war on the holier-than-everybody Faye and her two-faced evangelism.

First-time director Brian Dannelly has crafted an appealingly offbeat comedy gently poking fun at the unshakeably narrow-minded view of some Christians that theirs is the only way.

It's a terrific cast with Malone subtly sketching the confused Mary and Moore clearly relishing her role as self-righteous, churchy cheerleader.

There's some needle-sharp dialogue - good things are "totally Jesus-centric" while homosexuality is a "spirtually toxic affliction."

That said, it all gets a bit soft-centred towards the end and perhaps there's a little too much wackiness than is good.

Nevertheless, cheap gags at the expense of a bunch of precious bible thumpers will always get my vote. Amen to that.

Tim Evans