"[3] The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story delves into the experiences of six unknown young actors placed into the Hollywood spotlight, exposing the challenges of growing up under public scrutiny while trying to maintain the squeaky-clean image of their popular characters both on and off-screen.

[6] and on DVD in Region 4 on April 20, 2016 The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story received negative reviews from critics and has a score of 33% on Metacritic.

That the bad acting, wooden dialogue, elementary plotting, and impotent dramatic tension are actually an artistic wink at those very elements in the original series.

"[10] Entertainment Weekly called the film "horrendous and unmoving time-waster" and compiled a list of one-hundred elements it depicted that they found to be unconvincing.

[11] TV Guide compiled a similar list of eight elements and said that it "seemed more parody than biopic"[12] After the film aired, many fans of Saved by the Bell expressed their disdain for it on Twitter.