From director Larry Charles (Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation Kazakhstan) comes the next great comedic documentary, Religulous (Lionsgate). Religulous is a documentary of sorts featuring Bill Maher (TV’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “Politically Incorrect”) that follows the comedian around the world for a scathing look at religion and the religious fanatics who promote their agendas.
Bill Maher is a witty, though sometimes disconcertingly smug, political comedian who is on par with Michael Moore when it comes to making people seem stupid, and he succeeds at doing just that in Religulous.
Born to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, Maher, an admitted atheist, has always been at odds with religion, and leaves none of the three Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) untouched. Viewers are introduced to such oddities as Gay Muslim Activists, Anti-Zionist Jews and over-the-top evangelists who use the faith of others to make money.
Religulous works more as a conversation starter than a promotional atheist tract. Anyone who is open to other people’s ideas or is not particularly fundamental should thoroughly enjoy the film.
The more devout should steer clear. Many scenes could undoubtedly be considered offensive to such people.
The reason the film works so well is because it generally looks at the most extreme people in various faiths. Maher does attempt to make religion look ridiculous at times, with varying levels of success, but the people he makes look stubborn or stupid are uninformed or fundamental. Maher’s arguments are often supported by good points, showing he clearly did his homework, and he takes care to show that he does not resent people who are religious as much as he struggles to understand them.
For the same reasons listed above, Religulous can be disturbing or upsetting at times, when viewers get a taste of all the death and destruction religion has caused throughout the years, but most of the examples given are not anything one wouldn’t learn in a history course, they’re just presented with sharp humor instead of dull objectivity.
Those with an open mind, who aren’t afraid of questioning what is accepted will most likely enjoy Religulous, even if they don’t necessarily agree with it. Maher is an intelligent and humorous man. People who have seen his comedy before will not be surprised by his occasionally pompous air. Religulous certainly is not a movie for everybody, but it is a humorous look at some of the beliefs that people hold sacred and that play such a huge part in the way the world is run.
