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Going to see Religulous tonight!!!
I am very excited for this movie. It is getting excellent reviews!
Claudia Puig
Religulous (which rhymes with "ridiculous") is not for the devout. But those with a taste for irreverent humor and clear-eyed analysis will find it funny, enlightening and disturbing.
Comedian/satirist Bill Maher's documentary about religious fundamentalism is often hilarious. He makes little effort to be even-handed, although he does speak to an exceptionally jovial Vatican-based priest who comes across as more rational and open-minded than most of the staunch adherents who are interviewed.
Mostly, Maher skewers religious extremists of almost all major faiths.
Maher travels around the world and takes his most incisive aim at the use of religion as a rationale for prejudice, discrimination or a call to arms. His wit is razor-sharp, and director Larry Charles (Borat) wisely uses judicious editing to temper Maher's tendency to be snide or arrogant.
Unlike his HBO talk show, which can tend toward the heated rant, Maher's delivery here is more subtle and his comic timing impeccable. By choosing some of the targets that he does, he often doesn't need to say much. He makes his point by highlighting an Arkansas politician's misuse of a word (in a subtitle) or by letting the camera simply focus on the man's facial expression after he brags that no I.Q. test is needed to run for office.
Religion's influence on politics, as well as on socio-cultural issues, is Maher's focus. Perhaps he injects his own personal story a bit too much (he refers to himself as "half-Catholic, half-Jewish" in upbringing), though it does add some perspective. He has his smug moments, but so do the believers he interviews.
Maher not only makes a strong case against blind, unquestioning faith, he also brings into sharp relief the more outlandish tenets of many organized religions. He likens the Biblical tale of Jonah and the whale to Jack and the Beanstalk, which will no doubt anger those who adhere to a literal reading of the Bible.
He points out the similarity between the mythical, the fantastical and the sacred. He questions whether someone who claims to be a prophet or messiah may simply suffer from a delusion or other mental illness. He's a provocateur and as such, his approach is likely to inspire lively debate.
He's often so comical when highlighting the ridiculous that he draws unexpected laughter from some of the most religious people he interviews.
While most of the movie is entertaining and illuminating, it falters toward the end, when its lighthearted tone grows ominous and preachy.
In closing, Maher suddenly turns serious and warns viewers to "Grow up or die." Even if you agree with his basic premise, the dire tone feels excessive and melodramatic, and it seems hypocritical to sermonize when targeting religion.
His point is made most effectively with humor, even if it's caustic and sardonic.
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Robert Koehler
Skeptics unite: You only have to lose your inhibitions. That, in sum, is the underlying message of Bill Maher and Larry Charles' brilliant, incendiary Religulous, in which comedian/talkshow host Maher inquires of the religious faithful and finds them severely wanting. By providing an example to other non-believers, Maher is, um, hell-bent on launching an even more aggressive conversation on the legitimacy of religion than he has on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher." Sure to be a major talking point in Toronto and destined for tons of free media, docu looks primed for serious numbers in theatrical and vid heaven.
Set to open Oct. 3, the Lionsgate release is now playing a one-week Oscar-qualifying run at theaters in New York and Claremont, Calif., in advance of its Toronto fest premiere.
The only recent comparable example of entertainers venturing into such serious cultural-political territory is Penn & Teller's Showtime series, "Bullshit!," which skewers sacred cows from a skeptical-libertarian perspective. Charles' previous smash, "Borat," used funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen to make satirical/political points, but the particular intensity and seriousness of Maher's project are nearly unprecedented. Indeed, its arrival shortly after the death of George Carlin -- a profound influence on Maher's standup act and politics -- suggests the kind of film Carlin might have made in his prime.
Standing at the spot where believers say Armageddon will be waged -- Megiddo, Israel -- Maher opens his case with a grim warning that those who believe in a so-called "end of days" may be making a self-fulfilling prophecy. Scene also suggests the considerable globe-trotting Charles, Maher and his crew did for the film, from heartland America to Amsterdam to the Holy Land to the Vatican, and also establishes Charles and lenser Anthony Hardwick's method of covering every segment with two cameras.
Maher devotes the first hour to Christian faith, weighted toward evangelism, with amusing personal recollections of growing up Catholic with a Jewish mom. Not missing a beat, he even interviews his mom, Julie (who died after filming), and sister, Kathy, in the New Jersey church they attended, uncovering exactly why his parents left the church -- their use of birth control.
In a string of frank, often hilarious but always well-considered conversations with various Christians, Maher incisively asks them exactly what skeptics always ponder about religion in general and Christianity in particular. To John Westcott of Exchange Ministries, which tries to "convert" gay men, Maher questions, given that Jesus never once talked about homosexuality, why is it such an issue for New Testament Christians? To churchgoers in Raleigh, N.C., he notes there's no firm proof that Jesus Christ ever actually lived. Perhaps most profoundly, he asks Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), a devout evangelical, "Why is faith good?"
To the film's credit, Maher never engages in Michael Moore-style gotcha tactics, but rather asks questions that raise more questions, in the form of a Socratic dialogue. To believers expecting a blind hatchet job, this will prove both thought-provoking and a bit disarming; skeptics may be surprised (as Maher is) by the occasionally smart replies to his queries.
Pic gets in satirical digs at all faiths -- and yields some of its biggest laughs -- with clever inserts of clips from movies and other sources spinning off the topic at hand, be it fantastical Biblical tales, Mormon beliefs or the number of empires that have invaded Israel. Snarky subtitles are often inserted underneath conversations, meant to undercut the interview subject.
Latter section turns to Judaism and Islam, of which Maher is an equal-opportunity critic. Jewish laws around the Sabbath come in for some heavy ribbing, while the current wave of violence by wings of Islam is faced head-on. Chats with Muslims, from rapper Propa-Gandhi to scholars at the holiest Jerusalem sites, expose an internal debate raging among contemporary Muslims.
While he examines the Big Three religions of the West at length (Eastern faiths get a pass in Religulous), Maher even gets in some choice stabs at Mormonism (whose tenets may astound those not in the know) and Scientology.
Ending minutes, though, will catch auds up short: Suddenly, the laughs die down, and as in his closing monologues on "Real Time," Maher turns deadly serious with a final statement that will stir raging arguments in theater lobbies.
Considering he was once a minor comic on the circuit and a supporting thesp in generally awful film comedies, Maher's transformation into one of America's sharpest social critics is remarkable. He takes no script credit, but his periodic monologues to the camera are undeniably written, and written well.
Charles basically lets Maher do his thing, and does little other than record scenes as they happen. Tech credits of significant note belong to editors Jeffrey Werner, Jeff Groth and Christian Kinnard, who have assembled what must have been a daunting pile of footage into a notably sharp and smooth-running feature that never lags for a second. Behind the scenes, the research team of Robyn Adams, Chelsea Barnard and Sophie Charles support Maher with considerable data.
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Re: Going to see Religulous tonight!!!
I ha-ave a ba-by sit-ter! ::said in sing-songy voice::
I might ACTUALLY be able to see a grown up movie on a weekend night! I had forgotten this was out, but I do want to see it. H is kind of a turd about going out, so maybe I should recruit one of the girls.
Jews are slightly different because it is also an ethnic designation to be Jewish, but you can stop being Baptist. You can't stop being black. It's a choice. Also, being black doesn't change your way of thinking. It's just how you look.
I.e. there's nothing wrong with being black, it's just a different variety of person. Being black doesn't inherently equip you with fantastical thinking (as some might say of religion).
Sorry, hope that came off right. What I mean to say is that race and religion are two completely different animals.
If not Dev, then okay. But bunny I'm not buying the rationalization of how mocking one group of people is different than another. If the movie mocks those that believe these things, then it's wrong. Period.
Mocking beliefs that people choose to have is different than mocking a race or sexuality that is beyond their choosing.
There is nothing wrong with mocking people who choose to believe in something. What makes religious beliefs beyond criticism and mockery? Why are they so special? UFO believers are mocked, scientologists are mocked, primitive tribes who think witches cast spells are mocked. What makes an Abrahamic religion immune from that?
Because mocking others is wrong. Then making a whole movie to do so takes it to another level. How do you not get that?
Maybe we should have a movie that mocks atheists......no, then the religious people would be called hypocrites...LOL.
And for some people they identify more with their religion than with their race. Catholic is who I am ..to the very core.