Release Date:
10/03/2008
Directed by: Larry Charles
The Skinny: Comedian and Real Time host Bill Maher goes where even Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock haven't dared to go and questions why in the world people still believe in ancient, self-contradictory, and often ludicrous religions. And not just "a" religionall religion.
The Good: Maher's film benefits strongly from two things: 1) He has a very specific focus, which keeps the film from meandering into tangents and 2) He's funnier than both Moore's grade-school animations and Spurlock's self-congratulations-disguised-as-self-deprecation. Religulous is laugh-out-loud funny at several points, and head-shakingly funny the rest of the time. While Maher makes no effort to concede to an opposing view, he is armed with two things that render his subjects powerless: knowledge of the subject's own religion (it's shocking how many have no idea exactly what it is they profess to believe in) and logic. It's a lethal one-two. And after all the laughs, the movie ends with a devastating gut-punch.
The Bad: If you're a staunch believer in, well, anything, you won't be amused.
Fast Edit: Religulous makes great use of random clips and footage, one of the best comes after Maher discusses Jesus' "awkward" teenage years, and how he probably had to contend with Jewfro and was bad at sports. Flash cut to Jonah Hill from Superbad. Nice.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? See it as soon as you can. But try and avoid the protestors, jihadists, or "Mormon Fuzz" on your way out.
The Skinny: Comedian and Real Time host Bill Maher goes where even Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock haven't dared to go and questions why in the world people still believe in ancient, self-contradictory, and often ludicrous religions. And not just "a" religionall religion.
The Good: Maher's film benefits strongly from two things: 1) He has a very specific focus, which keeps the film from meandering into tangents and 2) He's funnier than both Moore's grade-school animations and Spurlock's self-congratulations-disguised-as-self-deprecation. Religulous is laugh-out-loud funny at several points, and head-shakingly funny the rest of the time. While Maher makes no effort to concede to an opposing view, he is armed with two things that render his subjects powerless: knowledge of the subject's own religion (it's shocking how many have no idea exactly what it is they profess to believe in) and logic. It's a lethal one-two. And after all the laughs, the movie ends with a devastating gut-punch.
The Bad: If you're a staunch believer in, well, anything, you won't be amused.
Fast Edit: Religulous makes great use of random clips and footage, one of the best comes after Maher discusses Jesus' "awkward" teenage years, and how he probably had to contend with Jewfro and was bad at sports. Flash cut to Jonah Hill from Superbad. Nice.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? See it as soon as you can. But try and avoid the protestors, jihadists, or "Mormon Fuzz" on your way out.