Bill Maher in front of The Vatican in Rome
during the documentary "Religulous", which is directed by Larry Charles and
opened today across the U.S. and Canada. The film opened in New York on
Wednesday. (Photo: Lionsgate)
THE POPCORN REEL FILM REVIEW/"Religulous"
My Religion Isn't Yours Because Your Religion And All Religion Is Crazy, Says
Bill Maher
By
Omar P.L. Moore/October
3,2008
Larry Charles directed "Borat" with aplomb two years ago, and is the right
person to direct the documentary "Religulous", but it is Bill Maher who is the
problem with "Religulous", not religion itself.
As a big time Bill Maher fan (particularly of his HBO television political talk
show "Real Time With Bill Maher") this reviewer was disappointed for the most
part with the documentary.
"Religulous" charts Mr. Maher's travels to the U.S., England, Israel, Holland
and Italy, where he questions people about the most sensitive thing you can
probably question them on: their faith. Mr. Maher just can't understand
how people can believe in the evidence of things not seen. He interviews
clerics, preachers and true believers. He verbally spars with "ex-gays"
and "ex-Jews for Jesus". He flays Muslims through appropriately-edited
inserts that are intended to provoke laughter but instead are greeted with
almost dead silence. He winks at and mocks what he finds as
incomprehensible, nonsensical and hypocritical.
Mr. Maher traces his own childhood growing up as a half-Jewish, half
Irish-Catholic son in a religious household in New Jersey and from there
journeys to other parts of the globe in an attempt to debunk the things that
some who claim to be people of faith and of the cloth say. A few of his
investigations yield fruitful and salient points and discoveries. Most
others however, devolve into gimmickry.
"Religulous", which as a title spells out Mr. Maher's take on what religion is
-- is funny, enjoyable and outrageous at times but not often. The
documentary is offensive for sure, but not as offensive as it is hollow.
Mr. Maher tosses in his irreverent takes and adds satirical flourishes but
instead of giving his audience an opportunity to carefully absorb and consider
the inevitable controversies, complexities and arguments on all sides that such
a touchy topic engenders, he editorializes excessively and engages in the kind
of wink-wink nudge-nudge arrogance and condescension that killed feature films
like "The Love Guru". Michael Moore was also criticized by some for using
what the detractors saw as similar devices in "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling For
Columbine", although Mr. Moore allowed his audience to weigh and absorb the
complexities of the subject matter of both documentaries after he made his
presence felt.
It's too bad that this film isn't so sharp or revelatory as Mr. Moore's work in
the aforementioned documentaries, because Bill Maher is much smarter a
socio-political comedian and commentator than what he shows in "Religulous", and
here (and some would also say as on his weekly cable show) his reactionary tone
suggests that he's the sole smart person in the room. A little smugness,
judging and patronizing go a long way, but unfortunately where "Religulous" is
concerned any semblance of thought-provocation and sincere exploration are wiped
off the map.
Mr. Maher would do well to look at another political satirist and comedian who
is currently running for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota: Al Franken, whose
documentary "Al Franken: God Spoke". That film is not about religion per
se, but it is an astute, witty and sharp example of what lampooning political
satire and comedic intelligence are all about.
"Religulous" opened in New York City on Wednesday and opens across the rest of
the U.S. and in Canada today.
"Religulous" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for some
language and sexual material. The film's duration is one hour and 42
minutes.
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