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Religulous

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Religulous (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 139

Fresh: 97

Rotten:42

Average Rating: 6.3/10

Consensus: Religulous is funny and offensive in equal measure, and aims less to change hearts and minds than to inspire conversation.

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $12,995,673

Synopsis: Bill Maher travels to Israel, England, the Netherlands, Vatican City, and across America, speaking to people about faith and religion in the very funny documentary RELIGULOUS. Maher, a stand-up... Bill Maher travels to Israel, England, the Netherlands, Vatican City, and across America, speaking to people about faith and religion in the very funny documentary RELIGULOUS. Maher, a stand-up comedian who has hosted the talk shows POLITICALLY INCORRECT on ABC and REAL TIME on HBO and has written such bestsellers as DOES ANYBODY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT? and WHEN YOU RIDE ALONE, YOU RIDE WITH BIN LADEN, reaches out to religious leaders as well as regular folk on the street, discussing the existence of God and the importance of organized religion. Maher makes it clear from the start that he is not a fan of religion and does not believe in God, and he has fun skewering people who do--including Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Mormons, rabbis, priests, politicians, scientists, evangelical ministers, and even a preacher whose church is a converted truck. He also visits such places as the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida, where he interviews the actor who plays Jesus in a live show there, and the Red Light District in Amsterdam, notorious for its legalized drugs and prostitution. As he has done on his television programs and in his books, Maher questions literal interpretations of the Bible, seeing it more as a collection of fairy tales. Director Larry Charles (BORAT, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM) intersperses clips from Hollywood films about religion to punctuate Maher's points, often to hilarious effect. The soundtrack is also used effectively, including such songs as the Doobie Brothers' "Jesus Is Just Alright," Ben Folds's "Jesusland," and Billy Bragg and Wilco's "Christ for President." Like such Michael Moore documentaries as FAHRENHEIT 9/11 and BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, Maher's RELIGULOUS uses humor--and lots of cynicism and sarcasm--to examine controversial theories and topics that people feel very strongly about, no matter what side of the fence they are on. In addition to making audiences laugh, RELIGULOUS will make them think. [More]

Starring: Bill Maher, Kathy Maher, Julie Maher, Mark Pryor

Starring: Bill Maher, Kathy Maher, Julie Maher, Mark Pryor, Andrew Newberg, Ray Suarez, Francis Collins, Brian Weiss, Aki Nawaz

Director: Larry Charles

Director: Larry Charles
Producer: Bill Maher, Jonah Smith, Palmer West
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Reviews for Religulous

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Ever the clever quipper, Bill Maher tackles religious dogma and ritual%u2013and Bibles tales%u2013in this documentary of irreverence. The film is witty and pointedly critical%u2013but it's no revelation.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
06/27/09
Jennifer Merin
About.com

Ultimately, the movie is an impotent howl into the wind.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
06/07/09
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Click for full review

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
05/10/09
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Gerald Peary
Boston Phoenix

Wants to be a wakeup call in a room where the people are willing to sleep just a little too deeply.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
04/17/09
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

I'm all for a documentary about the mass hysteria of our warring creeds, but stand-up satirist Bill Maher turns out to be the wrong man to make it.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
04/09/09
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph

Maher has gone for easy targets. He comes up with the odd funny gag, but you get the feeling that he is as dogmatic about his doubt as the believers are about their faith.

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (UK) | comment Comment
04/09/09
Cosmo Landesman
Sunday Times (UK)

Often funny, frequently unfair, mostly simplistic, at times offensively unethical and ultimately limited.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
04/09/09
Philip French
Observer [UK]

It was much more thought-provoking than I was expecting, but his blatant bias made me feel that he was no less a fundamentalist than the religious people he was criticising.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
04/03/09
Little White Lies

Over-extended but nonetheless thought provoking and humorous documentary.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
04/03/09
David Jenkins
Time Out

Fortunately for filmgoers, the sight of Bill Maher laying the smacketh down on God is, to quote Homer Simpson, truly "sacrilicious".

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/03/09
Richard Luck
Channel 4 Film

Maher crucifies the kooks. What he singularly fails to do, though, is engage with anyone sensible. By mocking the loonies he squanders the precious high ground. A real pity.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment 1 Comment
04/03/09
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Shooting fish in a barrel is the order of the day in comedian Bill Maher's faintly tiresome attack on religion.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/03/09
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A refreshingly courageous and long overdue lecture that is equally enlightening, entertaining and provocative.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
04/03/09
Chris Prince
Sky Movies

Smart, hilarious and thoroughly entertaining.

comment Comment
04/03/09
Charles Gant
Heat Magazine

Religulous isn’t all it could have been: Maher spends too much of his interactions with believers of various stripe scoring easy points off the mad and stupid.

Full Review Source: Uncut Magazine [UK] | comment Comment
04/03/09
Andrew Mueller
Uncut Magazine [UK]

Maher's theories will get up the nose of believers of almost every creed, but his strategy of mocking easy targets will shake few temples worldwide.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
04/03/09
Patrick Marmion
Daily Mail [UK]

It's not an exploration, it's a smart-arse going into situations just to confirm his own prejudices.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment 2 Comments
04/03/09
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Worth seeing to make your own judgment.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
04/03/09
Sun Online

It’s a rare film that can simultaneously crack you up and send a chill down your spine. Worth seeing — even for believers.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/03/09
Helen OHara
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Religulous

February 16, 2009: RT on DVD: High School Musical 3 or Midnight Meat Train?
It's a good week for mediocre films (Body of Lies, Changeling, Quarantine and Flash of Genius, which all walk a fine line between Fresh and Rotten) and an even better one if... More...

January 03, 2009: James Agee Cinema Circle Honors Movies of Conscience and Consciousness: THE MODERN TIMES: The Progie Award for Best Progressive Film SATIRE, named after Charlie Chaplin's 1936 Modern Times and 1940 The Great Dictator: RELIGULOUS Opens in new window
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October 02, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Chihuahua to Overtake Multiplexes
Hollywood kicks off the fourth quarter with a stampede of new releases that will test the elasticity of the marketplace. Ambulances are already on standby to rush the high... More...

September 23, 2008: Trailer Tuesday: Religulous Opens in new window
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