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Religulous

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Religulous (2008)

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Reviews Counted:141

Fresh:98

Rotten:43

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 fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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Worth seeing to make your own judgment.

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

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

It’s not a cinematic event in the same way that nuclear Jihad would be, but that’s exactly what Maher is pleading with humanity to avoid. A must-see.

Full Review Source: FHM [UK] | comment Comment
04/03/09
FHM [UK]

An amusing, often biting take-down of religion and the infantalising effect it has on true believers, politicians and religious leaders across the world.

Full Review Source: Scotsman | comment Comment
04/03/09
Alistair Harkness
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman

Religulous is a thought-provoking delight.

Full Review Source: Daily Express | comment Comment
04/03/09
Allan Hunter
Allan Hunter
Daily Express

To religious conservatives of all denominations, it's a punch in the nose. (Except when Maher's bashing the other zealots, those wackjobs.) To atheists and agnostics, it's catharsis

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
10/13/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

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
Andrew Mueller
Uncut Magazine [UK]

... while he tries not to look snarky, his comic impulse sometimes overwhelms him.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
11/12/08
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

there can be few greater threats to religious zealotry than the power of laughter or the quest for knowledge - which is what makes comedian Bill Maher such an effective champion for the cause of scepticism in an age of rising fundamentalism.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
10/14/08
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

This is a brutally blunt and often side-splittingly funny movie.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
10/07/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

I think this is an important movie, challenging, many beliefs that many of us seem unwilling to talk about. Mainly, though, you’ll laugh…a lot.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
11/10/08
Ben Mankiewicz
Ben Mankiewicz
At the Movies

Religulous will almost certainly not change your opinion of Maher, but the film is exceedingly well-made, intriguing, and awkwardly hilarious.

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
10/02/08
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

Religion will always have a hard time defending itself. By bringing it out into the open, this documentary may only be preaching to the non-converted.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
10/02/08
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
PopMatters

Really funny and well-made.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
10/02/08
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic

They say that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Maher comes on like honey, but the provocateur is an unrepentant vinegar man.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
10/03/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

Maher's wandering eye keeps Religulous - a very good movie - from being the great movie it could have been.

Full Review Source: Movie Retriever | comment Comment
10/03/08
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever

Smart, hilarious and thoroughly entertaining.

comment Comment
04/03/09
Charles Gant
Charles Gant
Heat Magazine

I enjoyed Religulous, but I think it would be better if Maher had the confidence to spend more time talking to articulate believers.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment 3 Comments
10/03/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

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
Chris Prince
Sky Movies

Religulous is not for the devout. But those with a taste for irreverent humor and clear-eyed analysis will find it funny, enlightening and disturbing.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
10/03/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; 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?
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