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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
Reviews for Religulous
[Maher's] scattershot and ad hominem attacks against many different forms of religious hypocrisy don't add up to a coherent critique, and he's not qualified to provide one.
It's pretty easy to take the piss out of religious kitsch, as Maher does. It would have been more instructive (if less chucklesome) if he'd risked an argument with an accredited theologian.
This movie doesn’t seriously explore how religion affects politics; it’s just a snide attack on religious belief.
The movie as a whole feels counterproductive; it doesn’t preach at all to the literal choir.
It's meant to "prove" that religious belief and intelligence are mutually exclusive. If you believe that, this movie is for you. For everyone else, it's a trifling and shoddy tirade.
Religulous is the type of film to be sent off into the world to crack open a few eyes and change some lives. In reality, only those patient with Maher and already free of devotion will be receptive to the message. It's a missed opportunity.
For most of the film, Maher uses the devout as straight men to set up his jokes. Though initially sidesplitting, over the course of Religulous, Maher has diminishing comic returns.
Religulous reaffirms Maher's wit, but it also sheds light on his penchant for moral equivalence.
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.
It's not an exploration, it's a smart-arse going into situations just to confirm his own prejudices.
...Religulous begins to seriously run out of steam somewhere past the halfway mark, as the repetitive nature of the movie's structure becomes increasingly tough to take.
That’s the trouble with Religulous —it is funny but never very acute.
As intellectually dishonest toward religion as Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed was in the other direction.
Thought is absent in Religulous, as is imagination. The movie is Maher's monument to Maher, as ugly and hateful as anything he decries in the film.
Religulous doesn't really go anywhere. It's ultimately a celebration of the old-time religion we call entertainment.
Maher’s first film project, Religulous, is a major disappointment because here, unlike on Real Time, he aims for laughs instead of insight -- and aims low.
Being snarky and smug doesn't equate to providing insight, and there's more than one occasion when the filmmakers lose sight of this in their zeal to spread the Gospel According to Maher.
The film is basically 100-plus minutes of Maher making fun of others for their beliefs. However, he does nothing to prove his own points and contentions.
Latest News for Religulous
February 16, 2009:
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January 03, 2009:
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October 02, 2008:
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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 ![]()
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