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Religulous

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Religulous (2008)

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Reviews Counted:144

Fresh:100

Rotten:44

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.

Australian Rating: M [See Full Rating] Sexual references, coarse language, drug use and themes

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Comedies

Australian Theatrical Release:
Dec 10, 2009 Wide

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 source; Australian critics are listed first)
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Borat/Bruno meets Michael Moore in this funny and thought provoking attack on religion.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
12/09/09
Dov Kornits
Dov Kornits
FILMINK (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

So if you are not already on-side with [Maher's] particular leanings, the pickings in Religulous are very slim indeed.

Full Review Source: Herald Sun (Australia) | comment Comment
12/09/09
Leigh Paatsch
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Rather disconcertingly, the film builds towards a vision of the apocalypse, the destructive fate that religious conflicts have in store for us -- a version of the future any hellfire preacher would be proud of.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
12/09/09
Philippa Hawker
Philippa Hawker
The Age (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Jennifer Merin
About.com

It is [funny], although much of the humor is extraordinarily cheap and obvious.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
10/08/08
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

Really funny and well-made.

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

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

Though fashioned as popular entertainment with laughs, light moments, and mostly humorous segments, Religulous is as serious as a disapproving Jehovah about its mission to upend our rote allegiance to blind religious faith.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/03/08
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Maher's too smart to make a movie this dumb.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
10/02/08
Keith Phipps
Keith Phipps
AV Club

Comedian Bill Maher brings his disarmingly direct humor to the topic of religion in Religulous. The results are often as surprising as they are funny.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
10/03/08
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

Despite his deep commitment to logic and reason (one might say he has a lot of faith in it), Maher never really makes his case.

Full Review Source: Beliefnet | comment Comment
10/02/08
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Beliefnet

As an exchange of ideas, this is a hopeless project, since Maher's doubt is as immovable as his interviewees' certainty.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/03/08
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

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

The truth is Religulous is a well-structured product of doubt, an argument of uncertainty that preaches to the choir but also manages to recruit new skeptics.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
10/02/08
Marco Cerritos
Marco Cerritos
Boxoffice Magazine

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

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.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
10/02/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

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
Richard Luck
Channel 4 Film

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
10/03/08
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

This movie is about Bill Maher's opinion of religion. He's very smart, quick and funny, and I found the movie entertaining, although sometimes he's a little mean to his targets.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 4 Comments
10/02/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

About half of the movie works in its snide, hit-and-run way. The other half throws more and more darts at the same balloon, long after it pops.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment 4 Comments
10/18/08
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
 
 
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Latest News for Religulous

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