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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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61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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A Maher riff that's amusing enough, but hardly profound--one that's unlikely to alter your views on religion, whatever choir you're in.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
10/06/08
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

You can't bamboozle a theme park mascot -- even one dressed up as Jesus -- and then ask to be taken seriously.

Full Review Source: Flipside Movie Emporium | comment 9 Comments
10/04/08
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

A facetious yet sincere documentary that makes the case for why all of the world's organized religions are not only, well, ridiculous, but also detrimental and downright dangerous.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment 10 Comments
10/03/08
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

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

The tone swiftly becomes more serious in the film's last reel, coming to a brilliant (or infuriating, depending on your beliefs) head with a Maher monologue that's stunningly biting and incisive.

Full Review Source: Washington City Paper | comment 2 Comments
10/03/08
Tricia Olszewski
Tricia Olszewski
Washington City Paper

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.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment 68 Comments
10/03/08
Brett McCracken
Brett McCracken
Christianity Today

...an interesting and funny film by a man full of doubt. Had he been a bit more open-minded, he might see belief and doubt are partners, not opposites.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment 2 Comments
10/03/08
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Religulous doesn't really go anywhere. It's ultimately a celebration of the old-time religion we call entertainment.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment 1 Comment
10/03/08
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

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

He [Maher]loves the sound of his own voice and the intellect and seeming intelligence behind his own theories. Nowhere in this movie does he really attempt to get answers.

Full Review Source: Tri-City Herald | comment Comment
10/03/08
Gary Wolcott
Gary Wolcott
Tri-City Herald

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

It's sharp and outrageously funny enough to keep it from coming off like a self-righteous screed and to keep Maher from looking like the Michael Moore of religion -- for the most part.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
10/03/08
Mark Rahner
Mark Rahner
Seattle Times

Bill Maher does something amazing in Religulous. He makes Michael Moore look incredibly likable in comparison.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment 12 Comments
10/03/08
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

[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.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment 12 Comments
10/03/08
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Atheists should find it good for an easy laugh.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment 1 Comment
10/03/08
Mike Russell
Mike Russell
Oregonian

A provocation, thinly disguised as a documentary, that succeeds in being almost as funny as it is offensive.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment 1 Comment
10/03/08
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In the end, for all its genuflections towards free inquiry and rational debate, Maher is as close-minded as any of the preachers he despises.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment 7 Comments
10/03/08
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger

Maher isn't unfair. Simply restating religious tenets to believers amounts to ridiculing them, but so be it.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
10/03/08
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

What [Maher] does do finally in this funny, refreshing movie is assert how unrestrained religiosity could guarantee the 'end days' many of his subjects admit to looking forward to.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
10/03/08
Joe Neumaier
Joe Neumaier
New York Daily News

If you can accept the comedian and talk show host's ill-mannered shtick and can stand a robust lecture from someone who speaks critically of what others hold sacred, Religulous will reinforce what you already think.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
10/03/08
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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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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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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