Religulous (2008) Director Larry Charles Writer Bill Maher Actors Bill Maher – Himself

Toronto International Film Festival Press & Industry Screening: September 5th 2008 

Religulous (2008)

I suppose I should preface this review by saying that I am an atheist. Boy, am I an atheist. Though I don’t commit idolatry I do place gentlemen like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Bill Maher in the highest regard. I can also say Religulous was at the top of my list for films I needed to see at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

That being said, I think Religulous is utterly brilliant. It is not that the film is by any means technically brilliant, in fact it is quite conventional by documentary standards. If you are an atheist and found the documentary Jesus Camp to be scary (I have seriously had a nightmare relating to it) then at least you’ll find solace in Bill Maher’s sense of humor. Honestly, I get the feeling that Bill Maher’s hope for this film was to be proven wrong. Not to prove something so silly like the existence of God but rather to find evidence of rational belief rather than dogma. I think during only one scene in the whole film does someone even go halfway with him and that is with a senior Catholic priest just after Bill Maher gets kicked out of the Vatican… and yes he gets kicked out of the Vatican.

  It was because of scenes of like this that I realized that Bill Maher is to religion what Michael Moore is to politics. They know their facts and people in power despise them for calling them on it. His mere presence at a Bible theme park in Orlando, Florida actually built a crowd giving a collective stink eye. I don’t know how people who purport to be Christian can be so confrontational and aggressive.

What I found most impressive is the sheer amount of footage that Larry Charles (whose previous big film was Borat) shot with Maher. We have many moments in the film that contain interviews that only lasted a second and I can only guess there were still hours worth of great material lying on the cutting room floor. I find the biggest irony of the whole film is how unwelcome he is at some of these places of worship. As mentioned he was kicked out of the Vatican, and was also kicked off of property sitting in front of the Mormon Temple in Utah, but by far the most awkward experience was probably at the Trucker’s Church with a bunch of burly men who looked a little more than ready to lynch Maher if he went too far.

Bill Maher’s Religulous comes with a clear message that definitely comes from the Christopher Hitchens camp of atheism and that is we either get rid of religion or destroy humanity with a self fulfilling prophecy. You’ll notice in the film how Bill Maher doesn’t go after Buddhism, which stands more as a philosophy than as a religion that people are familiar with. But it’s not only that. Buddhism does not possess an eschatology. It does not mention anywhere that there is going to be an end to the world, but in fact implies that the world operates in cycles. It’s the fact that religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islamism are based on eschatology that claims to reward believers and shuns all else to torment. That mentality leads to violence and pollution on a massive scale with self fulfilled prophecy. It is not likely that Mr. Maher or Larry Charles are going to be changing any minds… but one can hope can’t they?  Thank you Bill Maher for “saying it like it is”. I’m sure that wasn’t helpful.

REVIEW SCORE
[Rating: 3.5/4]

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Tags: Bill Maher, critic, Larry Charles, movie, Religulous, Review, Toronto International Film Festival