I’ve seen this movie before, when it less obnoxious, done better and potentially more offensive. It was called The God Who Wasn’t There and it was directed by Brian Flemming. Both that film and Religulous are documentaries about atheists (although Bill Maher calls himself an agnostic) who interview people about faith, generally with the purpose of showing what they feel to be ludicrousness of religious belief.
The problem of reviewing a movie like this is that your opinion of its going to be inevitably influenced by your own personal beliefs. Since I am neither an atheist nor agnostic, I don’t agree with the arguments of Maher or Flemming. But Flemming was such a good filmmaker that his movie was fascinating to watch and the jokes were genuinely funny, even when they were made at my own faith’s expense.
Maher, on the other hand, is at times rude and even mean to his guests. He’s not as funny either. Something has always bothered me about Maher. I used to watch his TV show, Politically Incorrect and his main problem seemed to be arrogance mixed with dose of chauvinism. I got tired quickly of constant discussions of the “feminization of America” and it’s not surprising that he got his ass cancelled after he said one stupid thing to many. Less than a week after the attacks, he entreated the grieving nation to this pearl of wisdom: “We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly.” Smooth move, Bill!
Anyway, Religulous consists of mainly of director Larry Charles (who made the way better Borat) following Maher around as he “interviews” various religious figures. He treats all of them, even the ones who attempt to be logical and rational with contempt and disdain. He doesn’t try to come up with logical arguments as to why they are wrong, but instead just rails against how ridiculous they are. He even walks out on one person with letting them finish what they have to say. Throughout all this, he keeps mentioning that he has no idea what’s going to ha
Obviously, Maher is miffed at religion, for what reason I don’t know. In his film, Flemming mentioned being emotionally abused at his religious elementary school, so at least that’s understandable. Maher is an angry man who inspires anger in other people.
The other valid comparison between this film and Flemming’s is that the fact many of the arguments and cinematic techniques are the same, such as using clips from cheesy Christian movies and intentionally offensive intercuts. But Flemming is a superior filmmaker and a more likable screen precense.
You may have determined from this review that I do not like Maher very much and you’d be right. I might venture to guess that even those who agree with his views might find his approach distasteful or at least annoying. If you want to see this exact same movie, but better, rent The God Who Wasn’t There.
Religulous (2008)