2 year old movie review - Religulous

This movie has been on my to-watch list for quite some time. It was released in 2008, and by now I'm sure a number of you have seen it. I largely forgot about it for awhile after its initial buzz, and finally got a chance to watch this weekend.

Religulous is a documentary in which Bill Maher tackles the very concept of religion, ranging from faith in God (whatever God the participants believe in) to the most extreme religious fanatics, from Adam and Eve to the end of days. Some of it is very familiar (like the televangelists we've all seen) and some is just plain absurd, depending on your view. Bill Maher is in nearly every scene, acting as the tour guide of religious extremism.

The film is very entertaining for all the right reasons. Bill Maher ignores the average American family that goes to church on Sundays and Christmas Eve; these types of people are far less entertaining than José Luis de Jesús Miranda, a televangelist who not only believes he is both Jesus and the Antichrist, but has thousands of followers who believe the same. Miranda claims that one reason he believes he is the reincarnation of Christ is simply because Jesus is in his name. Maher quips that he also shares a last name with Carmen Miranda: "you could be walking around with fruit on your head. Instead of fruit in your head."

Bill Maher, an outspoken athiest, blurs the line between entertainment and documentary here, however. The movie is very entertaining and has more than a few laugh out loud moments. However, where Michael Moore's documentaries skew the facts to allow viewers to draw their own conclusions in line with Moore's agenda, Maher simply appears confrontational in his efforts to convey the idea that people's entire belief systems are ultimately wrong. Period. It's one thing for a nonbelieving viewer to watch and laugh, and say "these people are real nutbars" but Bill Maher pushes forward with whatever he can think of to disprove the nutbars' faith.

As an agnostic theist I get very, very uncomfortable when religion is forced on me. I have no problem going to church services, and I have seen friends' lives improve with their faith. I simply keep my own beliefs close to me so as to avoid being told I'm "wrong" - how many older site members remember the judgemental Christian blogger who ultimately got himself kicked off the site for his fiery tirades against those who didn't share the same beliefs? But everybody believes their own thing and it's not my place to tell somebody that God doesn't exist, or that the bible is full of fallacy - so what qualifies Bill Maher to do that?

In summation go watch the movie if you haven't already done so. But take it for face value. Bill Maher is first and foremost a comedian whose brand of comedy includes satire. His tour of religion is funny (and kind of scary), and when he's not being too preachy he is very witty.