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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.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some language and sexual material.

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Oct 1, 2008 Limited

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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Release:

Feb 17, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region [unknown]
  • NTSC
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish

Additional Release Material:

  • Deleted Scenes

Audio Commentary:

  • 1. Bill Maher, Larry Charles
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Religulous

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Maher ridicules all religions except the 3rd largest, Hinduism, and 4th largest, Buddhism. Maher should praise Buddha for inventing a religion without a God. Maher ends preaching.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment 13 Comments
09/30/08
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

Maher understands this fine line, but in his comedic zeal, he sometimes forgets and steps wrong.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
10/03/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The serious food for thought gets lost amid the one-stop snacking.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
04/03/09
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

It's an unstructured, scatter-gun attack, with Maher's cynical wit piercing the pretensions of one true believer after another, and director Larry Charles punctuating the encounters with cuts to Maher's vintage stand-up routines.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
10/02/08
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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 doesn't know the answers. That's his religion, the unknowing. And he attempts to investigate why others believe what they do with an open mind, but it's Maher. He mugs.

Full Review Source: The Scorecard Review | comment Comment
11/18/08
Jeff Bayer
Jeff Bayer
The Scorecard Review

Being snarky and smug doesn't equate to providing insight, and there's more than one occasion when the filmmakers lose sight of this in their zeal to spread the Gospel According to Maher.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 4 Comments
09/30/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you give [Maher] a chance, you'll find an intelligent, witty and well-researched cynic eager to give voice to an underserved minority.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
10/03/08
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

there can be few greater threats to religious zealotry than the power of laughter or the quest for knowledge - which is what makes comedian Bill Maher such an effective champion for the cause of scepticism in an age of rising fundamentalism.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
10/14/08
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

Shooting fish in a barrel is the order of the day in comedian Bill Maher's faintly tiresome attack on religion.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment 1 Comment
04/03/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

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

Instead of confronting real problems radiating from the world's major religions Mr. Maher and Mr. Charles opt for Borat redux, making fun of silly little yokels.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
08/30/09
Sonny Bunch
Sonny Bunch
Washington Times

In this docu-comedy Maher and Borat director Larry Charles team up for a guerrilla raid on religion that employs many of the same bait-and-switch tactics from that Sacha Baron Cohen hit.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
10/03/08
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

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

Wants to be a wakeup call in a room where the people are willing to sleep just a little too deeply.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
04/17/09
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

Maher's holy trinity comes in the form of the words 'I don't know' and it's the lesson he wants to shout from the pulpit, even if there's some arrogance in believing that he knows everyone else is wrong.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/25/08
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

Maher crucifies the kooks. What he singularly fails to do, though, is engage with anyone sensible. By mocking the loonies he squanders the precious high ground. A real pity.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment 1 Comment
04/03/09
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]

Is it mean? Gratuitously prankish? On the surface, sure, but it serves to remind the viewer that Maher is very well aware of his own presence and purpose.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
10/07/08
Stina Chyn
Stina Chyn
Film Threat

Religulous will almost certainly not change your opinion of Maher, but the film is exceedingly well-made, intriguing, and awkwardly hilarious.

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
10/02/08
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

...while [Maher's] amused analyses of the basic tenets of multiple faiths are, indeed, funny and true, he'll be mostly singing to the choir of doubters he claims makes up America's largest minority..

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
09/30/08
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews
 
 
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Latest News for Religulous

February 16, 2009: RT on DVD: High School Musical 3 or Midnight Meat Train?
It's a good week for mediocre films (Body of Lies, Changeling, Quarantine and Flash of Genius, which all walk a fine line between Fresh and Rotten) and an even better one if... More...

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
More...

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
More...

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