Worth seeing to make your own judgment.
Religulous (2008)
Tomatometer
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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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Reviews for Religulous
It’s a rare film that can simultaneously crack you up and send a chill down your spine. Worth seeing — even for believers.
It's pretty easy to take the piss out of religious kitsch, as Maher does. It would have been more instructive (if less chucklesome) if he'd risked an argument with an accredited theologian.
That’s the trouble with Religulous —it is funny but never very acute.
It’s not a cinematic event in the same way that nuclear Jihad would be, but that’s exactly what Maher is pleading with humanity to avoid. A must-see.
A documentary that's definitely not made for true believers; it's clearly aimed at agnostics, atheists and cynics. And it's both intriguingly fair and very entertaining.
There are a few laughs but anyone with half a brain will be able to tell this is a pretty shoddy fit-up job.
An amusing, often biting take-down of religion and the infantalising effect it has on true believers, politicians and religious leaders across the world.
By turns provocative, informative and very, very funny, Religulous is an engaging and frequently fascinating documentary that should be seen by both believers and non-believers alike.
The pic will amuse those who don't know much about faith and who like to hear what they think. These people will find the movie so comforting.
[The Director] instead asks "What if?" and allows the interviewee a chance to resolve and hold up their end in the debates and challenges (or the mind of hang themselves with their rope). Which the latter is often the case...
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.
... while he tries not to look snarky, his comic impulse sometimes overwhelms him.
Maher is essentially and professionally a comic, and the measure of this movie is not just the thoughts it provokes but the laughs it generates.
I think this is an important movie, challenging, many beliefs that many of us seem unwilling to talk about. Mainly, though, you’ll laugh…a lot.
Despite the shortcomings of this film, it is funny. It is not as funny as director Larry Charles previous faux-documentary film, Borat, but funny all the same.
Mr. Maher's arguments against religious irrationality seem to be on the side of the angels. This is a film that is funny and disquieting.
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January 03, 2009:
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October 02, 2008:
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September 23, 2008:
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