Religulous (2008)
Religulous (2008) 6/10
Religulous, an amalgamation of religion and ridiculous, is a film about religion. Or more specifically Bill Maher’s view of religion, which is that it is a ridiculous fairy tale. I’m inclined to agree. But it doesn’t really matter if you agree with Maher or not because he embarks on a sort of Doubt trip where he interviews people who confess on camera believing on pretty ridiculous things. Maher’s best arguments aren’t as convincing as the damning statements of people who say they believe the Rapture will come in their lifetimes. Still, Maher does at times take cheap shots, often with a mix of snarky subtitles and his usual wit. To be fair, a number of his interviewees do deserve to be ridiculed but this also makes it fairly clear that this is more of a cheeky docu rather than a serious docu in the vein of say Lake of Fire. Maher does resort to what i call Michael Moore tactics from time to time, but luckily isn’t anywhere as egregious as Moore. As a film it mostly preaches to the converted, and whilst i verily agree with Maher’s point of film as a matter of film criticism i regret that i cannot award the film more than a 6/10. The film itself is more a collection of anecdotal comedic potshots than a stirring and powerful argument. In that respects, it isn’t as compelling as Jesus Camp or Deliver Us From Evil, two other brilliant docu on the darkness of religion.
