The Reviewer Gets Religulous

Religulous, the new documentary by Larry Charles and Bill Maher brings Bill Maher on a quest for knowledge about a subject that he is very passionate about debunking...religion. Religions of all types, but primarily Christianity. I am a fan of Bill Maher, so I enjoyed this film. many religious people are outraged by the film (what a shock) but I do think if you look at it objectively, Bill Maher is going to many different places around the world and simply asking questions about religion and why religions should be believed. My main critique is that sometimes he launches into his pretentious holier than thou pontification that gets boring if it goes too long.

From the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida to the Holy Land in Jerusalem, with stops at the Vatican, Amsterdam and even a trucker's chapel in Raleigh, North Carolina, Bill Maher explores the nature of religions and also looks to support his hypothesis that religions are dangerous institutions that should be stopped. From some of the people he was speaking to, he certainly has a point. His main targets are Christianity and Islam. Judaism gets some flack, but for the most part, I felt like they were given a pass. One of my favorite moments was at the Vatican, speaking to a zany priest, who actually was of the opinion that a lot of what we are led to believe is untrue, it's a great interview. Other highlights were his take on Scientology and Mormonism. It's also good to check out the deleted scenes because Bill and Larry found some pretty off the wall folks who believe anything from Presidents Bush 1 and 2 being part lizard to a pretty scary anti abortionist. Maher is preaching to the choir and I doubt he will convert many non atheists but it is entertaining and he does bring up legitimate points about some of the prominent religions of the world. I would've like to have seen eastern religions also explored as well. Religulous gets 3 stars.