Review: Religulous

If you recall from last year, and chances are you don't, I attended a screening called Religulous: A Conversation with Bill Maher and Larry Charles. This screening was for the finished product of what they were previewing back then. If I remember from the last screening, Bill grew up Catholic with a closet Jewish mother, and director Larry Charles grew up as sort of an agnostic Jew in an orthodox neighborhood. You'd think I could be bothered to go back and read my own review, but think again.

The film consisted basically of Bill Maher going around the world being Bill, talking with various people of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith. I overheard a conversation where someone complained that they only discussed the "weirdos" from each of the religions. While they certainly did talk with people with interesting beliefs, I wouldn't necessarily agree with that statement. It was a comedy, though, and the nutcases they talked with provided the most fodder, I'm sure. And in the Q&A, Larry Charles mentioned that they cast a wide net for interview subjects, including the Pope himself, but most prominent figures, not too surprisingly, declined.

From text message addicted Muslim Clerics, to semi-trailer chapel for truckers to Mormons and Jews For Jesus and an English Muslim rapper, there is ample room for laughs, and perhaps occasional fright. Not being a religious person myself, I wonder what the reaction of people of strong faith would be to this film. I imagine most would still think it's funny. One example that leaps forth is the aforementioned Jew for Jesus who, mentioning that there were several miracles that occurred to convert him, admittedly couldn't remember what they were.

Bill does try to make this a documentary rather that just a yuk-yuk piece. And, in that vein, he added a voice-over narrative which basically reasons that we all need to get over religion before we use it to kill each other off, now that we apparently have the technology to carry out the task. Will this film actually change anybody's mind? I highly doubt it, and in that sense, I'd say the film fails, as would a small man trying to chop down a large oak tree with his hand. But, for those of us who can laugh along with it, it makes for 90 minutes of darned good entertainment. My imdb rating: 7/10