MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Religulous Rated R

Directed by Larry Charles.  Documentary.

Photo © Lionsgate Films
Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

I remember a time when documentary filmmakers would become engaged in a subject and follow events through to the end, not knowing how things would turn out.  This approach created films as diverse as 1994’s Hoop Dreams and 1989’s Roger & Me.  By the time Michael Moore made his second film, he had become the star of the show and his films began with a thesis that was unshakable, with sound bites, film clips and even animated segments used to reach their foregone conclusion. 

Earlier this year, the conservatives weighed in with Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed with an alarmist plea for the teaching of intelligent design.  Now, it’s the atheist’s turn, with Bill Maher’s Religulous.  Bill Maher is a standup comic and television talk show host who is smart enough to invite interesting people to discuss and debate the issues of the day, including politics, culture, and religion.  Maher has been outspoken about religion for years, linking faith in God with virtually every war and injustice known to humanity.  Religulous is his attempt to skewer sacred cows with guerrilla “journalism”, infiltrating the places where faith meets life and ridiculing the very idea of meaningful religion.  He found Larry Charles, a comedy director who also helmed 2006’s mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, to assist him in this project.  But Religulous runs out of steam in its first five minutes, as Maher stands on the site of Armageddon and insinuates that Christians and other people of faith are looking forward to the End Times.  The last five minutes of the film repeat this prognostication (which is definitely a minority report at best these days) with such unswerving conviction, the film is robbed of the occasional moments of entertainment that preceded the end credits. 

And there are some laughs and interesting characters in the film. Maher goes for easy targets, such as a Florida Christian theme park that includes a crass depiction of the passion, and the science fiction scenario  of The Church of Scientology (created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer).  Denied entrée to religious leaders of note, Maher has to settle for third tier spokespersons.  Christian evolutionist Francis Collins was ignored in Expelled and given short shrift here; Maher edits him down to manageable size.  The most delightful person of film is a Vatican priest who is so full of grace, he simply brushes off every objection that Maher can bring up, dismissing them as minor concerns. 

Raised Catholic with a Jewish mother, Maher feels qualified to address his religious heritage as a skeptic.  There are no visits to hospitals, rescue shelters, soup kitchens, or recovery programs; no tour of colleges of learning or peace institutes; no exploration of prayer or contemplation.  Maher simply sees religious faith as a prelude to violence and war and, while those charges can be substantiated (and deserve our attention), it is the spiritual side of life that elevates daily living to something of beauty and permanence; it is God’s presence alone that encourages us to put an end to violence and to preserve life.  Anything less than that would be – well, just “Religulous”.  And if you want to see that, boy, do I have a film for you!

Pitchfork Rating: One halo. (There are moments of humor and insight to be found in this mostly misguided and messy diatribe against religion.)   Two pitchforks. (For some crude language and some fear mongering.)

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