Unlike the majority of my fellow conservatives, I think
Bill Maher is a very funny guy even though I rarely agree with
him on political issues. Maher is observant in his sense of
humor and has impeccable comedic timing, making his satire
enjoyable if utterly ridiculous. He’s every bit himself in his
new one-man documentary Religulous, too, finding goofy
subjects to poke fun of in equally goofy ways. During the course
of the film, Maher speaks with a Jesus-impersonator at a
religious theme park who performs with a Styrofoam crucifix
affixed to his back, a man who believes he’s the second-coming
of Christ, and more than a few blind followers of Evangelicalism
– all of them blinded by religion. These conversations are
bitingly funny and, yes, very creepy. But Religulous is
also not a good movie, mainly because of Maher, who is consumed
by his overzealous need to push an agenda. Instead of making a
movie that satirized those who take religion too literally or do
absurd things with their faith, Maher in typical fashion decided
to use Religulous as a means of alienating anybody who
believes in anything.
Maher essentially believes that all religion is bad, an
idea that might have actually made for a compelling thesis if it
were delivered with more sense than that found in the famous
political-comedian’s ho-hum reasoning here. His basic view,
presented early on in the film, is that religion is an ultimate
evil because it has led to several violent conflicts: the
Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust, et cetera. But does Maher
ever look at the benefits of organized religion? Of course not,
because there is no way to measure how many lives (and souls)
religious institutions have saved and he can get away with
blindly stating that happy believers could just as well be happy
non-believers. (Of course, one could develop a concrete
measurement of all those unborn babies saved from abortions by
mothers’ belief in religious tenets, but Maher would never
consider that because abortion so isn’t murder.)
Religulous never fully recognizes its one-sidedness, but
it’s rather unfathomable that Maher didn’t selectively choose
not to show the good elements of faith. He might publically deny
them, but being a smart guy he must realize deep down that they
exist.
What’s more troubling than Religulous’ general
ignorance regarding the positive effects of religion is its
presentation of the negative ones. Maher essentially reaches a
conclusion that morally equates the beliefs of his Jesus
impersonator with those of Islamic extremists because, after
all, they’re both just blinded by faith, right? The film makes
this implication through its structure: director Larry Charles (Borat)
cuts to overriding discussions of religion and historical
footage of its misgivings, only to then show Maher’s interviews
with the cast of looneys he dug up while filming. The resulting
impression is that Maher’s subjects function as his examples of
the same sort of fanaticism as that practiced by the true
extremists covered in broader passages of the movie (Hitler, bin
Laden, and company). This sense of equivalency, whether fully
intended or not (I truly doubt that Maher would consciously make
such comparisons), casts an offensive tone upon the whole
picture. Maher’s absurd argument escalates to a point at which
he basically deems even the most casual followers of religion to
be idiots.
And yet, for all its mindless assertions, the movie is
still funny – not because of Maher’s commentary itself, but
because of the way Maher interacts with his subjects. (For
example, a certain comparison Maher draws between writing to
Santa Claus and praying to God isn’t funny because of its
demeaning tone, but results in a hilarious interchange between
Maher and a devout Christian.) It’s a shame that the picture
generalizes so liberally when it comes to religion on the whole
because Maher’s interviews highlight the unique scariness of
fanaticism in ways that are far more effective than those
employed by the overdramatic 2006 documentary Jesus Camp.
Maher’s humorously satirical approach could’ve come across as
perfectly pointed and unique in depicting the dangers of
immoderation of belief, but instead it proves reckless because
his absence of belief is equally as immoderate. (Kudos to Maher,
however, for treating all religions with the same
condescending tone and not just fixating on the easy scapegoat
of a demon that is Christianity.) Instead of enduring Maher’s
skewed preaching in Religulous, why not take a weekend
trip to Florida and watch a theme-park Jesus for yourself?
You’ll return having had just as many laughs and discovered five
times the insight than that found in this blatant film effort.
-Danny Baldwin, Bucket Reviews
Review Published on: 10.1.2008
Screened on: 9.26.2008 at the Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas
in San Diego, CA.