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.