Religulous

Infobox Film
name = Religulous


caption = Theatrical poster
director = Larry Charles
producer = Bill Maher Jonah Smith Palmer West
writer =
narrator =
starring = Bill Maher
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = Lions Gate Entertainment
released = October 1, 2008 (NY and LA)
October 3, 2008 (limited)
runtime = 101 min.
country = United States
language = English
budget = $2,500,000 [cite news | title =Religulous - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information | work =The Numbers | publisher =Nash Information Services, LLC | date =2008 | url =http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/RELIG.php | accessdate = 2008-10-09 ]
gross = $4,221,206
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website = http://www.religulousmovie.net/
amg_id = 1:415417
imdb_id = 0815241

"Religulous" is a 2008 American documentary film directed by Larry Charles and starring political comedian Bill Maher. According to Maher, the title of the film is a portmanteau derived from the words "religion" and "ridiculous," implying the satirical nature of the documentary that is meant to mock the concept of religion and the problems it brings about. [cite news | last =King, Larry | title =Bill Maher Discusses Religulous on Larry King | work =Larry King Live | publisher =CNN | date =August 20, 2008 | url =http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/08/20/lkl.bill.maher.cnn | accessdate = ]

Contents

A range of views on the various world religions are explored as Bill Maher travels to numerous religious destinations, such as Jerusalem, the Vatican, and Salt Lake City, interviewing believers from a variety of backgrounds and groups, including Jews for Jesus, Christians, Muslims, polygamists, Satanists, and Hasidic Jews. [cite news | first= Stephen | last= Schaefer | url=http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/general/view/2008_09_29_Bill_Maher_takes_politically_incorrect_look_at_faith_in_%E2%80%98Religulous%E2%80%99/ | title=Bill Maher takes politically incorrect look at faith in ‘Religulous’ | publisher= Boston Herald|work=the edge | date= September 29, 2008 | accessdate= 2008-05-14 ] [cite news | first= Thom | last= Powers| url= http://www.tiff07.ca/filmsandschedules/filmdetails.aspx?ID=707111610451386 | title= Religulous: A Conversation with Bill Maher and Larry Charles | publisher= [http://www.tiff07.ca/default.aspx Toronto International Film Festival Group] | date= | accessdate= 2007-09-10 ] [cite news | last =Hemingway | first =Mollie Ziegler | title =Look Who's Irrational Now | work =The Wall Street Journal | publisher =Les Hinton | date =September 18, 2008 | url =http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html | accessdate = 2008-10-01 ] He travels to Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London and satirically preaches Scientology beliefs. [cite news
last =Slotek | first =Jim | title =Anti-religion film not risky enough | work =CANOE - JAM! Movies | publisher =Canoe Inc | date =October 3, 2008 | url =http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Reviews/R/Religulous/2008/10/03/6964346-sun.html | accessdate = 2008-10-03 ]

Interviews

* George Coyne, former director of the Vatican Observatory.
* Father Reginald Foster, Catholic priest, senior Vatican scholar, Pope's principal Latinist.
* Pastor Jeremiah Cummings, or Jerry Cummings, former member of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Cummings is founder of Amazing Life World Outreach in North Carolina.
* Ken Ham. Young earth creationist and founder of Answers in Genesis.cite news | url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/104/story/226061.html | title=Maher takes on religion, but some interviewees cry foul | last=Cusey|first=Rebecca|work=Charlotte Observer |date= October 1, 2008| accessdate =2008-09-31]
* José Luis de Jesús Miranda, founder of Growing In Grace International Ministry in Miami, Florida.
* Aki Nawaz, Muslim British rapper also known as Propa-Gandhi.
* Andrew Newberg, MD University of Pennsylvania research neuroscientist. Newberg discusses the process of imaging people's brains as they pray, meditate or speak in tongues.
* Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, spokesman for the anti-zionist organization Neturei Karta.
* Mark Pryor, the junior U.S. Senator from Arkansas and a believer in Creationism.
* Steve Burg, represented Ex Jews for Jesus (Burg is a former missionary with Jews for Jesus) discussed believing in miracles.

Production

Maher stated he used a fake title for the film to obtain interviews: "We never, ever, used my name. We never told anybody it was me who was going to do the interviews. We even had a fake title for the film. We called it 'A Spiritual Journey.' It didn't work everywhere. We went to Salt Lake City, but no one would let us film there at all." [cite news | last =Goldstein | first =Patrick | title =Bill Maher hates your (fill in the blank) religion | work =The Big Picture | publisher =Los Angeles Times | date =August 7, 2008 | url =http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2008/08/bill-maher-hate.html | accessdate = 2008-10-01] Creationist Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis, who appeared in the movie, was critical of what he called Maher's "deception" to obtain the interview. [cite web|url=http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55209|title=Creation Museum's 1st visitor? Bill Maher|publisher=WorldNetDaily|author=Fletcher, Jim|date=2007-04-16|accessdate=2008-10-04] [cite news | url=http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/aroundtheworld/2007/02/07/hbos-bill-maher-and-the-plot-to-deceive-aig/ | title=HBO’s Bill Maher and the plot to deceive AiG | publisher=Answers in Genesis |author = Ham, Ken|authorlink = Ken Ham|date= 2007-02-07| accessdate =2008-10-04]

The documentary was produced by Thousand Words and is being distributed by Lionsgate. Originally slated for an international release date coinciding with the Christian Easter holiday 2008 (March 23), post-production delays resulting from a screenwriters guild strike pushed the release date back to July 11, 2008. [cite news | first= Peter (Content Producer)| last= Sciretta | url= http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/08/18/bill-mahers-religion-documentary-aims-for-easter-release-date/ | title= Bill Maher’s Religion Documentary aims for Easter Release Date | publisher=www.slashfilm.com|work=/Film | date= August 18, 2007 | accessdate= 2007-09-10 ] The movie was released on October 3, 2008. [cite news | first= Winter | last= Miller | url= http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985471.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | title= 'Religulous' shifted to October | publisher= Reed Business Information | work=Variety|date= May 11, 2008 | accessdate= 2008-05-14 ]

Box office

"Religulous" had an opening weekend take of $3.5 million from an early October 1 release in LA and NY and also a limited 502 theater release, averaging $6,972 per theater making it #10 in the box office that weekend. Its per-screen receipts were almost thrice those of its diametrically opposite rival, the politically conservative "An American Carol", [cite news | last =Phillips | first =Michael (Chicago Tribune) | title =For the right wing, 'An American Carol' | work =Dallas Morning News | date =October 3, 2008 | url =http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-carol_1003gl.ART.State.Edition1.2699bd1.html | accessdate = 2008-10-09 ] which actually edged out "Religulous" to finish at #9 over the same weekend, but had a per theater average of only $2,325. [cite news | last =Germain | first =David | title =Audiences adopt 'Chihuahua' with $29M weekend | work =Associated Press | date =October 6, 2008 | url =http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jb68x_tOGx8QHjI0Cr6C-Vy79OGgD93KG9980 | accessdate = 2008-10-09 ] [cite news | last =McClintock | first =Pamela | coauthors =Tatiana Siegel | title =Political season hits its peak | work =Variety | publisher =Reed Business Information | date =October 6, 2008 | url =http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117993541.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | accessdate = 2008-10-09 ] Only the #1 movie, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", at $9,020, had a higher per-sceen average than "Religulous". [cite news | title =Box Office Mojo Weekend Box Office October 3-5, 2008 | work =Box Office Mojo | publisher = Box Office Mojo, LLC | date =October 6, 2008 | url =http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/ | accessdate = 2008-10-09 ]

Reception

Reviews for "Religulous" were generally positive, with some mixed and negative reviews. The film received a "Fresh" rating of 68% at Rotten Tomatoes based on 91 reviews, [cite news | last =Staff | title =Religulous | work =Rotten Tomatoes | publisher =IGN Entertainment, Inc | date =2008 | url =http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1188454-religulous/ | accessdate = 2008-10-04 ] and a "mixed" score of 55 out of 100 at Metacritic based on 29 reviews. [cite news | last =Staff | title =Religulous - Lionsgate | work =Metacritic | publisher =CNET Networks, Inc | date =2008 | url =http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/religulous | accessdate = 2008-10-04 ] Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a rating of three and a half out of four stars, and wrote: "I report faithfully that I laughed frequently. You may very well hate it, but at least you've been informed. Perhaps you could enjoy the material about other religions, and tune out when yours is being discussed. That's only human nature." [cite news | last =Ebert, Roger | title =Religulous | work =Chicago Sun-Times | publisher =rogerebert.com | date =October 2, 2008 | url =http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081002/REVIEWS/810020306/1023 | accessdate = 2008-10-02 rating|3.5|4] Roger Moore of "The Orlando Sentinel" gave the film a rating of four out of five stars,cite news | last =Moore | first =Roger | title =Movie review: 'Religulous' -- 4 out of 5 stars | work =The Orlando Sentinel | date =October 1, 2008 | url =http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-movie-review-religulous-010108,0,4421023.story | accessdate = 2008-10-01 rating|4|5] as did Joe Neumaier of the "New York Daily News", who characterized "Religulous" as "Bill Maher at his best". [cite news | last =Neumaier | first =Joe | title =Movie Review: Religulous - 'Religulous' is Bill Maher at his best | work =New York Daily News | publisher =NYDailyNews.com | date =September 30, 2008 | url =http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2008/09/30/2008-09-30_religulous_is_bill_maher_at_his_best.html | accessdate =2008-10-02 rating|4|5] The film received a rating of three out of four stars from Kyle Smith of the "New York Post". [cite news | last =Smith | first =Kyle | title =Omigod! Maher Documentary's A Religious Experience | work =New York Post | publisher =NYP Holdings, Inc | date =October 1, 2008
url =http://www.nypost.com/seven/10012008/entertainment/movies/omigod__131506.htm | accessdate = 2008-10-02 rating|3|4] Robert W. Butler of "The Kansas City Star" gave the film a rating of three stars, and commented: "The film is one-sided, less a measured argument than a bunch of rants and barbed observations. But it’s also very funny, which trumps everything else." [cite news
last =Butler | first =Robert W. | title =‘Religulous’ | 3 stars | work =The Kansas City Star | date =October 2, 2008 | url =http://www.kansascity.com/710/story/823717.html | accessdate = 2008-10-02 rating|3|4] Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film a rating of A-, and wrote: "The movie is funny as...well, hell." [cite news | last =Gleiberman | first =Owen | title =Religulous (2008) | work =Entertainment Weekly | publisher =Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc | date =October 1, 2008 | url =http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20230120,00.html | accessdate =2008-10-02 ] Steve Persall of the "St. Petersburg Times" also gave the film a rating of A-, and commented: "If he offends your particular faith, Maher will soon have you laughing at someone else's, wondering how 'those people' could be so gullible." [cite news | last =Persall | first =Steve | title =Review: Bill Maher debates believers in documentary 'Religulous' | work =St. Petersburg Times | date =October 2, 2008 | url =http://www.tampabay.com/features/movies/article833314.ece | accessdate =2008-10-01 ]

"The Canadian Press" said the movie "delivers a laugh-out loud attack on the most sacred of cows." [cite news |last=Staff | url=http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5h0QMpdlNjZUUs4e82ei5xMMiRIsg | title= Bill Maher travels the globe challenging religious belief in 'Religulous' | work= The Canadian Press | date= September 20, 2008 | accessdate= 2008-05-14 ] Christie Lemire, of the Associated Press, wrote: "If you're an atheist or an agnostic, you'll be completely on board and happy to tag along with Maher as he travels the globe asking people about their faith - everywhere from Jerusalem to the Vatican to Amsterdam, where he finds not only the Cannabis Ministry but also a Muslim gay bar (with two people in it)." [cite news | first=Christie (Associated Press)| last= Lemire | work=The Salt Lake Tribune|url=http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10592212| title=Maher preaches to choir with religion film | publisher= MediaNews Group| date= September 29, 2008 | accessdate=2008-10-01 ] John Anderson of "Newsday" wrote: "much that's funny, insightful and thought-provoking. But it certainly doesn't give the religious a lot of slack." [cite news | first= John| last=Anderson| url=http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/fanfare/ny-ffmov5856561sep28,0,4460986.story | title=Bill Maher questions religion, God in 'Religulous' | work= Newsday |publisher=Newsday Inc| date= September 28, 2008 | accessdate= 2008-05-14 ] Jay Stone of "Canwest News Service" described the film as "hilarious, sacrilegious and exhausting". [cite news | last =Stone | first =Jay (Canwest News Service) | title =Religulous is hilarious, sacrilegious and exhausting | work =The Vancouver Sun | publisher =Canwest Digital Media | date =October 2, 2008 | url =http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=9b855b0d-fe70-4db3-9727-cbb46b98ac16 | accessdate =2008-10-02 ] Writing for "Variety", Robert Koehler wrote that Maher has made a successful transition from a minor comic to a social critic: "Considering he was once a minor comic and a supporting thesp in generally awful film comedies, Maher’s transformation into one of America’s sharpest social critics is remarkable. He takes no script credit, but his periodic monologues to the camera are undeniably written, and written well." [cite news | last =Koehler | first =Robert | title =Religulous review | work =Variety | publisher =Reed Business Information | date =August 21, 2008 | url =http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117938034.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 | accessdate =2008-10-01 ]

In a review for "The New York Times", Stephen Holden wrote that "the movie has the same loose, on-the-road structure" as Larry Charles' previous film "" and commented: "Much of Mr. Maher’s film is extremely funny in a similarly irreverent, offhanded way." [cite news | last =Holden | first =Stephen | title =Believers, Skeptics and a Pool of Sitting Ducks | work =The New York Times | publisher =The New York Times Company | date =October 1, 2008 | url =http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/movies/01reli.html?ref=movies | accessdate = 2008-10-01 ] Claudia Puig of "USA Today" wrote: "those with a taste for irreverent humor and clear-eyed analysis will find it funny, enlightening and disturbing." [cite news | last =Puig | first =Claudia | title ='Religulous' mirthfully heaps scorn on the faithful | work =USA Today | date =September 30, 2008 | url =http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2008-09-30-religulous_N.htm | accessdate = 2008-10-01 ] Kirk Honeycutt of "The Hollywood Reporter" characterized the film as "An often hilarious but relentlessly shallow attack on religious fundamentalism by humorist Bill Maher". [cite news | last =Honeycutt | first =Kirk | title =Film Review: Religulous | work =The Hollywood Reporter | publisher =Nielsen Business Media, Inc | date =September 4, 2008 | url =http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=11607 | accessdate = 2008-10-01 ] Louis Peitzman of the "San Francisco Bay Guardian" wrote that "It doesn't even matter that he goes out of his way to be offensive, as he's consistently funny enough to pull it off." [cite news | last =Peitzman | first =Louis | title =Film listings | work =San Francisco Bay Guardian | date =September 30, 2008 | url =http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=7190&catid=85&l=1 | accessdate = 2008-10-01 ] Scott Indrisek wrote at "Style.com" that: "Religulous" earns many of its laughs from skillful editing, with Maher's interviews jazzed up by video clips". [cite news | last =Indrisek, Scott | title =Maher's Believe It or Not | publisher =CondéNet | date =September 30, 2008 | url =http://men.style.com/news/blog/2008/09/mahers-believe.html | accessdate = 2008-10-01 ]

Some reviews have been negative. James Berardinelli wrote, "If the subject of religion is as important to Maher as he claims during his end comments, then he should have followed those words with actions and made a movie that's more than a sum of inauthentic interviews, ranting attacks, and obvious observations. The choir may hum along with Maher but the rest of those watching this movie will be singing the blues." [cite news | last =Berardinelli, James | title =Religulous - A movie review by James Berardinelli | work =ReelViews Movie Review | publisher =www.reelviews.net | date =2008 | url =http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=1350 | accessdate = 2008-10-01 ] Nick Schager of "Slant Magazine" called it an "atheistic wannabe-dissection of modern faith" and compared it to Ben Stein's "" in that he considered both films to have " [employed] a similar, debilitating brand of smug disingenuousness, feigning interest in discussion while arrogantly and speciously preaching in the very same manner that their subjects are ridiculed for". [cite news | first=Nick | last=Schager | url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=3884| title=Slant Magazine Film Review: Religulous | work=Slant Magazine|publisher=www.slantmagazine.com|date=September 20, 2008|accessdate= 2008-05-14 ] Armond White wrote a critical review of the film in "New York Press", and commented: "To scoff at the foundations of charity, justice and love that hold people together, that’s what’s ridiculous." [cite news | last =White | first =Armond | title =The Gospel According to Maher | work =New York Press | date =2008 | url =http://www.nypress.com/21/40/film/armond3.cfm | accessdate = 2008-01-02 ] Ben Kenigsberg of "Time Out New York" gave the film a rating of three out of six stars, and wrote: "The worst scenes in Religulous are appalling for their methods; the best are appalling for their information." [cite news | last =Kenigsberg | first =Ben | title =Religulous (2008) | work =Time Out New York | publisher =Time Out Group Ltd | date =October 2, 2008 | url =http://www.timeout.com/film/newyork/reviews/85833/religulous.html | accessdate = 2008-10-02 rating|3|6] Rick McGinnis of "Metro" gave the film low marks, concluding that "Maher is preaching to the choir with an undisguised dishonesty that only the true believers will forgive." [cite news | url=http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/Entertainment/article/121056 | accessdate=2008-10-06 | date=3 October 2008 | first=Rick | last=McGinnis | publisher="Metro" (Canada) | title=Religulous (film review) rating|2|5]

ee also

*Parody religion
*Religious satire

References

External links

* [http://www.religulousmovie.net/ Religulous] – Official website
*amg movie|1:415417|Religulous
*mojo title|id=religulous|title=Religulous
*imdb title|name=Religulous|id=0815241
*metacritic film|id=religulous|title=Religulous
*rotten-tomatoes|id=1188454-religulous|title=Religulous