Religulous
First of all, I want to take the opportunity to publicly (well, if a blog that's read by so few people counts as "public") thank my sister for supplying me with helpful ideas when I was puzzling over the question of just exactly what approach to take when trying to figure out just exactly how to review this movie, without turning it into a discourse on my own personal thoughts about religion. Credit should, after all, be given where credit is due.
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SO... how to approach "Religulous"? Well, how about this: every movie you see is trying to persuade you about something: even completely fictional, escapist films (of which this is clearly not one) are doing that. So perhaps we should be asking the question of what Bill Maher is attempting to do in this movie, and how effectively he accomplishes that.
Maher may take a snarky, sarcastic approach to his concerns about what he sees as the dangers of organized religion, but remember, folks, he is after all a comedian and satirist. It's obvious, though, that his concerns are genuine and he seriously wants to get his message to the public and hopefully persuade some of them to "see the light". It might be questionable how effectively he accomplishes the latter. First of all, we have to admit that about 99 plus percent of the people who will be going to see this movie will be people who already agree with what Maher is saying, and it isn't very likely that conservative evangelical types will be persuaded by his arguments. But then again, how often have ANY issue-oriented documentaries done that? Have political conservatives and Fox News fans been persuaded to change their minds by Michael Moore's films? Have liberals and folks on the left been persuaded to become changed persons after seeing that Ben Stein documentary (soory, the titles escapes me right now)? Not likely. But how well does Maher put forth his arguments? Very well, and very effectively, indeed. You'll leave this movie having absolutely no doubt or questions about Maher's honest fears about the power of religion to make the world a more dangerous place. At first I thought the film's VERY sharp turn in the last ten minutes into super-serious territory was a bit jarring after the light and funny approach of the first 90 minutes, but then I realized the purpose of that tactic: it gets the message across even more effectively. The sharp turn is much more effective coming where it does than the film would have been taking that approach throughout: he wants that to be what you take out of the movie, and the jarring nature of the transition makes absolutely certain that it will be.
The film is also quite impressive in the "technical" approach it takes: Maher's interviews with religious figures around the world (not just Christian, folks... Jewish, Muslim and other religious types all take their turns) feature such items as "pop-up video" type commentary, highly appropriate (and sarcastic) film clips to accompany the statements of the interviewees, clever use of pop songs (like the Talking Heads' "Road To Nowhere") at just the right moments, and so on. Maher even gives us the religious voice of calm and reason in some of the most unlikely places (Vatican City, anyone?). It's almost a bit surprising to see such technical expertise in a film from the director of "Borat"... possibly it's a result of Maher's involvement as producer?
But enough of this "technical" stuff, you're saying (well, maybe you're putting it a little more explicitly... and I hope you don't talk like that at family gatherings!). Is the movie any actual GOOD? Yes, absolutely. It's far from perfect: Maher sometimes dwells too long on certain questions and not long enough on others, and skips completely by a number of questions you might logically want to ask. But it's also one of the funniest movies I've seen this year (up until the last ten minutes, of course): I laughed hard, long and often. More conventional comedies (especially the tame, toothless and formulaic films that Hollywood generally turns out as satire) should be this funny. In those first 90 minutes, Maher never lets his desire to communicate his message get in the way of the humor. So it does exactly what it sets out to do, is put together in impressive fashion, and performed well (by both Maher and many of his "targets").
Is this a movie for you? Well, obviously, to appreciate this film you will need to be a concerned, intelligent viewer with a sufficiently open mind to listen to and give full consideration to thoughts and beliefs that you may or may not share, but that could have literal earth-shaking consequences. It also wouldn't hurt to, even if you do "believe", to be willing to entertain a degree of doubt. Because ultimately that's what Maher's message finally is: about the importance of doubt, and how doubt can be what prevents us from going over the edge into the kind of fanaticism that could potentially end the world as we know it. Complete and absolute certainty that "we" have all of the answers and it's our duty to remake the rest of the world in our image? Not so much. If this sounds like you, then absolutely this film is for you. If it doesn't, then be forewarned.
As for myself: did I "enjoy" the movie? Yes, definitely, my thumbs are definitely up. Do I agree with everything Maher says in it? No, not hardly. But I don't think that Maher wants that, anyhow: that would be against the grain of his concern with independent thinking. Am I offended by the movie when it makes statements or takes positions that I don't agree with? Certainly not. And am I in sync with the message about doubt? Yes, for sure: I believe certain things, but I would never in my wildest dreams say that I "know" any of it with such certainty that I want to force everyone else to think exactly the same. "Religulous" is a movie that entertains and educates: it makes you both laugh and think. Not enough movies do either of those things. When you find one that does both as well as this one, you want to recommend it to people who are broad-minded enough to appreciate it. I hope there are a lot of people like that out there.
**********************************************************************************
SO... how to approach "Religulous"? Well, how about this: every movie you see is trying to persuade you about something: even completely fictional, escapist films (of which this is clearly not one) are doing that. So perhaps we should be asking the question of what Bill Maher is attempting to do in this movie, and how effectively he accomplishes that.
Maher may take a snarky, sarcastic approach to his concerns about what he sees as the dangers of organized religion, but remember, folks, he is after all a comedian and satirist. It's obvious, though, that his concerns are genuine and he seriously wants to get his message to the public and hopefully persuade some of them to "see the light". It might be questionable how effectively he accomplishes the latter. First of all, we have to admit that about 99 plus percent of the people who will be going to see this movie will be people who already agree with what Maher is saying, and it isn't very likely that conservative evangelical types will be persuaded by his arguments. But then again, how often have ANY issue-oriented documentaries done that? Have political conservatives and Fox News fans been persuaded to change their minds by Michael Moore's films? Have liberals and folks on the left been persuaded to become changed persons after seeing that Ben Stein documentary (soory, the titles escapes me right now)? Not likely. But how well does Maher put forth his arguments? Very well, and very effectively, indeed. You'll leave this movie having absolutely no doubt or questions about Maher's honest fears about the power of religion to make the world a more dangerous place. At first I thought the film's VERY sharp turn in the last ten minutes into super-serious territory was a bit jarring after the light and funny approach of the first 90 minutes, but then I realized the purpose of that tactic: it gets the message across even more effectively. The sharp turn is much more effective coming where it does than the film would have been taking that approach throughout: he wants that to be what you take out of the movie, and the jarring nature of the transition makes absolutely certain that it will be.
The film is also quite impressive in the "technical" approach it takes: Maher's interviews with religious figures around the world (not just Christian, folks... Jewish, Muslim and other religious types all take their turns) feature such items as "pop-up video" type commentary, highly appropriate (and sarcastic) film clips to accompany the statements of the interviewees, clever use of pop songs (like the Talking Heads' "Road To Nowhere") at just the right moments, and so on. Maher even gives us the religious voice of calm and reason in some of the most unlikely places (Vatican City, anyone?). It's almost a bit surprising to see such technical expertise in a film from the director of "Borat"... possibly it's a result of Maher's involvement as producer?
But enough of this "technical" stuff, you're saying (well, maybe you're putting it a little more explicitly... and I hope you don't talk like that at family gatherings!). Is the movie any actual GOOD? Yes, absolutely. It's far from perfect: Maher sometimes dwells too long on certain questions and not long enough on others, and skips completely by a number of questions you might logically want to ask. But it's also one of the funniest movies I've seen this year (up until the last ten minutes, of course): I laughed hard, long and often. More conventional comedies (especially the tame, toothless and formulaic films that Hollywood generally turns out as satire) should be this funny. In those first 90 minutes, Maher never lets his desire to communicate his message get in the way of the humor. So it does exactly what it sets out to do, is put together in impressive fashion, and performed well (by both Maher and many of his "targets").
Is this a movie for you? Well, obviously, to appreciate this film you will need to be a concerned, intelligent viewer with a sufficiently open mind to listen to and give full consideration to thoughts and beliefs that you may or may not share, but that could have literal earth-shaking consequences. It also wouldn't hurt to, even if you do "believe", to be willing to entertain a degree of doubt. Because ultimately that's what Maher's message finally is: about the importance of doubt, and how doubt can be what prevents us from going over the edge into the kind of fanaticism that could potentially end the world as we know it. Complete and absolute certainty that "we" have all of the answers and it's our duty to remake the rest of the world in our image? Not so much. If this sounds like you, then absolutely this film is for you. If it doesn't, then be forewarned.
As for myself: did I "enjoy" the movie? Yes, definitely, my thumbs are definitely up. Do I agree with everything Maher says in it? No, not hardly. But I don't think that Maher wants that, anyhow: that would be against the grain of his concern with independent thinking. Am I offended by the movie when it makes statements or takes positions that I don't agree with? Certainly not. And am I in sync with the message about doubt? Yes, for sure: I believe certain things, but I would never in my wildest dreams say that I "know" any of it with such certainty that I want to force everyone else to think exactly the same. "Religulous" is a movie that entertains and educates: it makes you both laugh and think. Not enough movies do either of those things. When you find one that does both as well as this one, you want to recommend it to people who are broad-minded enough to appreciate it. I hope there are a lot of people like that out there.
posted by Joe Bunce at
9:02 AM
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