God bless you, Bill Maher, God bless you – despite the fact, of course, that the big guy’s probably not too keen on the idea. You’re generally kind of dick to him. And considering that you don’t think he
exists, well, the whole thing’s a little problematic, really.
Nevertheless, the sentiment of the statement still stands; we atheists reckon you’re pretty damn awesome, Mr. Maher, and no more so than in the awfully funny and shockingly ridiculous film – Religulous. This wicked mix of comedy and documentary is Maher’s scathing take on organised faith in modern society. Not to be confused with a mockumentary, this film is completely candid and alarmingly real. From Rabbis in Israel, to ex-gays in the USA, the camera follows him around the world in pursuit of capturing what he believes to be the dangerous idiocy of religion. And he does a great job of arguing his case.
The movie achieves an enjoyable balance between the comedic, the tragic, the moralist and the informative, so much so that it’s difficult not to agree with him. There’s the hilarity of an ill-informed bumbling orthodox Jew being, somewhat unfairly, torn a new one by Maher’s quick wit, the dismaying irony of a Holy Land theme park and bad taste music cues, all sandwiched amongst lofty
revelations on human nature and the articulate clarity of Maher’s narration.
I have very little to say that’s bad about Religulous. Apart from maybe a few lapses in pace, this documentary ticks all the boxes. Maher advocates, both with comedy and with sincerity, that “the comfort that religion brings actually comes at a terrible price” – to our morality, to our societies, to the health of individuals, to progress and maybe even to our posterity. So even if you don’t agree with Maher, Religulous is a fantastic, funny and informative documentary and most definitely worth a watch.