Religulous

Larry Charles
2008

Liberal pundit Bill Maher has never been much for subtlety in his take on religion, and this documentary, which smacks something heavy of a vanity project, aims straight for the heart of faith's multitude of wackjob practitioners. Unfortunately the film takes the easy route, picking on the feeble-minded and a host of ludicrous zealots who would look just as stupid in any context. It makes for passable comedy, but our host is smarter than this, and even on his HBO series he at least books conservatives that can keep up with him. Also Maher mostly focuses on razzing "the big three," with nutty Christians, Jews, and Muslims taking the brunt of his assault. Apparently Hindu bashing is out of vogue. For all the cheap shots and buffoonery the film's conclusion is impassioned and sincere with Maher warning against putting nuclear arms in the hands of government officials who believe in "end times," a worthy stance that I agree with. It's an adequate picture with it's share laughs (and scares), but is ultimately a puff piece made by the only guy on the left with the lack of shame to yell as loud as the maniacs on the right.