I’ve been a fan of Bill Maher for over a decade. He is a rare comedian who will forgo his role as a passive clown in order to argue down irrationality and ignorance with his uniquely scrappy wit and wisdom. He believes in things, like the decriminalization of prostitution and drugs, saving the environment, ending corporate tax breaks, downsizing the government, and that “9/11 wasn’t a triumph of the human spirit. It was a fuck-up by a guy on vacation.” And in the documentary Religulous, Maher explores various brands of religious extremism while riffing upon another belief: That religion is a neurological disorder that may eventually bring about the end of the world.
The movie starts modestly, with Maher visiting a cramped “Truckers Chapel” at a highway rest stop and quizzing truck drivers about why they believe in Adam, Eve, and a talking snake. This alarmed me, because what I didn’t want to see was 2 hours of Maher ridiculing average people for their personal religious beliefs. Luckily, Maher quickly ups the crazy bar and interviews a range of zealots, from a ‘Jew for Jesus,’ to US Senator and creationist Mark Pryor, to self-proclaimed Jesus descendant Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, to an Isreali man who invents devices that allow Jews to sidestep Shabbat prohibitions, to the founder of an organization that believes in a literal interpretation of the book of Genesis (they have a “museum” with exhibits that show children playing with dinosaurs). All of this is very funny, and progressively disturbing.
The highlight of the movie is a trip to the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, a theme park that “brings the Bible alive” with exhibitions and reenactments. After Maher banters with the Jesus actor, who was actually one of the few interviewees to hold his own, we see Jesus getting crucified to the applause and tears of a camera-wielding audience. America, you scare me.
Religulous is directed by Larry Charles, who most recently directed Borat as well as Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The ambush-style interviews work well in that they are very funny, but not very fair. Sure, religion isn’t logical and there’s no evidence of Jesus or God. Sure, the religious shepherds are living large off of the fleece(ing) of their flock. Sure, America’s founding fathers would be disgusted b the intrusion of religion into politics. Sure, Mormons and Scientologists are especially batshit loony. But everyone has a right to believe in what they want to believe. Do these people deserve to have their personal faith pilloried by this snide, swarmy little bastard?
Perhaps this is why Maher ends the movie with his grandiose justification: After a tour of the Dome of the Rock and a short exploration of Islamic beliefs, Maher predicts… that the end of the world will come as a result of religious extremism. It was a strangely somber ending after the rollicking laughs and mirth. Overall, more entertainment than enlightenment.
