Just returned from a screening. Let me say I am a sucker for a good documentary and this film makes a load of powerful points that just cannot be refuted. As someone who believes in evolution as well as God, the film did enlighten me about a host of issues that I had been unaware of. In recent weeks my biggest fear has been that the Neo-cons were finally going to give someone the nuclear football that truly believes in the rapture. Bush and McCain and Reagan and even Bush Sr. catered to the evangelists because they are sheep and are as strong a voting block as this country has. But none of those politicians really believed things like every word of the Bible being literal. Now Palin comes along and she, like Huckabee who also scared me, is the real deal. The Neo-Cons have plucked an actual sheep to get the sheep vote this time. When people with beliefs like that are given power, the inevitable result is destruction, and that is the point that this admittedly at times hilarious film hammers in during the final 5 minutes. I call Maher a hero in that he fears the consequences of irrational religious so much that he is literally willing to put his life on the line to deliver his message.Make no mistake about it, this man will get death threats from the film and I will pray that that is all that he gets. I am not worried about a Christian extremist, though maybe I should be, I am worried about Muslim reaction to the film though he arguably treated that religion with a bit more of kid gloves than his other targets. I believe that everyone should see this film, but instead all the nuts that need to see this film the most, will probably be picketing in front of the theaters where the film is showing. Hugely entertaining, enlightening, hilarious and ultimately frightening what more could you ask from a couple of hours at the movies?

I just come back from watching religulous. I had a great time. Bill makes a lot of fun of all those silly things people actually believe. Obviously since I am an atheist I really enjoyed this movie, and I know that most believers will reject it altogether. But there is one thing that just occurred to me as I read through the comments here, it's the fact that, yes, people like me do not go around advertising their atheism. And I saw someone writing that this was why the religious people would always dominate. Well there you have it now though... Bill Maher's movie is definitely a non-believer statement, and a wonderful one at that. I am also painfully aware that it won't change anything in the sad state of affairs in the USA. But at least it's one solid step in the right direction. Now, why do I say "worrying" in the title of my review, well it's because I think that Bill's got it straight regarding the dangers of religion. How can you expect people to make rational decisions when they reject the teachings of the very same science that provides them day in and day out better lives?

I liked Religulous for a particular reason. Like Bill Maher I too was raised in a mixed marriage home although my siblings and I were given no religious upbringing whereas Maher and siblings were raised Catholic. Maher has a particular view that I subscribe to. That being I have no idea what to expect once life on earth is done with me. Neither does anyone else especially those in the business of affirming one view and telling you that every other view is absolutely wrong.

In this documentary with footage of real people and brief clips of some Hollywood religious classics, Maher goes into the business of religion both from the seller and the consumer point of view. Some mighty strange folks get interviewed. My favorite is the anti-Israel rabbi who joined with the Iranians to declare holy war on Israel. Some of the anti-gay folks from all the western monotheist religions get their due as well. Imagine in this day and age people proclaiming that gays getting married is the biggest problem humankind faces.

In that vein I want to dedicate this film review to the late Phil Zwickler who did a documentary history entitled Rights And Reactions concerning the fight for the gay rights law in New York City in the 70s and 80s. Those City Council hearings had some great theater in them, but the play sure had a happy ending. During a showing of the film Zwickler mentioned that his biggest problem was interviewing the opponents and finding some that made some kind of rational case. He was worried that opponents would say he stacked the deck by putting forward the worst of the other side and was deliberately making them look stupid. Kind of like Donald Trump today. Unlike Phil Zwickler in that different time, Bill Maher showed the crazies in all their glory.

There's famous song lyric from The King And I in the Puzzlement song that Yul Brynner sang about the difficulties of kingship. It's one of my favorites and should have been used by Maher in the movie. In talking about belief systems Brynner says people when questioned a bit about their beliefs really couldn't answer questions. But if someone questioned said beliefs the line went "very quickly will he fight, he'll fight to prove that what he does not know is so".

And in one song lyric Oscar Hammerstein,II exploded all the stupid reasons we've had for religious conflict the world over. Should have been the theme for Religulous.