Sunday, October 12, 2008

Religulous

My wife and I went to see Bill Maher's documentary Religulous last night. We went to the 10:10 pm showing and shared the theater with only fourteen other people, which was very nice.

Maher was really good in it. I had heard on Opie & Anthony that he had somehow incorporated comedy into the film, something I felt might prove difficult given the premise of the movie. But he really knocked it out of the park. This movie wasn't just funny, it was hilarious.

He conducted interviews and incorporated old clips from really bad religious movies to explain the context of the interviews and also to give a push to the comedic aspect of the interview. I especially liked it when he would ask a question that might prove a bit rough to answer and all he got in response was an open-mouth gawp or that funny open/close/open/close mouth movement like fish do.

We were fortunate enough to have in the audience a guy with a great laugh. That always helps spice up a joke. This guy would scream laugh and that somehow made it funnier.

I was pleased to see Maher take on Islam, which is something a lot of these religion-bashing cowards often won't do. They think about the feel of a rough blade being run across their throats and get chicken-shit PDQ. Not Maher. He actually went into the Muslim Temple on the
Mount in Jerusalem, despite being yelled at by an angry and, according to the guy being interviewed, tolerant Muslim man. It was also pointed out that, in the Temple, women have their own special corner to worship. How tolerant they are!

Some of the other people he interviewed were: an ex-homosexual preacher who insisted on a full-body hug from Maher when the interview was over, a Jew who was against Israel and met with Iranian president Mahmoud Amedihoyahoya (or whatever his name is), and an Aussie with a creepy beard who runs a creation museum in Kentucky -- you can ride a dinosaur there, just like Jesus!

All in all, it was a great flick. If you're a believer, though, it could give you that hot-under-the-collar feeling. Maher's evidence is hard to counter. Everyone from Truck Stop Preachers to a Senator from Arkansas turned into guppy-mouthed idiots when the tough questions came out. Check it out.

Oh, and my wife told me to mention what a wonderful time we had. We don't get out much together and we jumped at the chance last night. We got a bit drunk at Outback Steakhouse, played air hockey (she beat me) and then saw the movie. It was a really nice evening.

Sent from my iPhone

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