Bill of goods

Maher puts the ridiculous in Religulous | Mollie Ziegler Hemingway

Lionsgate

The title of the film Religulous is supposed to be a combination of the words religion and ridiculous. And true to form, comedian Bill Maher has made a so-called documentary about religion that is, in fact, ridiculous.

Maher travels the world, finding the most outlandish believers he can—a theme-park Jesus character, an anti-Zionist Jew friendly with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a Muslim rapper who loves suicide bombers—and pretends they are representative of their religions. He then mocks them for their beliefs while the camera waits for their reaction.

Maher's questions are no better than his interview subjects. Reminiscent of the type of queries a young Sunday school student might ask, a Christian viewer of modest intelligence and understanding would do a better job of responding than the people cherry-picked for this propaganda piece. Which is why this movie is ultimately so toothless. Religulous doesn't even come close to raising significant doubts.