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Permalink Reply by Andrew Skegg on March 14, 2009 at 11:40pm

It's a light hearted look at religions (Christianity mostly). It good fun, but no real hard hitting points. He does make a good call to arms at the end, but this seems out of place given the rest of the movie.

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Permalink Reply by MightyMateo on March 15, 2009 at 12:24pm

I thought it was great. Yeah it was only scratching the surface and Bill can really come off as an asshole but I feel the arguments, however poorly debated, were laid out well enough for anyone to grasp. I dont look at the movie as a documentary at all, I look at it as more of a simple informative film about what is going on around us right now. This movie has no chance of swaying any theists or fundamentalists but I believe it may speak to those who are unsure, or consider themselves religious but have doubts.

Bill has a reputation and anyone who is familiar with him will have already chosen sides before even opening the case but like I stated before this is perfect for speaking to those people out there who dont know or who have doubt. Its light and funny enough to keep peoples attention and not too deep and involved to lose people who are not informed. This movie will speak to those people who will tell you when asked what they believe, "I havent really thought about it."

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Permalink Reply by Vlad Nistor on March 15, 2009 at 1:07pm

I think the documentary was ok, but something was missing. It was designed to be comic, with interviews of truckers, muslim rappers and ex-gay ministers, when the topic is surely not. The interviews were a scam, people not knowing what they were going to talk about. Like PZ Myers said: record the closing monolog first, and sent that to each of the potential interviewees with a note saying, "Here's my position. Are you willing to argue against it on camera?" would have made for a much more interesting movie, and Maher would have had to break a sweat to address criticisms…and it would probably be less funny.

I prefer the Dawkins stuff, with clear interviews with knowledgable people you could carry a conversation with. Talking to morons, like Mayer does, only brings amusement (if that) and doesn't really tackle the problem [that is what was missing]

--Vlad
http://AtheistBlog.org

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Permalink Reply by Dave G on March 16, 2009 at 11:55am

Yeah, pretty much. I'd rather see an actual series of discussions and conversations than Maher pointing at people and going 'Ain't they funny?' over and over.

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Permalink Reply by Waldheri on March 15, 2009 at 1:09pm

I thought it was rather poor. I must confess that I am no great fan of Maher to begin with, nor do I think he is funny. I was not very amused by the way he treated the people he interviewed - in fact, I thought it was rather distasteful. Even if the interviewee is a nutjob, you don't point and laugh "you have fruit in your head!". Ridiculing religion is not a great feat, because some religious doctrine is ridiculous to start with. I don't need Maher to point out that living in a big fish for three days is ridiculous. I had hoped to see Maher ask daring questions or present decent arguments or reasons for disagreeing with the interviewees, instead of just chuckling in their direction.

So in conclusion: No, I didn't like it much.

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Permalink Reply by brkfstclblvr on March 19, 2009 at 7:37am

The problem is that very few people who are religious want to watch any movie, read any book, or hear any lecture about how their religion may be wrong! They might feel as if the secular world is pushing their agenda just as much as many of us have felt that from them!

The process needs to be taken from a truly objective point of view. Perhaps a research project that really asks the question what do you believe in, why do you believe in that, and what prevents you from seeking out information that may be dissonant? I know way too many people who just don't want to talk about it. So why are they going to watch a documentary from an atheist's point of view?

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Permalink Reply by Bee S. on April 16, 2009 at 4:08pm

He also talked about the ganja religion in Amsterdam.... XD And made fun of scientology in the streets....

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Permalink Reply by Bee S. on April 16, 2009 at 4:07pm

I liked it a lot. Mainly because religion is a joke to me, and that's what it was portrayed, with a hint of seriousness at the end, which was by far my favorite part of the movie.

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Permalink Reply by prolix on April 17, 2009 at 4:58am

This is probably the worst production that Bill Maher has ever laid claim to. I was very disappointed.. Every interview was edited nearly every 5 seconds.. His arguments were weak and all he did was defame people.. Bill Maher is awesome.. but this film is a fail.

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Permalink Reply by Veritas on September 4, 2009 at 4:16pm

I saw it for the first time over the computer (about 4 weeks ago) and bought it the next day. It's a great movie as well as it being very funny. It brings up many good points and just shows how religulous many beliefes can be once their said back to you.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Reardon on September 4, 2009 at 8:44pm

I was less than impressed, I expected better, it's ok, but it could have been much better. As a documentary it could have been stronger, as a comedy it could have been funnier.

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