Religulous

словом - девственница (при живом муже) родила - это ли не чудо божие? впрочем, мормоны усомнились, и бог, св¤той дух, снизошел на землю, потр¤хива¤ мужскими генитали¤ми, с целью облапать присв¤тую деву и ¤вить христа народу.

Atheist Bill Maher looks to understand the beliefs behind different world religions.

Bill Maher isn''t monkeying around when it comes to politically incorrect humor, or his favorite subjectЧthe Almighty.

His new documentary, Religulous, which had its world premiere Saturday night at the Toronto Film Festival, is predictably making waves for its satirical musings on the world''s three main religions.

And then there''s the poster.

The one-sheet, which will adorn theaters outside the U.S., shows a trio of chimps dressed as a rabbi, the pope and an Islamic cleric.

"The three monkeys poster is for Canadian and international [markets] and it plays much better around the world than Bill Maher because he''s much better known here in the states. It''s got all the religions on it, and it''s not singling out one or the other," says a publicist for distributor Lionsgate, who did not wish to be identified. "You can''t say they are discriminating. And it''s familiar: ''Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil.'' "

So far leaders of several religious advocacy groups haven''t taken the bait.

"As far as the poster''s concerned, it''s fairly inocuous," says Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League. "The problem is not the poster. It''s Bill Maher. He has said some of the most vile things. He can say all he wants about being ecumenical, but it''s only one religion he really has it out for and it''s the Catholic religion."

"Religion is not immune to criticism or satire...but if you don''t like it, don''t go see it," adds Abraham Foxman, national director and chairman of the Anti-Defamation League.

"I think Muslims are becoming increasingly reluctant to being drawn into these self-serving publicity gambits," says Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We''re not going to be goaded into jumping up and down...We''re just going to ignore it."

A dozen or so demonstrators turned up at Saturday''s screening brandishing signs with slogans like "Hate + Fear = Religulous," "Don''t Mock My Religion" and "Pray for Bill." But the protest was relatively quiet and, per Canadian tradition, polite.

"It wouldn''t have been so lame if I had hired them," quipped Maher, when asked if filmmakers staged the protest following the film''s screening (which earned a standing ovation).

Maher, a lapsed Catholic who regularly bashes religion on his HBO talk show, Real Time With Bill Maher, also told reporters that he believed religion "was the one topic that deserved the broader canvas...I just thought this is the one topic I feel strongly about and it''s the one topic that no one has made a movie like this. It''s the ultimate taboo. It''s the last taboo. It needs debunking."

Directed by Borat helmer Larry Charles, Religulous finds Maher traveling to some of the world''s holiest sites, including the Vatican and Jerusalem''s Temple Mount, questioning true believers on their faith.

While his critics agree that Maher has the right to voice his opinion, some, like Donahue, who has previously made headlines blasting such irreverent shows as South Park, simply take issue with how he goes about it.

"If he''s going to be mean-spirited about it, that''s the problem," Donahue says. "He has a right to put it out and I have a right to protest it. Certainly it will relieve some of my objections if he''s not just simply taking aim at the Roman Catholic Church."

Hoping to defuse some of those concerns, the Lionsgate official noted that there have been no protests other than the small group outside Saturday''s screening and the studio hasn''t received any threats.

"I think people are accepting it in the spirit in which the film is done," says the rep, "and that''s one of questioning and not being dogmatic."

"There''s people writing on the Web Сdon''t see this movie'' and ''Bill Maher is Satan,'' but whether it takes to the streets kind of thing, I don''t know," said Maher.


Less than a week after Ramadan, in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a film called Religulous will open in select theatres across North America to declare that anyone who believes in God needs to grow up.

"It''s no different to believing in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, which most people let go of when they''re 10," said director Larry Charles in a recent interview. "Somehow, with cognitive dissonance, we compartmentalize and we''re able to be rational, functioning people while still believing in the supernatural and things like talking snakes."

"What bothers me," added comedian Bill Maher, who plays the role of host in the film, "is that there''s so much selfishness masquerading as altruism. Any Christian will tell you, right to your face, that it''s not about altruism, it''s about personal salvation, and the good works and ethical aspects of religion are just an afterthought. It''s really about believing in this imaginary friend who''ll save you when your life on Earth ends."

The blunt opinions of Charles and Maher are sure to provoke some controversy and a strong backlash from various religious communities in the coming weeks. And yet, as these two explain, the hope with this film is that it''s funny enough to quell the angry revolts, while still being serious enough to provoke dialogue and debate.

"To me," said Charles, "the greatest controversy that could happen is that the people who are initially outraged and offended by the movie actually go see it and wind up being disarmed by it, laughing and enjoying it, and maybe end up asking a few questions themselves.

"What''s surprising about the film, I think, is how open-minded we are," he added. "We''re not saying that there''s nothing; we''re not reductionists."

The director, best known as the creative force behind 2006''s mockumentary Borat and the television series Curb Your Enthusiam, approached Religulous in much the same way as he approached his previous work - he hired a very smart and funny guy to travel around America, speaking with politicians, priests and even theme-park actors, then let the camera roll for hours on end.

"You know, there''s a 14-hour cut," said Charles. "I swear to God, no pun intended, there''s a 14-hour cut, and it''s really good."

Raised a secular Jew in Brooklyn, N.Y., Charles doesn''t believe in any god or religion, but is a firm believer in what he calls "the power of the meme," a cultural idea that''s passed on from one person to another.

"In the same way, this movie could plant a seed, an idea, that might shift the current paradigm," he said. "Think about it - we''ve been inundated for 2,000 years with one point of view, the pro-religious point of view, and it''s now at the stage where you feel guilty and reticent about expressing an opinion that''s against this.

"We''ve been preached to in one direction for 2,000 years, and here''s just one little movie preaching the other way, pushing in the other direction. It''s really a modest thing; we''re just saying, here''s another voice."

That other voice, of course, is predominantly Maher''s. Growing up with a Catholic father and Jewish mother meant the comedian found plenty of material for his stand-up routines based on this culture clash - one of his classic jokes involves bringing a lawyer into the confession booth - and so he brings humour into Religulous as much as possible.

He also spends some time addressing the extent to which the teachings of the Bible, Torah and Quran serve as effective moral compasses.

"Personally, I can''t think of a more immoral book than the Bible," Maher said. "One of the revelations I had while making this film was finding out that religious people have no clue what''s in their religious books - they can''t even name the Ten Commandments. Seriously, they''ll get to, like, Honour thy father and mother, Don''t kill ... Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, and they''re out.

"I mean, come on, how hard is it to memorize the Big 10? Not to mention, if you''re writing a list of the 10 most awful things, how do you have room for stuff like СDon''t swear'' and СDon''t build statues to other gods,'' but you leave out rape and incest?"

Maher said this was only one of the issues that had been bothering him for years. He''d try to bring up these themes in his talk show occasionally, but encountered minimal success.

"I''d introduce these topics," he said, "but the guests would get off topic, then we''d go to commercial or move on to the next topic, and you never really got to put the whole thing together into one coherent narrative. So that''s why it needed a movie, I think. But I''ve done it, I''ve got it out of my system, and I have no intention of ever doing it again."

There are certain unwinnable arguments in life, debates where no one side can claim clear victory. Argue over abortion, and see how staunch either position becomes. Discuss race and prejudice and the majority and minority never see eye to eye. While itТs always been a bit of a hot button, religion has become an even bigger sticking point over the last few decades. Call it the Moral Majority effect, the Neo-Con crusade, or the Islamic fundamentalist backlash, but Christians are chastising the non-believer and taking names - at least politically. Even in the face of clear First Amendment protections, the new faithful want Jesus and those who chronicled his life and time making policy.

There are a few people who find this as morally reprehensible as those on their principled high horses. Journalist Christopher HitchensТ book god is not great takes a frank and honest look at how, in his words, Уreligion poisons everythingФ. And now noted political humorist and TV host Bill Maher is out to back the side of the blasphemer. With Religulous, his new documentary, he teams up with Borat director Larry Charles to travel around the world, interviewing various religious individuals. ThatТs it - no skits, no spoofing, no fake characterizations or commentary on American values. Just a razor sharp wit sitting around with devout believers, our host letting his subjectТs own words systematically undermine their professed positions.

At times, Religulous celebrates the rather obvious. Most Christians donТt understand their Bible, nor have they read it enough to ably defend the reality of what it does and does not contain. Maher proves that most believers function within a kind of pocket of propaganda. A preacher explains the Gospels, loosely interpreting passages or parables, and his listeners legitimize it as truth. When pushed to prove their points, they canТt find the LordТs supposed words to support them. Naturally, this leads to a few angry attitudes. At a truckerТs chapel somewhere along the highway, a stout driver storms out of the converted trailer. He wants no part of MaherТs УmockeryФ. Those who stay put and argue, however, are treated to the opportunity to make their case - with just a minor amount of derision from our guide.

Some sequences donТt need commentary. When Maher visits a Creationist Museum in Kentucky, the ownerТs illogical statements make the point all too well. Even better, a trip to a religious theme park in Orlando Florida (known as УThe Holy Land Experience") turns the Passion into a daily ritual, including the parading of a blood soaked Jesus before an audience of teary eyed patrons. In each instance, Maher approaches the material with the same mad twinkle he brings to his other projects. By picking on the extremes, however, he underlines the obviousness of the project. Religion will always have a hard time defending itself. By bringing it out into the open, this documentary may only be preaching to the non-converted.

Still, Religulous deserves mention for what it means outside the tenets of certain dogma. MaherТs bigger message is clearly one of critical thinking. He illustrates how most organized belief systems remove curiosity to claim divine intervention into any unexplainable situation. A pair of ex-Mormons sit down with our host as he discusses the just plain bizarre ideals propagated by the followers of Joseph Smith. When asked why more people donТt question the church and their claims of magic underwear and a Missouri based Garden of Eden, the men are quick to answer. УFamily and friendsФ they say, indicating their status as pariahs for leaving their faith. You lose everything when you leave, they continue, because of the cult like ways of the community.

Since Maher was born to a Jewish mother and a staunch Catholic father (his sister and mom are on hand to discuss the past), the Judeo-Christian ethic gets the most ribbing here. Islam is left for a last minute discussion, while other worldwide beliefs such as Buddhism and Hinduism are rendered relatively unscathed. Even the jokefest that is Scientology (at least from an aliens/thetans/e-meter conceit) is relegated to a brief comic rant in LondonТs Hyde Park Sunday Soap Box. In some ways, Religulous is meant as a reactionary responsorial to the WestТs demonization of the Middle East. That Christians tend to be as extreme as the radicals they rail against really comes as no surprise.

Most of Religulous is oblivious in its outrage. That Maher fails to find a single level headed individual might be a product of the production scheme (even a Vatican condemning Catholic priest winds up on the weird side). Indeed, Charles is more singular in his focus. He intercuts scenes from faith based propaganda films and other cinematic efforts to accentuate points, and while they earn their laughs, they also cut the scholarship attempted. Maher, who clearly finds religion one of the reasons for the worldТs muddled state, seems eager to peel back the layers of hypocrisy and argue that all belief is just a way of avoid responsibility and advance magic problem solving. Miracles are nothing more than coincidences, the answering of prayers an indirect self-fulfilling prophecy.

He ends the film at the same place he starts it - on Tel Megiddo, the hill where the Second Coming of Christ is predicted to occur. With JesusТ return will come the Rapture, followed by several Revelation realities. As he explains the path to Armageddon, Maher makes ReligulousС most cogent point: The Bible was written by men who at the time had no knowledge of how to destroy each other completely. The notion of wiping ma

Los Angeles Time:Review: ''Religulous''
Patrick Goldstein on the collision of entertainment, media and pop culture