Some people just wont see this movie, that's the first thing. They see that Bill Maher, one of the most outspoken critics of religion on all counts (even going as far as to say it's a neurological disorder, which is pointed out at one point in the film as what defines 'crazy'), is presenting a film attacking religion and God and belief and with a final thesis that is basically a rant against all sects including moderate religious believers as enablers of what could be a self-fulfilled prophecy on the end of the world, and will steer clear. It goes without saying that 95% of the country, or just the world, has some level of belief in a higher power if not total unadulterated faith in their religion. If you don't want to get engaged in a dialog of doubt, or are too ignorant to do so, do look elsewhere.
But if you've wondered if some of the things in Christianity or Judaism or Islam are strange, kooky, backwards, primitive, or just downright silly and stupid, then Maher delivers about as absorbing a discussion as one could hope for in a popular-documentary format. Popular in the sense that this is meant to be seen by a larger number of people than the average documentary (save for, of course, Michael Moore, whom there is some comparison), and that Maher is a fairly well-known public figure. What he sells, basically, is the belief "I don't know." He may come off as smug to some, but he isn't unfair. One might expect him to go after the simple truckers at their sermon in a Truck-stop chapel build inside of a truck, but he's actually understanding and sympathetic to why some people just need to believe in something if they have nothing else. Insensitive he is not, at least in entirety.
With the bigger figures, however, Maher doesn't pull punches, and this is where Maher and Borat director Larry Charles get their gotcha-tactics in perfect swing. Interviews with evangelists, a Senator, an Anti-Zion Rabbi, a British Islam rapper, biggies where Maher asks flat out what they believe, to explain it, and often they're left talking in circles or just saying total malarkey. It's not out of bounds for Maher, as an intelligent interviewer and as a comic, to go for this as he's probing how much these people actually know about their faith (which is sometimes not as much as they'd like to let you believe), or if they are, color-us-shocked, hypocrites like the black preacher with a practical pimp suit tailored for him. Best of all though is a trip Maher takes to the Vatican (where, naturally, he's not allowed for big interviews) and at a Jesus-themed amusement park minutes from Disneyworld where a goofy 'Jesus' makes himself a fool and the park treats its viewers to mock representations of the Passion Play.
So Maher and Charles (the latter often appearing in his long hair and beard) have their targets, their point of view, and they include a variety of clips from film and TV to slam in some great jokes and jabs (sometimes as simple as slipping in Mel Brooks as an Indian from Blazing Saddles). But they aren't just crazily throwing out statistics and ambushing people in their interviews, or going for schlock-film-making out of something like Loose Change; they want to engage the debate with the audience as well as their subjects, to inform in good measure (did you know nearly the whole Jesus story is ripped-off from the Egyptians?), and at the same time entertain along the way. It's intentionally provocative, and with a target audience that isn't huge. It's for those who want a little uncertainty expressed where it aught to be, and if it's in fun gimmicks like Bill Maher standing in the spot where Armageddon may someday take place in Israel, so be it.
But if you've wondered if some of the things in Christianity or Judaism or Islam are strange, kooky, backwards, primitive, or just downright silly and stupid, then Maher delivers about as absorbing a discussion as one could hope for in a popular-documentary format. Popular in the sense that this is meant to be seen by a larger number of people than the average documentary (save for, of course, Michael Moore, whom there is some comparison), and that Maher is a fairly well-known public figure. What he sells, basically, is the belief "I don't know." He may come off as smug to some, but he isn't unfair. One might expect him to go after the simple truckers at their sermon in a Truck-stop chapel build inside of a truck, but he's actually understanding and sympathetic to why some people just need to believe in something if they have nothing else. Insensitive he is not, at least in entirety.
With the bigger figures, however, Maher doesn't pull punches, and this is where Maher and Borat director Larry Charles get their gotcha-tactics in perfect swing. Interviews with evangelists, a Senator, an Anti-Zion Rabbi, a British Islam rapper, biggies where Maher asks flat out what they believe, to explain it, and often they're left talking in circles or just saying total malarkey. It's not out of bounds for Maher, as an intelligent interviewer and as a comic, to go for this as he's probing how much these people actually know about their faith (which is sometimes not as much as they'd like to let you believe), or if they are, color-us-shocked, hypocrites like the black preacher with a practical pimp suit tailored for him. Best of all though is a trip Maher takes to the Vatican (where, naturally, he's not allowed for big interviews) and at a Jesus-themed amusement park minutes from Disneyworld where a goofy 'Jesus' makes himself a fool and the park treats its viewers to mock representations of the Passion Play.
So Maher and Charles (the latter often appearing in his long hair and beard) have their targets, their point of view, and they include a variety of clips from film and TV to slam in some great jokes and jabs (sometimes as simple as slipping in Mel Brooks as an Indian from Blazing Saddles). But they aren't just crazily throwing out statistics and ambushing people in their interviews, or going for schlock-film-making out of something like Loose Change; they want to engage the debate with the audience as well as their subjects, to inform in good measure (did you know nearly the whole Jesus story is ripped-off from the Egyptians?), and at the same time entertain along the way. It's intentionally provocative, and with a target audience that isn't huge. It's for those who want a little uncertainty expressed where it aught to be, and if it's in fun gimmicks like Bill Maher standing in the spot where Armageddon may someday take place in Israel, so be it.