151. Comment #260198 by Hellene on October 4, 2008 at 10:02 pm

Saw it this afternoon with a friend. I admit to the guilty vicarious pleasure of watching Maher say what I've had to often relegate to my inside voice. I found it deliciously funny. Good entertainment. Is Bill preaching to the choir ? Probably. But it's in mainstream theaters. I can't remember when a movie directly debunking religion has done this in the US. Thanks Bill! Hope you make a bundle.

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152. Comment #260200 by ggab7768 on October 4, 2008 at 10:09 pm

That creepy Kirk Cameron film is a little ahead of it though.
Are you guys gonna let Ray Comfort win?
Didn't I hear that Kirk brought in his wife to double for certain scenes so that he wouldn't have to kiss a woman he wasn't married to?
That kind of action should be punished.lol

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153. Comment #260201 by fotomatt on October 4, 2008 at 10:22 pm

Went to the early show downtown that offered an in-theater discussion afterward. The movie was great, but it was even better to hear people's comments afterward. Little old ladies who spoke of leaving the church long ago, feeling so scared and isolated, wishing this movie had come out back then. It was all so much fun that I stayed and watched the next showing! For me, the second viewing was actually better than the first, noticed more of the little details.
Highly Recommended!

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154. Comment #260209 by flistr8 on October 4, 2008 at 10:44 pm

Just returned from seeing it this evening. I'm a big fan of Bill Maher and this picture exceeded my high expectations. I wasn't sure how the laughs would be achieved but that mission was definitely accomplished. So too was his intention to question persistently the ability of intelligent people to believe in the unseen. I really enjoyed the Sam Harris ending.

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155. Comment #260228 by Shaka on October 5, 2008 at 12:06 am

Saw it, wanna see it again. It was down right funny.

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156. Comment #260263 by DKPetersen on October 5, 2008 at 3:30 am

Saw it earlier this evening in a theater in Sacramento with a couple of friends. Neither had heard of it and I almost had to drag them to the theater, but afterward they kept thanking me for insisting that they see it.

The theater was packed and I was pleased to notice that virtually everyone erupted with applause and laughter throughout the movie.

I very highly recommend seeing it, but even more than seeing it yourself, drag someone you know to it.

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157. Comment #260264 by Mayhemm on October 5, 2008 at 3:35 am

Strange comments from Box Office Guru, a site I have a reasonable amount of trust in.

Those on the left should not feel abandoned. Comedian Bill Maher offers up his skewering of the world's God squads in the documentary Religulous which opens in 502 theaters nationwide this weekend. Borat director Larry Charles is behind the camera of this R-rated pic which has been working extra hard to attract controversy only to find limited success in that department. This is a film that desperately needs news coverage in order to sell but with most media outlets only having the bandwidth to cover the elections and the financial crisis, Religulous is not getting its message heard by enough of its target audience. Sponsoring Joe Biden's podium during Thursday night's vice presidential debate may be the only true way for the film to reach its base. An opening of around $2M could result.

I thought Religulous was getting a fair amount of media attention. Maybe not.

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158. Comment #260301 by Ian on October 5, 2008 at 7:23 am

Anyone in London can attend a special screening of Religulous on the 20th October:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/religulous

Other Comments by Ian

159. Comment #260338 by Glacian on October 5, 2008 at 10:21 am

This movie kicked ass. It was funny, and Maher remained sharp throughout the movie. I honestly don't understand all the comments about him not being so smart and not being funny. He's not George Carlin, Richard Dawkins, or Dennett, but damn it, he's pretty good. And Carlin wasn't always a bucket of laughs either.

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160. Comment #260339 by Ed-words on October 5, 2008 at 10:27 am

Michael Moore gives a nice plug to this movie on his web site and calls it "hilarious".

This is interesting because he was raised a Catholic and doesn't talk much about the
sep. of church and state issues.

I wonder if Cindy Sheehan is still a Catholic.

Hm-m-m-m

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161. Comment #260340 by ManOfReason on October 5, 2008 at 10:30 am

I saw it yesterday in an small suburb of Cleveland, Ohio and my little atheist heart was warmed to see a packed theatre on a Saturday afternoon. I found it to be funny, yet even handed. I think that this is a movie that even religious people can see and walk away saying: "You know, he made some very good points." It came across as honest rather than angry and the ultimate message of the movie is the very same message that Professor Dawkins has been spreading for years. That reasonable, rational people need not hide their beliefs but must instead, now more than ever, raise their voices in the face of religious absurdity.
I would highly recommend this movie to everyone here and everyone I know.

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162. Comment #260355 by fly44d on October 5, 2008 at 11:27 am

I saw it friday night in a mostly full large theater and the laughter filled the place. It was great, I found it very funny. He stresses on the kooks but anyone with serious faith is going to have to look at themselves to see if they are just as kooky. And then face the last point:

"Grow up or die."

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163. Comment #260391 by mithraman on October 5, 2008 at 12:50 pm

After seeing this movie, I have to admit religion does seem to have a purpose. It's to keep us laughing.

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164. Comment #260393 by SASnSA on October 5, 2008 at 12:52 pm

Well, looks like it's doing better than that Creationist garbage (oops, I mean Intelligent Design garbage) Expelled: No intelligence used. And without even bribing any schools to make their kids go. Expelled made $2,970,848 in the first weekend, and Religulous is looking to beat $3,500,000.

I saw it yesterday, and enjoyed it thoroughly, but imagine that's mostly because it coincides with my own views on religion. I doubt it'll greatly change a majority of people's beliefs.

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165. Comment #260437 by rchoquette on October 5, 2008 at 2:09 pm

163. Comment #260391 by mithraman.

Very well said mithraman. I agree. You know, I find it quite entertaining just to bitch and raise hell about the religion thing. Hell, Maher loves it so much that he made a movie; and what's best of all - he get's paid to bitch and raise hell!

Now that is one hell of a career to have, to bitch and raise hell - and get paid to do so!

You gotta love it,

Robert

Other Comments by rchoquette

166. Comment #260520 by sane1 on October 5, 2008 at 4:16 pm

Ebert's review is weak - he seems afraid to offend by saying he liked it...

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167. Comment #260529 by ricklend on October 5, 2008 at 4:30 pm

I saw the movie with my Catholic girlfriend and enjoyed every minute of it. She enjoyed it as well.

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168. Comment #260539 by Ed-words on October 5, 2008 at 4:40 pm

Sane1 Comment #166 "He ( Ebert) seems afraid to offend by saying he liked it"
? ? ? ? ?


Ebert found the movie "entertaining"

and gave it 4 stars ****.

Other Comments by Ed-words

169. Comment #260561 by ICONIC FREEDOM on October 5, 2008 at 5:03 pm

My friends and I saw the film just now and enjoyed it. Very funny and disturbing at the same time! LOL!

The only feedback is that while I agree that the religious "right" are dangerous, Bill did not offer any of the dangerous Liberation Theology that plagued the Obama campaign, any of the Wright videos or commentary on such.

This brings into question the self-interest of Bill and his inability to be unbiased. Although he has no committment to be unbiased, then one can only question his credibility.

Both sides of the political spectrum have used religion to further their political gains, their moralization of society and their absconding of freedoms.

While I understand this site is democratic/liberal biased, it ought be in ALL of our self-interests to speak out and denounce ALL those who believe this tripe of religion, no matter the party, no matter the person, no matter the gain.

You either are against this issues being propagated in our society or you are not.

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170. Comment #260605 by larhule on October 5, 2008 at 6:32 pm

I will see this but I'm preparing for a crappy film. I just find Maher to be terribly unfunny and his delivery to be dripping with the kind of cheap sarcasm you would normally expect from right-wing morning talk show hosts.

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171. Comment #260625 by windfall on October 5, 2008 at 7:06 pm

Saw it last night with a fellow atheist (whoops, I mean 6.9999% agnostic ;-)

I LOVED it. I laughed my ass off. I laughed so hard some times, I was worried about missing parts or causing other people to miss some lines.

Of course it was biased, and of course it was propoganda in many ways, BUT it was his honest opinion of the matter and he kept saying so. He also kept repeating over and over that he 'didn't know' and that that was the most important outlook to maintain. I thought he was incredibly sharp most of the time and knew how to let his subjects make fools of themselves.

I agree with those who have observed that ANYTHING that brings this subject matter to a wide audience is a good thing, because it will have the ability to plant the seeds of doubt in SOME people, and sway some fence-sitters. Also, the important thing is to embolden closeted unbelievers everywhere to come out. The more mainstream people appear to be on our side, the easier it is to raise in conversation, etc.

I definitely want to see it again. One of the cut-ins (I forget where) had Jesus getting a bitch slap (even though the original context of the clip was from a religious film). I almost fell out of the chair laughing. It was really well-placed.

There's a priceless scene with Ken Ham glaring at Maher after getting Maher to admit that he (Maher) is not god (Maher pauses and then faux-hesitatingly admits 'no'). Ham's eyes seem to say 'see, I gotcha', but he's obviously the butt of the joke and it's hilarious.

I also liked the heavy-handed ending to remind everyone that, joking aside, this issue couldn't be more serious.

Great job, Bill. I recommend it to all.

BTW - I saw the 10PM Sat show outside of Boston and the theater was only about half full, but everyone was laughing.

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172. Comment #260632 by ricklend on October 5, 2008 at 7:18 pm

I forgot to mention (see comment 260529) the theater was three quarters full and the audience applauded (clapped) at the end. I thought this was good but rather strange since it was a movie as opposed to a live stage production.

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173. Comment #260633 by ggab7768 on October 5, 2008 at 7:20 pm

I'm going to re-post the same thing I posted on the Pharyngula forums because some of you guys are just killing me here. I hope it pisses some of you off.



I'm going to see it again tomorrow with friends and I'm buying it on dvd.

Sorry if some of you think it may not be perfect.
Maybe just not as good as your nationally released rational observations on religion huh?
"God" forbid someone with some real fame to draw off of tries to help our cause in such a big way without asking us exactly how he should handle it first.
What a jackass that Bill Maher is.
Maybe we should give our money to the church instead.

I wonder why people think atheists are arrogant and whiney?

Other Comments by ggab7768

174. Comment #260634 by InfuriatedSciTeacher on October 5, 2008 at 7:20 pm

Just returned from seeing this... in Raleigh NC. Not many in the theatre, which is to be expected here, but it was well received by those who were there. For my own personal amusement, and the semi-opposing viewpoint, I took my Christian GF... she liked it, and seemed to take some of the points well. She is, as many of those interviewed in the film, undereducated about her own religion... I think that the way in which Maher gets his point across is likely to have more success with those who are wavering (or at least moderate) in their beliefs than the more forceful approach does.
There are definitely portions where the "Expelled/Michael Moore" approach is obvious... certainly over the top at points. The film is quite worth viewing, regardless of your opinions of Maher.

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175. Comment #260759 by fotomatt on October 6, 2008 at 2:39 am

>my Christian GF.

Ahhh... the crazy things that men will put up with just to get a little... ummm... love.

But seriously, when I saw the film yesterday (the second time), I noticed a fair number of teenagers who, it seemed, enjoyed the film as much as, if not more than, the rest of the audience.

Imagine if you'd seen this movie when you were fifteen.

So, while others have encouraged you to take a (presumably, adult) friend to see this movie (a fine suggestion, yes), I would instead encourage you to take someone younger. Do you have a thoughtful, intelligent, questioning, cynical, and/or somewhat geeky nephew, niece, cousin, friend, etc? Take them to see this movie. They will love it. And they'll appreciate that you thought of them and took them to something a little more mature and edgy, instead of the demeaning and juvenile tripe that is usually shoved down their throats.

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176. Comment #260828 by Mark Jones on October 6, 2008 at 4:47 am

A propos of nothing Ricky Gervais has blogged about doing some shows with RD.

http://www.rickygervais.com/thissideofthetruth.php

Talking of evolution and religious holidays, I'm doing a few gigs with Richard Dawkins in December as part of an atheist alternative. It will be the first outing for material from SCIENCE (my next stand up show).

I've just had an amazing idea. I need to get Karl in the same room as Dawkins. It would blow both their minds. Right, that's my new project. Wish me luck.

Other Comments by Mark Jones

177. Comment #260853 by Geoffb on October 6, 2008 at 5:40 am

For those in the UK Religulous is scheduled for a December 5th release. It is released through Momentum pictures in the UK and will be a limited release. This means we'll have to search out smaller independents or brave multiplexes to see it. I run a small independent cinema in Letchworth and will attempt to get the film probably in the new year.

Other Comments by Geoffb

178. Comment #260856 by Tyler Durden on October 6, 2008 at 5:44 am

Currently getting a 7.1/10 on IMDb after 1,231 votes.

Release dates here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815241/releaseinfo

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179. Comment #260954 by TurkishAtheist on October 6, 2008 at 8:15 am

I watched the movie last night Oct. 5th on Sunday in Mystic CT(US) and theater was almost full, documentary was brilliantly made and demolished religion in pieces as he analyzed stupidity of the religions. Gay pastor or "gay fixer" who turned himself to jesus and of course to heterosexuality was really cornered and puzzled at the end of the interview with Maher, I could see how he was forcing himself to be straight. One thing I would want that was I wish he also poked into Hinduism and other Asian dogmas. I will definitely buy the DVD as soon as it comes out.
I really can't say enough for this fantastic documentary, it was just awesome. It destroys religion. Must see!!

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180. Comment #260966 by TurkishAtheist on October 6, 2008 at 8:35 am

here it is a great (video) interview of Bill Maher and Larry Charles

http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2008/10/religulous-jesu.html

Other Comments by TurkishAtheist

181. Comment #260999 by TurkishAtheist on October 6, 2008 at 9:54 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oB-KTB-XMY

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182. Comment #261024 by Whatsername73 on October 6, 2008 at 10:43 am

Got to see this yesterday and I'm going to admit some pleasant surprise at the audience that attended. My husband and I are mid 30s and we felt like the youngest ones present. Many looked to be of retirement age at minimum. No one walked out. The laughter was strong throughout. I thoroughly expected to see someone leaving pissed off but didn't.

This film was both enjoyable, funny and thought provoking in places. A prior post stated how Bill Maher wouldn't let anyone speak. I just didn't see it that way and if anything in that regard I recall the rabbi that would not allow Maher to get a word in. I think he did a great job of asking the kinds of questions that give the irrational just enough rope so to speak.

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183. Comment #261172 by nalfeshnee on October 6, 2008 at 1:58 pm

Anyone who puts a chimp done up in Muslim regalia on the cover of his film box has BALLS and I commend him for it.

Other Comments by nalfeshnee

184. Comment #261185 by Upgrade01A on October 6, 2008 at 2:06 pm

Very funny movie! It made it into the top ten in box office numbers too.

10.Religulous: $3,500,000 October 3 - 5, 2008 estimates (opening weekend). I think it only opened in 500 theaters.

FYI - Expelled: $7,690,545 total lifetime gross,
Opening Weekend: $2,970,848.

Other Comments by Upgrade01A

185. Comment #261278 by a-teapot-ist on October 6, 2008 at 3:43 pm

Just saw it, and it was pretty cool. Basically made the argument that Sam Harris does (Harris doing it far more eloquently, admittedly) regarding bronze age mentality meeting modern day technology. And he's rather civil and less overbearing than you'd think. Also, kindly spare us the Expelled comparisons, because anyone who was asked about an interview with BILL MAHER, and isn't in another country(of which there were a few, ok), knew what they were getting into. My only real problem was his trifling bit of patronizing the audience when he got thrown off the Mormon temple grounds. That was rather Moore-ish, but hey, it's a sin I can forgive *wink wink nudge nudge* So I'd say see it, if only to make a statement while being entertained.

Other Comments by a-teapot-ist

186. Comment #261398 by Ed-words on October 6, 2008 at 7:11 pm

Does Maher talk to anyone of the Amish faith
in the movie?

I hope so.

Other Comments by Ed-words

187. Comment #261606 by Valiant on October 7, 2008 at 6:01 am

Going to watch it online atleast, but ofcourse I'll support it when it's available in Sweden.

Other Comments by Valiant

188. Comment #261863 by LaurieB on October 7, 2008 at 2:21 pm

Went to see it last night with my eighteen year old daughter. She found it to be funny and disturbing. She wasn't brought up in church or mosque at all. We will definitely buy the DVD because there are too many people who need to see this around me. I can't drag all of them to the movie theatre.

To the non-American posters here, I understand that some of you are sceptical about Maher's mannerisms, or the quality of his "documentary" making skills, but try to remember that we rarely have any atheist or agnostic publically take on our extremely vocal fundamentalist citizens in this country. His sarcasm and showmanship can easily be forgiven!

Other Comments by LaurieB

189. Comment #262066 by bleonard1401 on October 8, 2008 at 12:40 am

I saw this movie twice this weekend in Honolulu. People were cheering and clapping in a very large and packed theater. I went the second time to bring 5 of my friends. The entire theater stood up and cheered at the end. You could tell there was definitely a catharsis of similar emotions. The reactions restored a little hope in me for humanity and removed some of my long-held fears of speaking out against religion. If the statistics from the movie are right, and there really is a 16% population of Americans that have no affiliation with any religion, then this movie will become a force to be reckoned with by the mainstream. Maybe if we all ban together, we can pressure Richard and the four horsemen into doing an even better full-length documentary.

Other Comments by bleonard1401

190. Comment #262357 by Colwyn Abernathy on October 8, 2008 at 11:44 am

Saw it...loved it! Hysterical! Biggest head scratching moment: Holy Land Experience Passion play...people APPLAUDING Jesus getting the beat down. Tho I disagree with Ebert. I didn't think Maher was overly mean, but I AM surprised none of the truckers cold-cocked him. Definitely worth the theatre experience. :)

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191. Comment #262375 by crazykb on October 8, 2008 at 12:04 pm

Dansam: "But he is an idiot about modern medicine!"


I have heard some of his views on health. He DOES believe that if you are ill you see a 'real' doctor and take medication. However, he believes that much of the illness that plagues western society is caused by our lifestyle choices. He's right. I know of many doctors who will push pills instead of lifestyle changes. And lets face it, the more pills that are pushed the more the pharmaceutical companies love it.

Other Comments by crazykb

192. Comment #262518 by Ed-words on October 8, 2008 at 6:51 pm

Colwyn Abernathy (Comment #190)


Maybe those applauding when Jesus was beaten down (in the reenactment) were closet atheists.Our movement is doing better than we think.

Roger Ebert says,
"I took a guilty pleasure in his(Maher's)
misbehavior."

Other Comments by Ed-words

193. Comment #262532 by Logic and Reason on October 8, 2008 at 9:12 pm

That is a great movie. Not only was it funny but it plainly showed how most people who call themselves religious haven't even taken the time to read and analyse their own religious books. Virgin birth?? Not in the bible. Most every Christian takes this "Virgin Birth" statement as truth.

Other Comments by Logic and Reason

194. Comment #262537 by Logic and Reason on October 8, 2008 at 9:31 pm

Message for all people on this post who are U.S. voting citizens and want to take action:

Join the Secular Coalition for America (SCA).
www.secular.org
They are a lobby group looking out for people like us who are concerned with the seperation of state and religion. They keep track of important issues and alert us so that we can write to our senators and ask them to take our stand. I have been a member for several years and it's very easy to take action. The SCA sends you an email describing the controversial legislation which needs action. They prewrite a response (which you can modify or change all together) which you can then send to your senator with a push of a button. The prewritten email is already addressed to YOUR senator. Fast and easy.

Other Comments by Logic and Reason

195. Comment #262622 by oasis-al-reason on October 9, 2008 at 4:53 am

or here in the middle east? (:->)

Other Comments by oasis-al-reason

196. Comment #262694 by PsyHye on October 9, 2008 at 9:06 am

I am going to see this tonight, can't wait!

Other Comments by PsyHye

197. Comment #262726 by Mayhemm on October 9, 2008 at 10:53 am

Hmmm....I wonder if we'll ever see a review by Dr. Dawkins?

Other Comments by Mayhemm

198. Comment #262869 by Ed-words on October 9, 2008 at 4:42 pm

Logic and Reason (Coimment #194)

Secular Coalition of America is a fine group,
but only secular organizations are members.

However, you can get on their E-mail list
for news and alerts, and donate MONEY!

SECULAR.ORG

Other Comments by Ed-words

199. Comment #263035 by nickthelight on October 10, 2008 at 6:05 am

Can anyone who has seen the film review it?, I have read Roger Ebert's review but I have to say it reads like a school book report, and a poor one. What was the content of the film?. I'd like to go and see it if and when it's shown in England. However I don't want to watch a film that just bangs the atheism drum and mock's people.

Other Comments by nickthelight

200. Comment #263156 by Ed-words on October 10, 2008 at 10:30 am

nickthelight (Comment #199)


Ebert's review was better than my book reports of yore. Remember, he's reviewing a movie that's
mostly short interviews (not a whole lot of
meat there for intellectual discussion.)

The people Maher mocks are very "mockworthy".

Other Comments by Ed-words