Yes, I noticed Maher spoke to two disaffected Mormons when he ridiculed the LDS faith. He never asked the Mormon apologists at BYU for comments, but sought LDS business people and church authorities. Apparently they smelled a rat. In fact, Maher disclosed: "It was simple: We never, ever, used my name. We never told anybody it was me who was going to do the interviews. We even had a fake title for the film. We called it 'A Spiritual Journey.' It didn't work everywhere. We went to Salt Lake City, but no one would let us film there at all."
Regarding the great flood, I'm no geologist, but it's interesting to note that the legend of a great flood is had by many throughout the world, including the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Asians, Amerindians, Olmecs, Mayans, Aztecs and even as far south as Peru. To me it's clear that some event happened that was so stupendous that it made an impression on the ancient world.
One open source retorts:
It is interesting to note that many of these quotes come from reviewers who actually liked the film. A sample of media quotes about the film:
- "At one point the film presents a cartoon about Mormon beliefs almost as if it’s Sunday-school material — when it is in fact from a notorious anti-Mormon film."
—Mark Hemingway, Maherly Fair, National Review Online, Oct. 7, 2008.
- "He [Maher] loves the sound of his own voice and the intellect and seeming intelligence behind his own theories. Nowhere in this movie does he really attempt to get answers."
—Gary Wolcott, Religulous doesn't have much of a prayer, Tri-City Herald, Oct. 2, 2008.
- "If you can accept the comedian and talk show host's ill-mannered shtick and can stand a robust lecture from someone who speaks critically of what others hold sacred, Religulous will reinforce what you already think."
—Duane Dudek, There’s no doubt ‘Religulous’ rips faith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Oct. 2, 2008.
- "I enjoyed Religulous, but I think it would be better if Maher had the confidence to spend more time talking to articulate believers."
—Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), 'Religulous' has a host so good, it will renew your faith in the docu-essay, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Oct. 4, 2008.
- "Thought is absent in Religulous, as is imagination. The movie is Maher's monument to Maher, as ugly and hateful as anything he decries in the film."
—Glenn Whipp, Maher ridiculous in 'Religulous', Los Angeles Daily News, Oct. 3, 2008.
- "Bill Maher does something amazing in Religulous. He makes Michael Moore look incredibly likable in comparison."
—Mick LaSalle, 'Religulous' - comic on a crusade, San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 3, 2008.
- "[Maher's] scattershot and ad hominem attacks against many different forms of religious hypocrisy don't add up to a coherent critique, and he's not qualified to provide one."
—Andrew O'Hehir, Bill Maher vs. the "talking snake", Salon.com, Oct. 2, 2008.
- "A provocation, thinly disguised as a documentary, that succeeds in being almost as funny as it is offensive."
—Joe Morgenstern, 'Religulous', Wall Street Journal, Oct. 3, 2008.
- "In the end, for all its genuflections towards free inquiry and rational debate, Maher is as close-minded as any of the preachers he despises."
—Stephen Whitty, Religious 'doco' funny but a fixed fight, Newark Star-Ledger, Sept. 30, 2008.
- "Maher’s first film project, Religulous, is a major disappointment because here, unlike on Real Time, he aims for laughs instead of insight -- and aims low."
—J. R. Jones, Fishes and Loaves in a Barrel, Chicago Reader
- "One of the rules of satire is that you can't mock things you don't understand, and Religulous starts developing fault lines when it becomes clear that Maher's view of religious faith is based on a sophomoric reading of the Scriptures."
—Neely Tucker, Religulous , Washington Post, Oct. 3, 2008.
- "For most of the film, Maher uses the devout as straight men to set up his jokes. Though initially sidesplitting, over the course of Religulous, Maher has diminishing comic returns."
—Carrie Rickey, Comic Maher has faith in his lack of faith, Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 2, 2008.
- "Maher's antireligion documentary, Religulous, has numerous blasts of raucous humor amid passages that feel like a screed."
—Colin Covert, Maher finds 'Religulon' in documentary, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Oct. 2, 2008.
- "Being snarky and smug doesn't equate to providing insight, and there's more than one occasion when the filmmakers lose sight of this in their zeal to spread the Gospel According to Maher."
—James Berardinelli, Religulous, ReelViews
- "Employs a debilitating brand of smug disingenuousness, feigning interest in discussion while arrogantly and speciously preaching in the very same manner that its subjects are ridiculed for."
—Nick Schager, Religulous, Slant Magazine, Sept. 20, 2008.
- "The film is basically 100-plus minutes of Maher making fun of others for their beliefs. However, he does nothing to prove his own points and contentions."
—Jeff Vice, "Maher is Smug in 'Religulous'", Deseret News, Salt Lake City
- "In the end, Maher suffers from the same rigidity of thought - the certitude that he's right and those who disagree are wrong - that he dislikes in people of faith."
—Sean Means, Review: Maher takes on religion but sounds like he's preaching to the agnostic choir, Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 2, 2008.
- "Leaves the viewer wondering how much more interesting the movie might have been had Maher picked on more people his own intellectual size."
—Gary Thompson, "Maher's 'Religulous' fights to a draw", Philadelphia Daily News
- "This movie doesn’t seriously explore how religion affects politics; it’s just a snide attack on religious belief."
—Armond White, The Gospel According to Maher, New York Press
- "It's a nasty, condescending, small-minded film, self-amused and ultimately self-defeating. Its only accomplishment is to make atheists look bad -- and in this political climate they didn't need Maher's help with that."
—Rafer Guzman, 'Religulous', Newsday, Oct. 1, 2008.
