Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
Documentary with comedian Bill Maher examining what makes a person a believer and why so much violence is committed in the name of religion. Also with Tal Bachman and Larry Charles. Directed by Larry Charles. [1:41]
SEX/NUDITY 6 - A woman stands nude from the waist up and a man is shown kissing her bare breasts, which we see. ► In a movie scene we see a young man making a comment to another young man who is lying on his stomach on the ground: he rolls over (we see his bare chest) and invites the other young man to "come and get some." Two men hug and one asks the other if he got an erection. ► We see a large carving in grass on a hillside of a man with a large erection. ► There are several video clips from parades with gay men dancing and wearing costumes (some show men bare-chested and wearing bikini bottoms. We see people modeling "magic underwear" from the Mormon Church. ► A man discusses anal sex with two men identified as being gay. A man talks about a preacher having had sex with a homosexual prostitute. A man talks about two angels being raped by townspeople and Lot then offering up his daughters to be raped as recompense. A man talks about virgin birth and immaculate conception. A woman talks about the seed of God being spread. A man talks about masturbating at the age of 13. People discuss religion and homosexuality. A man is described as an "ex-gay." A woman explains that they fell out of favor with the Catholic Church because they used birth control. A preacher says Evangelicals "have the best sex lives." Song lyrics include "There's a party in my pants and everybody's coming." ► We see a movie scene from "Sodom & Gomorrah" where people are dancing suggestively, a woman wears a top that reveals cleavage and shakes her shoulders toward the camera suggestively and a man dips a woman and moves toward her to kiss. A man and an ape kiss in a movie scene. ► We see an animated Adam and Eve (he's bare-chested to the hip and her long hair covers her breasts).
the review continues below...
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - We see a pile of dead bodies after an attack (we see flesh and blood). We see a crowd of people with blood on their heads and faces after a ceremony of self-flagellation. We see many video clips of explosions from suicide bombing and other terrorist acts. A man's hair catches fire from a candle (another man jumps up and puts it out, and no injury is shown). ► We see an actor playing Jesus in a re-enactment of the Crucifixion, with red streaks and slash marks on his body, carrying a wooden beam over his shoulders; in another similar scene he is shown being punched by guards (he falls to the ground and moans) and he is then placed on a cross and crucified. We see an actress in a movie covered with blood and we hear that her husband beat her. We see a man in a movie with blood on his shirt. A man strikes a man across the face in a movie scene. ► We see a man standing inside the Vatican, we hear some rustling, the microphone and the camera go dead and we see the man standing outside the Vatican (he was apparently physically removed from the premises). ► In newsreel-type footage we see a car explode (there are large flames and debris). A man discusses Abraham and we see a movie scene that depicts a man tying up his son, lying him on a bed of twigs and setting them on fire (we do not see the boy burning). ► People carry protest signs with anti-homosexual slogans. We see people protesting and calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie. People discuss whether Islam is a violent religion. A man talks about man's destructive behavior and that this could bring on the End Times and the Rapture. A man talks about a man (Jonah) living in a large fish.
PROFANITY 5 - 4 F-words, 7 sexual references, 8 scatological terms, 11 anatomical terms (1 mild), 2 mild obscenities, 2 derogatory terms for homosexuals, name-calling (schmuck, crazy), 1 religious profanity, 3 religious exclamations. [profanity glossary]
SUBSTANCE USE - Two men smoke marijuana, and a man talks about having been addicted to drugs. A man drinks alcohol from a bottle. A couple of people in crowd scenes are shown smoking cigarettes, and a man talks about having quit smoking.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Religion, the Constitution of the United States, the Ten Commandments, prophecy, self-fulfilling prophecy, hypocrisy, Revelations, terrorism, science vs. scripture, the Theory of Evolution, circumcision, Zionism, hate, homosexuality, judgment, morality, Satanism, Catholics, Jews, Islam, Atheists, sin, birth control, belief without evidence, a jealous God, intolerance, blasphemy, drug addiction, science and religion, numerology, miracles, mental illness, genetic propensity to be a believer, murder, freedom of religion, arrogance, intellectual limits, coincidence, fundamentalism, Jesus vs. Santa, standards of proof, the End Times, the Second Coming, virgin birth, poor vs. rich, making money from religion and preying on the faithful, Christianity and nationalism, Sodom and Gomorrah, anti-Semitism.
MESSAGE - Religion is detrimental to progress. Religion must be extinguished for humanity to survive. Faith is the virtue of not thinking and doubt is humble.
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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