User reviews

With all the negative comments posted I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. If you want a comedy with big laughs all the way, then this is not for you. And the production etc. is obviously not much to speak of. But if you're in for a little satire on religion, then you might as well watch this. It doesn't go after any of the known religions, but rather after mass hysteria, preachers as well as greed and egoism. There are some unfulfilled premises, like what happens with the short-sellers, and the traditional religions in the end. The acting is so-so, but Gerald Orange is for sure a very believable preacher. It's not one to buy, but if it's on TV, then have a look.

Well, sort of. Actually, the actors (Penner for Cruise and Orange for POTUS) look very much alike and it was my best idea to get your attention. In all cases, it stars the real Sandra Bullock even if her part is a bit small. Thus, she doesn't worth to be at full on the cover! it's a con for idiots (like me!).

It's a very strange flick than this one. It's original because it tackles the two great driving forces of the third millennium (Capitalism and Religion) but the outcomes is rather unusual: a comedy sure but also a criticism of sharks and bigots with a touch of fantastic (God talking in TV while playing tennis). Unfortunately, except the 80s-90s feel, the script fails to grasp such big and explosive thematic.

As ever, we are in need of those movies about faith, wild globalization but a better cast and story would be welcomed. With this movie, it's a golden opportunity missed so everything is still to tell.

I found the DVD on a shelf at a rental condo I was at. Had never heard of it, but Sandra Bullock was on the cover, it was late, so why not give it a go. What a terrible, terrible movie. Perhaps one of the worst ever made. If IMDb allowed a zero rating, this would be it. In fact, I'm tempted to raise my score on the other 5 movies I have rated a 1 on IMDb, just to show how bad this one was.

The writing was bad, the plot was non-existent, the acting was terrible, the camera-work looked like that of someone using a video camera for the first time. My wife and mother-in-law were smarter than me, they went and found something else to do. I kept watching, thinking something has to happen. And you know, NOTHING EVER HAPPENED in this movie.

Go watch a snail crawl across the sidewalk, go watch water dripping from a faucet, anything is better than watching this.

I bought this DVD in a bargain bin -- you get what you pay for. I cannot watch the entire movie....it's that bad. I'm glad I only paid $3.00 for it. Save yourself some money - avoid at all costs. I thought, when i saw that Sandra Bullock was in it that it might be okay. Wrong. Dead wrong.

The acting stinks, the directing stinks and it's not funny.

Avoid it like the plague.

You'll be glad you listened to me.

Of the subject a bit....but one can usually find some good bargains in the bargain bins. It's how I have built up my DVD collection.

I first became interested in this movie because Sandra Bullock was on the cover. Little did I know that she was barely in the movie, and not even her rare appearance (which was the only thing worthwhile) could save this movie. The only reason I didn't stop the movie after the first five minutes was because I was determined to see it to the end--no matter what. Unfortunately, after the movie came to a conclusion (if you can call it that) I felt as if I had been violated with the most awful cinematic experience ever. The troubling parts of the movie were the horrible acting, the worst script, and music that sounded like it was pulled straight from a "country's worst" compilation album, volume one. I would recommend anything else. This is probably the WORST movie I have ever seen, and I have seen my share of bad movies.

This movie is recommended for those who have insomnia's - otherwise don't waste your time. The plot outline on the cover is much better than the actual movie which is terrible. Listening to an oratory by a parakeet would be more exciting than this terrible movie!

The transfer quality of the DVD is also bad. There is a lot of distortion on the sound which makes it hard to understand what is being said. The color timing shifts with the advancing frames. Together with a poor plot, the acting is bad, which is surprising considering some of the actors used in the movie. Although it is sold as a "budget movie," even the low price to pay is not worth buying this movie...if some of you insist on seeing "A Fool and His Money," look for it in the television listings. And, have a "pocket" video game or something to help with the boredom!

This is the worst movie I have seen in a long time. I watched it all the way through hoping for some redeeming ending but there was none. I was very glad to see that this is only the second movie for Sandra Bullock.

Some people just don't get satire, I think... or maybe it hits them a bit too close to home.

This movie rocks. It takes on Big Religion in a way that no other flick has ever had the cajones to do.

If you're not a rigidified True Believer living below the belt, as it were, you'll love this. George Plimpton as god with a tennis racket, dispensing tax advice... totally inspired.

Whatever happened to Jonathan Penner anyway? The only other movie I can think that he was in was Anarchy TV which was similar offbeat, independently-produced satire aimed at religion.

I originally found this movie in a clearance bin under the title "A Fool and His Money." "Religion, Inc." is a better, more descriptive title.

Sandra Bullock makes an early appearance... did she get a nosejob after this role? Anyway... she's okay, but not a key player and not in the flick all that much anyway.

So... If you can find this flick and you have sense of humor that might actually involve thought - pick this baby up.

This movie reminds me a lot of a Dutch documentary called "God, Jesus, Trump", which shows American evangalicals embracing values which aren't far departed from those preached by the Preferent Church in this movie.

In other words: this movie could have been a great social satire, exposing the hypocrisy of some religious tendencies or perhaps religion in general. It did, however, turn out to be predictable, uninspired and rather unfunny. Still watchable, though, and definitely not the worst I have seen.

The VHS tape I watched this movie on had been played till somewhere in the middle, so apparently its former owner disagreed about it being watchable (and didn't even bother rewinding). Its cover art and text (and even its title) are indeed misleading, even going as far as completely obscuring the fact that this movie is about religion.

Despite the cover art (and the DVD label itself, which is even more misleading), this is not a Sandra Bullock movie. See that tiny guy in the corner? He is the star of this movie. On the DVD itself, only his head is visible at the bottom of the disc, while Ms. Bullock takes up nearly half the image. While this movie does have Sandra Bullock in it, she only plays a minor role as the main character's girlfriend, and is in about five short scenes in the whole film. And I'm not sure where the picture of her with brown hair and a red dress came from, since in this movie she has black hair, wears glasses, and never wears anything close to that elegant.

But enough about misleading cover art. While the concept is fascinating, and could make a great movie, the filmmakers here really dropped the ball. This movie is bad. Unfortunately, it's not bad enough to fall into the categories of "it's so bad it's good" or "movies that are fun to make fun of". The story goes nowhere, and the ending is so quick, nonsensical, and clichéd, that it appears that they had no idea how the movie was going to end and panicked when they realized they were running out of time. Add to that that the picture and sound quality on the DVD are terrible (about the level I would expect for something taped on a VCR circa 1985 on the lowest quality setting), and this movie simply isn't worth getting.

I obtained this as part of a batch of early Bullock and they were a lot easier for me to find than a couple of years ago.

This has the qualities of many of Sandra Bullock's other very earliest features, so it will not appeal to everyone. With this there is poor visual quality. It is a 4x3 screen image likely trimmed from wider. Sandy is only in a few parts. I still find it to be okay, just not for watching too often. Liable to appear to gradually improve if not watched all that often. More approachable than Hangmen. Very okay Bullock.

It is also looking at questions of good practice, doing that in a fairly simple and open way. Those who like later Sandy because of the 'good guy' element could find that most of these early Sandy have something too, but expressed in a way that is easier in some ways but more difficult because of the low budget factor.

*

Is this about religious or political or business beliefs? It is very post seventies.

Sandy manages to keep to her good girl beliefs, typical early Sandy, but gets badly mauled because of that.

There is a happy ending, which is fitting and makes for a nicer sort of entertainment. That a less than happy ending might appear to be more reasonable is not the issue as entertainment value has a priority, here. This is obviously not a low budget documentary about post seventies beliefs, though it does have a lot of the qualities that such a documentary might have.

A Fool and His Money tries to balance satire and humor but ends up stumbling through most of its runtime. The jokes feel flat, the pacing drags, and the story never really hooks you in. Even with a few moments that hint at something sharper, it's largely forgettable and lacks the charm needed to make it work.

This was a brilliant film, not necessarily understood by everyone. The premise of a religion being marketed like a bar of soap has limitless metaphoric possibilities, and this film takes advantage. The occasional spotty acting and low budget appearance is more than made up by the wonderful writing. George Plimpton was a pleasant surprise as "God" (or at least the main character's idea of Him). I believe this was Sandra Bullock's first film, and I can see why she became a huge star. She is attention-grabbing when on screen. Jerzy Kosinski, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author gives a startling performance as a beggar, and Jonathan Penner as "Morris" is definitely believable.

I've seen this movie many times and it's very funny from start to finish.

Who would have thought that forming your own religion that promotes greed and selfishness would be so funny. It really gets rolling when the cast of leaders is chosen, especially the custodian. And it just snowballs from there. George Plimpton puts on a spectacular performance. The scary thing is that the plot could work in real life.

Religion, Inc, is to religion what Spinal Tap is to musicians.

Definitely not to be missed.

Highly recommended.