While the America's Most Smartest Model host may seem like a jolly old fellow, he recently revealed his serious, more intellectual side when he released his film documentary entitled Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which hit over a thousand theaters on April 18, Friday.  The documentary, which has been highly criticized since its first promotion was publicized, focuses on intelligent design, and why it seems to be banned from every educational and scientific institute.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed has aired in approximately a 1,200 theaters nationwide, garnering $3.2 million dollars in the box office, and later on landing on the ninth spot in the weekend's top ten movies.  However, it was met with pretty harsh reviews from various entertainment sites and critiques.

To begin, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed did not fully define exactly what the theory of intelligent design really is, its scope and borderlines.  Clearly, it opposed Darwin's theory of evolution, but the film made it look like it was persuading viewers to believe that Darwinism has some negative effects in the society.

"Despite insisting 'intelligent design' isn't pro-God propaganda, Stein argues we're waging a religious war with Darwinists smiting the faithful with atheistic ideas," E! Entertainment's Matt Stevens said in his review.  "Most outrageously, [Stein] plays the overused Nazi card—he tours an old concentration camp and notes Hitler himself was influenced by Darwin."

"Many of the central ideas expressed are truly offensive, such as the attempt to link Darwinism and Nazism, complete with footage of a grim-faced Stein touring a Nazi concentration camp," Reuters reported in a review.

Moreover, critics say that the film failed to live up to its objective of "explain[ing] why, as a matter of freedom of speech, intelligent design should be taught in America’s science classrooms and presented in America’s publicly funded science museums."

In fact, Cinematical describes it as "terrible, filled with specious reasoning, false dichotomies, and self-contradiction."

E! Entertainment continues by saying, "Expelled pretends it wants to encourage debate but shuts down and edits around every Darwinian scientist who attempts to explain complex issues, as Stein makes snide remarks in voice-over."

For those who have not yet seen the movie and want to see the trailer, you can log on to ExpelledTheMovie.com or click on the video below to see the seven-minute super trailer released by Premise Entertainment.



For more Expelled screenings and theater listings, log on to ExpelledTheMovie.com.


-Valerie Anne del Castillo, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Film Critic, Cinematical, E!, Entertainment Weekly, Reuters, MSNBC
( Photo courtesy of ExpelledTheMovie.com)