"The Ten" mocks religion for laughs

Enlarge image

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It is a star-filled movie based on The Ten Commandments, but religious groups should not view "The Ten" seriously -- not when a women falls in love with a ventriloquist’s dummy.

"The Ten," which opens in U.S. theatres on Friday, takes The Ten Commandments and turns them upside down in brief sketches featuring modern twists on old religious maxims, such as not committing adultery.

So far, audiences are laughing. At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, "The Ten" proved to be a darling of fans and was quickly snapped up for wide distribution.

"It’s just silly comedy. We’re not making any statement about anything," said co-writer and director David Wain.

In one sketch based on "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s goods," a police detective played by Liev Schreiber covets his neighbour’s CAT scan machine.

Actress Winona Ryder stars in a bit based on "Thou shalt not steal," playing a woman who falls in love with and then steals a ventriloquist’s puppet. Oscar-nominated Ryder was famously convicted of shoplifting in 2002 and given probation.

"It truly was a coincidence the ’Thou shalt not steal’ thing," said co-writer Ken Marino, who also stars in the movie. "It was pointed out to us after she told .....continued below

Advertisement starts

Advertisement ends

Paul Rudd, who starred in the summer hit "Knocked Up," must choose between his wife, played by Famke Janssen, and a beautiful young mistress, played by Jessica Alba.

"There’s no way that anyone can take any of this too seriously," he said. "The Ten Commandments, I think, were just a template to tell 10 dumb stories."

Those "dumb stories" also include a husband skipping church to get naked with his friends and listen to Roberta Flack, a man who falls out of a plane and becomes an accidental hero, and a doctor who kills patients "as a goof."

"The religious element of it doesn’t even really hit home for me," said actress Gretchen Mol, who plays librarian who has a sexual awakening in Mexico. "I consider myself a good person with good morals and it doesn’t offend me in any way."