Ben Stein is (supposedly) a modern day renaissance man. He’s been a politician, a lecturer, an actor…blah blah blah — this is how he describes himself in his own trailer by the way. So as a wise media svengali, I guess it makes sense for him to confront the sticky issue of intelligent design? I went into this film assuming it would be a great conversation starter with my dogmatic atheists and ‘truth seeking’ friends but instead what I got was such a compromised argument that broaching it with anyone would automatically deem me an ignoramus.

Ben Stein’s journalism was so flawed and his arguments so misaligned that calling this film a documentary is just plain wrong—in fact the film’s producers are now calling this a satirical piece, meant to poke fun of the very idea of intelligent design. If the producers are to be believed than this is the most dead-pan satire I have ever watched.

This pseudo-documentary is meant to get all of us thinking about intelligent design (not creationism), its merits and why it is so vehemently opposed. I for one have always thought there has been an odd volatility around this particular scientific discussion and thought it had more to do with atheism vs. spirituality rather than the actual scientific theories at hand—evolution vs. intelligent design. For anyone wanting to see the film I just answered its core theoretical question—so now you don’t have to see it! The fact is Ben Stein was trying to poke holes in the iron-clad infallibility of the scientific community—he was trying to show that each and every scientist (even Richard Dawkins!) is human, subject to their own biases that, in turn, taint a given scientific discovery.

Fundamentally the principle behind the documentary is sound, what turns it into a pariah is how Ben Stein portrays “Big-Science” and how he gets his overall message across. If you have ever watched Frontline or other PBS programming you have probably noticed that the producers assume a basic level of intelligence for its audience, let’s say that of an 18 year old. In Ben Stein’s case, he thinks his audience has the intelligence of a toddler. Many of his arguments are fallacious or heavy handed, in favor of intelligent design. He turns Richard Dawkins into the main antagonists/opposer to not only intelligent design but to religion, human will and general happiness. Expelled’s objectivity and in-depth explanations are thrown out the window to pander towards middle-American interest. If it weren’t bad enough, Ben Stein throws in some stuff about Nazis, Planned Parenthood and suicide just incase you thought there wasn’t enough emotionally charged antidotes already. Ultimately, Expelled and Ben Stein’s foray into documentaries is unwarranted; Stein is essentially as biased and bigoted as Michael Moore, but this time slanted towards the right.