Given the current outcry over George W. Bush’s Supreme Court nominee (David Frum: “She’s not conservative enough!”), the documentary With God on Our Side: George W. Bush and the Rise of the Religious Right in America couldn’t be more timely.

If all that talk of God oozing out of Bush’s mouth makes you queasy, you need to see this intriguing and alarming documentary. Filmmakers Calvin Skaggs and David Van Taylor analyze the undeniable success of America’s religious right through the prism of the current president, a man who sincerely states that he was born again, who calls Jesus Christ his personal hero and who says that America has a unique relationship with God. Despite the obvious opportunities (and they must have been mighty tempting) to mock or ridicule a bunch of the people involved (à la Michael Moore), the filmmakers remain steadfastly sober and fair-minded, keeping this a standard talking-head documentary. With God really is essential viewing for anyone attempting to understand the madhouse that the US of A has become. —Matthew Hays