Review: Dogma (1999)

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Dogma

Rating

Director

Kevin Smith

Screenplay

Kevin Smith

Length

2h 10m

Starring

Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Bud Court, George Carlin, Brian Christopher O’Halloran, Linda Fiorentino, Janeane Garofalo, Jason Lee, Alan Rickman, Jason Mews, Kevin Smith, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Ethan Suplee, Alanis Morissette

MPAA Rating

Review

Two exiled angels travel to New Jersey so they can take advantage of a loophole in the Catholic faith to get back to heaven in independent director Kevin Smith’s latest film.

Ben Affleck is Bartleby, a sharp-minded angel who convinced Loki (Matt Damon), the simple-minded angel of death, to ignore God’s orders and thus were exiled for eternity. While in an airport, Loki and Bartleby are “inspired” to seek return to Heaven by an anonymous letter. The letter, sent by one of Satan’s demons, Azrael (Jason Lee), tells of a Catholic bishop, Cardinal Glick (George Carlin), who has come up with a depression-free campaign to get people back into the church.

Glick announces that anyone who walks through the doors of the church on their “grand opening” will be forgiven of all sins, which is all Loki and Bartleby need. They start a cross-country trip to New Jersey to gain entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven.

An abortion clinician named Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), supposedly a descendant of Christ himself, is called upon by Metatron (Alan Rickman), God’s spokes-angel, to stop these angels before they can enter Heaven and thus destroy all of existence. She is going to meet two prophets along the way who will help her in her quest. The two she presumes to be the prophets are Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith), Smith’s recurring characters. She also meets a saucy bar dancer, Serendipity (Salma Hayek), and the “13th” apostle, Rufus (Chris Rock), who complete the anti-destruction team.

Smith has created an irreverent comedy that never pulls its punches, but never truly insults the Catholic faith. “Dogma” is more of a light mocking of the faith with serious, spiritually centered overtones. It plays as a faith-supporting film more than a faith-deprecating one.

The performances are all quite good. Affleck is superb as usual and Damon is equally potent. Fiorentino is a delight, proving further that she has more talent than people might give her credit for. Hayek redeems herself after the sadly disappointing “Wild Wild West.” Rock proves his comedic talents. Jay and Silent Bob are great comic foils, but even without them, the film would still function adequately. Rickman is good, but less then impressive in the shadow of his compatriots and Lee is enticingly demonic.

The writing and directing are superb. The film flows significantly well and there’s hardly a dull moment. The opening titles referring to the “noble platypus” are inspired, if not wholly unnecessary. The only major problem in the writing is the continuous reference to God as both a man and a woman, calling God him and her constantly and interchangeably without regard to the full knowledge that God is a woman. While this constant changing is annoying, it can easily be seen, and is pointed out in the film, as the fact that God can be whatever gender It chooses to be at any time.

Also intriguing is the use of Alanis Morissette as the oddly childlike deity. Though, her childishness fits with religious belief. It is believed Jesus loved children of all kinds and that God believed all were his children, no matter what their age, so it only firms a point that God would be childlike as well, because it is the most pure and unpolluted form that can be achieved.

The visual effects were disappointing to say the least and the angels’ wings were haphazard and unrealistic. The Golgotha Crap Demon was a pointless, yet somehow enjoyable addition to the film.

The Catholic Church has denounced the film as mockery. They demand that their followers not see the film because it promoted anti-Catholic sentiment. I wonder if anyone in the Catholic Church has actually seen the film, because it is indeed quite the opposite. It may be slightly mocking, but in the end, “Dogma” is a delightfully reverential film about faith and what it means to truly believe in God.