Dogma Directed by: Kevin Smith Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino, Jason Mewes, Janeane Garofalo, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Kevin Smith, George Carlin Running time: 125 minutes My rating (5 star scale): ***
Loki (Damon) and Bartleby (Affleck) are angels who have been expelled from heaven and sent to Wisconsin. All they want to do is go home. They find a loophole in the divine punishment. Cardinal Glick (Carlin) is offering absolution to the first people to walk through the rededicated St. Michael's church in New Jersey. Loki and Bartleby forsake the cheese state for the garden state and a chance to reenter heaven.
Only if God is proven wrong, then the very fabric of creation is destroyed. So, to prevent them, Bethany (Fiorentino as a Catholic abortion clinic worker suffering a crisis of faith) is given the mission of stopping them by Metatron (Rickman as the angelic voice of God). Helping her are the prophets Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) who functioned as Greek chorus in Smith's first film Clerks. Along the way, she encounters the 13th apostle Rufus (Rock) and Serendipity a muse now working as a stripper (Hayek). Meanwhile, a demon from Hell and three rollerblading, hockey stick wielding demonic thugs try to stop her and her motley crew from completing their divine mission.
This film has been the victim of a boycott campaign launched by people who feel it mocks the Catholic faith. I'm not a Catholic, but I know a fair bit about Catholic theology. I also saw this film with a fairly devout Catholic. Neither of us saw anything objectionable in this movie. Some characters say and do things which the Church might disapprove of. But the characters who are presented as angelic or saints always stay within established Catholic doctrine. In fact, this is one of the few movies I have seen which correctly identifies angels as a separate order of creation (as opposed to the It's a Wonderful Life belief that dead people become angels). It comes down firmly on the side of the virgin birth, the miracle of the incarnation, the absolute power of God, and the authority of the Church. In fact, I can't think of a movie made this half of the century which so strongly affirmed the power and authority of the Church.
Having said all that, I understand why people feel the need to complain about this film. It suggests one can be a good Catholic and yet disagree with Church policy (Bethany is prochoice but is found to be righteous by Loki). The prophets (who are genuinely good at heart and clearly instruments of God) are drug dealers. But the key issue is that God is depicted as having a sense of humour. And religion, as we all know, is a very serious business.
I think those people are wrong. I like the idea that one can be a good person but sometimes do bad things. That suggests we all have some chance at being good. I like the argument that God is about redemption, salvation, and hope (all happy things) but all we focus on is sin, damnation, and punishment. And if Smith's God acts in incomprehensible and bizarre ways, well what do you expect of a divine being so awesomely powerful that humans cannot even hear Him talk without being killed by the force of His voice.
I think Smith takes religion pretty seriously and incorporates it into his everyday life. And I think he took that view with this movie, trying to bring out the spiritual aspects of mundane activities and mundane people. I think he has some interesting things to say about religion and he's gathered some interesting actors to say it. Rickman is great as the voice of God. Damon and Affleck have a great time as the two desperately unhappy angels yearning to return home. Rock is superb as the apostle with a mission, playing his part perfectly. And Smith may be the world's only genuinely funny mime as the brilliant and insightful Silent Bob. The rest of the cast never sink below good, although they rarely achieve excellence.
The problem in this movie lies not in the cast nor the idea, but in the general lack of jokes. I did laugh. I enjoyed the Catholicism Wow movement and the not so subtle attack on the Disney corporation. Everybody in the theatre laughed at times. But there was no hysterical laughter, no uproarious moments. There were moments with decent laughs and no more. As comedy, this film is average at best. As a movie to make you think, it score a little above average. It's worth catching at matinee prices but I don't think I could recommend full price for it.
-- Allan Jenoff Check out my web page at http://www.interlog.com/~jenoff/
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