Dogma Review by Thom (4.5 Stars)

Dogma Review by Thom (4.5 Stars) | MatchFlick

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Movie Details

All Movie Info

Starring:
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Alan Rickman, Jason Mewes, Janeane Garofalo, Kevin Smith, Bud Cort, Jeff Anderson, Guinevere Turner, Alanis Morissette, Alanis Morissette

Directed By:
Kevin Smith

Written By:
Kevin Smith

Dogma (1999)

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Movie Review by Thom
May 8th, 2008

Prodigal Son

Favorite Movie Quote: "Leave it to the Catholics to destroy existence."

More so than anything that Kevin Smith has ever done, Dogma is a strange mix of his ludicrous low humor crossed with incredibly purposeful dialog. Like Chasing Amy that preceded it, Dogma has something intensely personal to say that more than just Smith and his loyal followers can relate to. To a certain extent, Smith is preaching but, if so, what an entertaining, thought-provoking sermon it is.

Dogma is more or less a contemporary crusade aimed at the Garden State when two angels, Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon), who've been cast from Heaven and condemned to live in Wisconsin for once defying God, find a loophole in Catholic dogma, thanks to a church in Jersey, that automatically forgives all previous sins. Since God is infallible, the two being forgiven against the will of God will destroy all of creation. With God AWOL, Metatron (Alan Rickman) nudges angry Catholic Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) to take up the quest with the assistance of the two prophets, Jay (Jason Mewes) and his hetero-life-mate Silent Bob (Smith). Along the way they pick up the thirteenth apostle (left out of the Bible because he's black), the philosophically inclined Rufus (Chris Rock), and a muse, sexy Serendipity (Salma Hayek).

While it has all the requisite hysterical Kevin Smith conversations with Jay going on and on about the most inappropriate things that he'd like to do the Bethany and any other woman that he sees, that which elevates Dogma above just a comedic romp is the deep philosophical musings of several of the film's characters. It's clear that Smith is, as a Catholic, simultaneously happy, sad, angry, understanding, forgiving, and thoughtful about his faith, as many people are. Dogma doesn't cop out when examining how ridiculous organized religion is and has been, but it also posits that faith in something is better than faith in nothing, that religion shouldn't be condemned so much as re-evaluated.

Dogma had a higher budget than any of Smith's other Viewaskewniverse pictures, giving it the airs of being a better movie; it certainly looks more professional. But really what makes Dogma stand out as such a good movie is Smith's writing being a balance of his head and heart; something like Mallrats is all head with clever conversations but little substance, and it could be argued that Jersey Girl was more heart than head. When Smith gets his balance, as he did here and in Chasing Amy, he is capable of greatness.

I must also give props to one of my favorite scenes. As I was watching Dogma for the first time, I liked it, but this moment made me respect it (just the highlights):

Bartleby: My eyes are open; for the first time, I get it. When that little innocent girl let her mission slip, I had an epiphany. You see, in the beginning it was just us and Him, angels and God; then He created humans. Ours was designed to be a life of servitude, and worship, and bowing, and scraping, and adoration. He gave them more than He ever gave us; He gave them a choice. They choose to acknowledge God or choose to ignore Him. All this time we've been down here, I've felt the absence of the divine presence, and it's pained me, as I'm sure it must've pained you. And why? Because of the way He made us. Had we been given free will, we could choose to ignore the pain, like they do. But no, we're servants!

Bartleby: The humans have besmirched everything bestowed upon them. They were given paradise, they threw it away. They were given this planet, they destroyed it. They were favored best among all His endeavors, and some of them don't even believe He exists. And in spite of it all, He has shown them infinite f*cking patience at every turn. What about us? I asked you - once - to lay down the sword because I felt sorry for them. What was the result? Our expulsion from paradise. WHERE WAS HIS INFINITE f*ckING PATIENCE THEN? IT'S NOT RIGHT, IT'S NOT FAIR! We've paid our debt! Don't you think it's time? Don't you think it's time we went home? And to do that, I think we have to dispatch of our would-be dispatchers.

Loki: You sound like Lucifer, man! You've f*ckin' lost it! You're not talking about going home, Bartleby, you're talking about f*ckin' war on God! Well f*ck that. I have seen what happens to the proud when they take on the throne.

These are excerpts from not only my favorite scene in Dogma; but one of my favorite dialogs ever.

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