Oh Dogma, how I love thee! I think that making this film may have given Kevin Smith the angel on his shoulder that saved him from his recent heart attack! Or maybe it was just George Carlin watching out for him? So damn funny and completely littered with top talent. There's just not enough positives I can say about this film.
Now, I'm not going to say that this is my favorite of writer/director Kevin Smith's films. I mean, it's no Mallrats! However, this is when you see Kevin really deliver a polished, Hollywood type film. That may sound like a "dirty" thing to his fans, but I see it more as his coming of age film. His previous three films were indie greats; from the low budget Clerks, to the under-appreciated Mallrats, to the gritty, somewhat taboo Chasing Amy, Dogma sort of came out of that and stood on it's own.
While we saw many old friends from previous films such as the hilarious Jason Lee playing the role of the demon Azrael, to Ben Affleck and his partner Matt Damon in the roles of cast out angels Bartleby and Loki, respectively. This film brought some other Hollywood big hitters who I imagine were anxious to be in one of Smith's films.
It really seems as though Smith, being raised Christian, was able to express his feelings on religion and the Catholic Church, without fear of having to sugarcoat anything to please the masses. He was honest, as always, and the dialog was superb! I'll never get enough of his style of witty banter. Essentially, Smith did present his own Dogma, on film.
The story follows Bethany, played by Linda Fiorentino, who is a woman who has lost her faith. That is, until she is visited in the night by the angel known as Metatron, the voice of God, played so righteously by the late Alan Rickman. Metatron informs Bethany that God has tapped her to go on a crusade to stop two angels, Bartleby and Loki, from undoing all of existence. And of course, it's going to happen in New Jersey!
All of this is possible because God, who apparently is a skee ball fanatic, has occupied a human body and has gone missing, therefore, he is unable to see the plot and halt it. We later find that God is in a coma and only being referred to as John Doe Jersey.
So the story goes that Cardinal Glick, played by my absolute favorite stand-up comedian of all time, George Carlin, is attempting to hold a rechristening of his church and stating that quote "All that pass through these archways shall be forgiven and a morally clean slate". Of course this makes the newspapers, one of which is sent anonymously from Azrael to the outcast angels Bartleby and Loki. Now, if Bartleby and Loki pass through the arches as humans, this would show God as being fallible, and would completely undo existence.
Along the way, Bethany meets a list of characters meant to aid her on her mission from God. Among these "Crusaders" are the always present and hilarious Jay and Silent Bob, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith; Rufus, the black apostle, played by the always funny Chris Rock; and the gorgeous Latin goddess Salma Hayek playing the Muse. On the other side, Azrael has sent a trio of rollerblading Hockey demons to hunt down Bethany and kill her before she is able to reach New Jersey and stop the two angels from entering the church.
There are definitely some seriously outrageous moments, like the shit demon attacking the group, that set this apart from any earlier Smith films, but also lays the groundwork for films to come. You also get the usual hi-jinks's that come with any Jay and Silent Bob appearances. Then there are the other cameos by those such as the always present Walt Flanagan and Brian Johnson, as well as their Comic Book Men side kick Ming Chen; Scott Mosier; another member of the Hicks family, Brian O'Halloran; Randle himself, Jeff Anderson; the comedic genius of Ethan Suplee; in her smallest role ever, Gwyneth Paltrow; and as the true form of God, Alanis Morissette.
This story was so good even to an agnostic like me. Kevin Smith has always found a way to make everything he does fun and relatable to fellow Gen-X'ers. He has a way of telling stories that is layered. Much like Romero did in his "zombie" films, you have the main theme of the film, but like in Dogma, there is a layer underneath that you're not going to find unless you're looking. In Kevin Smith's case, that is usually delivered by his character, Silent Bob.
This movie is fun, but only for those who can go into it with an open mind about religion. It's family friendly and appropriate for anyone over 12. That is also probably a good age to start exposing children to Kevin Smith, when they are still forming their own personality. The world needs more intelligent, witty, sarcastic people in it!
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