Defiant or Offensive?
Does Dogma Goes Too Far?

Writer/Director Kevin Smith is well known in the film world for his quirky urban work. His first film, Clerks, is a small-budget legend. Mallrats and Chasing Amy helped to define his niche as an independent filmmaker. Now Smith has the clout and the money to make Dogma, his religious comedy about angels and demons, but it is raising more controversy than critique.

Dogma
Two fallen angels, Loki (Matt Damon, left) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck), try to return to heaven in the new Kevin Smith comedy, Dogma. (Lions Gate Films, 1999)
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Written by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, George Carlin, Alanis Morissette, Jason Mewes, and Kevin Smith

Rated R (for strong language including sex-related dialogue, violence, crude humor and some drug content)
Running time: 130 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 5 out of 10.

Dogma is an interesting story on the surface. It follows Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon), two fallen angels who have found a loophole in their banishment from Heaven. Because God said they would never be allowed back into Heaven, if they manage to do it, they will unravel all of reality. To stop them, the angel Metatron (Alan Rickman) appears to a young woman named Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), who is having her own doubts about her faith, and charges her with the task of driving to New Jersey and preventing the angels from carrying out their plan.

Her journey to Jersey is Oz-like in nature. Along the way she picks up two prophets (Jay and Silent Bob, recurring characters from Smith's other movies) and the unknown 13th Apostle, Rufus (Chris Rock). The trip for Bartleby and Loki is equally interesting, as Loki decides to go out with a bang by picking up his old job (he used to be the Angel of Death) and taking out a few sinners along the way.

Ever since early buzz about Dogma began circulating on the Internet, supporters of the Catholic church have been up in arms. They have condemned it for its portrayal of the church and the blasphemous way in which it deals with the subjects of God, the Church, and religion.

I'm not a Catholic, but I still found much of the film quite offensive. I'm not easily bruised, but I'm the type of guy who thinks that religious subject matter should be treated with a certain amount of reverence. There were crude jokes, profane language, and too many references to the anatomy of angels. After two hours, Dogma was difficult to tolerate. This is not a movie to recommend to Christians.

But what about fans of Kevin Smith? Dogma is different from Smith's early stories of Jersey life. But the humor is the same: snappy dialogue, intriguing conversations, and trademark inside jokes. Smith has indulged in irreverence, tackling the subject of religion with the same brashness that he has used to discuss drugs and sex in his previous films.

In addition to his regular cast of players, Smith has also inticed a lot of new talent into this film. Janeane Garofalo plays Bethany's co-worker. Salma Hayek appears as a lost muse. Jason Lee, who has appeared in two of Smith's other films, plays the demon Azrael. Of course, it's no secret that pop singer Alanis Morissette turns up at the end in a surprise role.

Dogma isn't without merit. As I stated, the premise is actually pretty intriguing. Smith has given us some interesting characters in Bartleby and Loki. Several scenes are genuinely funny. Some moments are reminiscent of Smith's earlier style. His examination of Lewis Carroll's story of "The Walrus and the Carpenter" as an condemnation of organized religion is clever. The depiction of the cartoon cow Moobee (a golden calf) as a symbol of idolatry is funny and thought-provoking.

In the end, Dogma comes off as another Kevin Smith movie, and for fans of his work it might be a let-down. The story is definitely different, and may need to be the subject of repeated viewings to really understand. For those who feel they would be offended by the subject matter, stay away.