Kevin Smith hammers another one clear out of the ballpark with "Dogma," another original, wordy film grappling with serious life issues
under a veneer of outrageous situations and hilarious jokes. "Dogma" is an outlandish, giddy tale driven by philosophical musings on the nature of faith, the Catholic religion and the sweet joy of
being human. Smith's confident, unique vision is evident throughout this wild romp of an escapade through theological loopholes. His eccentric, focused voice is untainted with the cloying
falseness so obvious in movies tweaked to death by advance screening surveys or gutted by studio suits' numbing stupidity. "Dogma" is violent, profane, sarcastic and laced with wicked wit – no wonder
the boneheads at Disney backed away from this gutsy gem. This movie has balls, a foul mouth, laser-sharp intelligence and a genuine big heart.
The script is an actor's dream, bursting with
quirky speeches and complicated humor. Man, it's twisted! The opening scene involves fallen angel Loki (Matt Damon) chiseling away at a nun's faith while his compatriot Bartleby (Ben Affleck)
watches in disgust. The plot involves the efforts of the two to walk through a church in Red Bank, NJ, enabling them to re enter Heaven on a technicality… wiping out all existence in the process. In addition to the Matt 'n' Ben show
(these two work together as brilliantly in this film as they did in "Good Will Hunting")
the deliciously eclectic cast is headed by Linda Fiorentino ("The Last Seduction") as Bethany, the last scion, Janeane Garofolo as her co worker, Alan Rickman ("Sense & Sensibility") as an aggravated Voice Of God, Chris Rock as Rufus, an angry 14
th Apostle, Salma Hayek
as Serendipity, the Muse who now dabbles in more fleshly pursuits, George Carlin
as the Cardinal, Jason Lee as demon Azreal, and Alanis Morrisette as a goofy God.
All of the actors give terrific performances, handling Smith's complicated dialogue with aplomb. Smith's wordplay gives Tarentino's work a serious run for its money, no small praise when you
consider he's evaluating knotty issues of faith and religious beliefs. It's easier to be witty when writing for small-time crooks, but to be this funny and thought provoking when writing about God and
matters of faith is a whole 'nother matter. (I can't grasp the 'concept' of plenary indulgence but the movie explained what it was and how it works while making me laugh like crazy at the same time.)
Jason Lee ("Chasing Amy")
is particularly sharp as a dapper demon who dresses like Thomas Wolfe and Rickman's exasperated Voice of God is a delight. Chris Rock tears into the dialogue with his usual high energy rants. Damon and Affleck's teamwork is especially good in the boardroom murder scene. It's a long sequence, one that could easily deflate, but it keeps getting funnier thanks to the actor's delivery of their unbelievable lines and Smith's superb comic timing.
Smith and friend Jason Mewes
appear again as Silent Bob and Jay, who appear in all his films. This time they're an integral part of the plot instead of mere cameos and they're used brilliantly, especially Jay's hilariously profane outbusts. His rantings explode all over the place and keep the film from spinning off into utter silliness. I almost peed in my pants laughing when a mute God appears and Jay screams "What the hell is this, The Piano? Why doesn't this broad talk?" This ability to introduce something completely outlandish and immediately puncture any hint of pretension is one of Smith's special talents.
Another special talent is his ability to keep a story rolling through a flood of talk. No one in this film stops talking for a minute and it never gets stale. True, Bethany says "Why am I
doing this?" and acts befuddled a bit too often, but after all, it must be tough finding out you're responsible for saving the world. New and noteworthy is the inclusion of film references, such as the
line "No ticket!" taken from Indiana Jones, the slo-motion carnage of Hong Kong action films, Repo Man references and Tarentino-esque scenes of busy chatter followed by brutal mayhem in a sleazy bar.
This being a Kevin Smith film, the mayhem is brought about by a giant poo monster –
see the movie for more on that. The mayhem – and there's a lot of it – is directed with a flair for physical comedy and a sly sense of humor, shown off in the bus sequence and the scene of people
fleeing the hospital. Those scenes are a hoot on their own, but the addition of goofy music (the bus scene) and voice over of 'This is Armageddon, please leave in an orderly manner' for the hospital
scene push the ha-ha quotient all the way up.
All the fuss about Bethany working in an abortion clinic and murderous angels is a lot of hooey. Smith is showing what's on the surface
doesn't matter, it's motivation and character that are meaningful. He dares people to be outraged by the surface, when the real outrage is beneath the skin. Smith's assigning the last scion a
controversial job is meant to highlight how people focus on the wrong issues when dealing with matters of faith. He hits a bullseye exploring this idea with the revamped "Buddy Christ" a kitschy
nightmare worthy of a bad Jeff Koons sculpture – mocking the idea that religious beliefs can be spin-doctored like a commodity. The scene where the Cardinal introduces Catholicism Wow! is a mixture of
innocent charm, total sleaze and incredibly bad taste – so outrageous it's impossible not to laugh – setting the tone for this philosopher's movie wrapped in a jester's costume.
"Dogma" like "Chasing
Amy" and "Clerks" reveals pure sweetness in its closing scenes. Smith's conviction in his message – whether it's acceptance of a person for who they are as in "Amy" or in seeing what true love really
is in "Clerks" again comes through loud and clear in the touching ending. Prepare to be challenged, provoked and laugh like crazy when you see "Dogma." A bit messy and meandering, it's
still another intelligent, perceptive and thought-provoking film from a director who is now clearly one of the new young masters of contemporary film. Highly recommended. |
