Dogma (1999)
Directed by Kevin Smith
An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loophole and re-enter Heaven.
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Dogma pays welcome homage to an eclectic batch of movies, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, with Silent Bob doing his best Harrison Ford, and Weird Science--a shit demon attacks our heroes!
Also, and most annoyingly, along for the ride are Mr. Smith's omnipresent Jay and Silent Bob characters, the latter of whom finally manages to speak, only to utter - appropriately, I suppose - an "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" reference.
There's Chris Rock as Rufus, the 13th apostle, left out of the Bible because it was written by white guys; Salma Hayek as Serendipity, a heavenly muse who takes credit for the 20 top-grossing movies of all time except "Home Alone."
There's also plenty of "Tarantino-esque" dialogue where the characters talk about movies -- Bartleby jokes about Loki predicting "Crush Groove" would do better than "E.T." and a muse mentions that she was responsible for nineteen of the top twenty box office hits -- "Home Alone" being an aberration -- but while such moments are clever and elicit some "insider" laughs, the whole notion of using such dialogue doesn't have the sharp and novel edge it once did.
The muse played by Salma Hyeck reveals that she was responsible for all of the 20 top grossing films of all time, except one--"Home Alone".
Salma Hayek plays a muse who inspired the Bible and nineteen of the top twenty grossing films of all time (Home Alone only made it courtesy of a deal with the Devil).
It works more along the lines of something like My Dinner With Andre (1981) or Mindwalk (1991) than it does Clerks (1994).
"Dogma" is a hulking slice of Zeitgeist contagion, energized to the hilt by a vast, wisecracking cast that makes "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" look like "My Dinner With Andre."
My favorite knocks a different religion: While Mel Brooks parodied 1970s corporate takeovers in "Silent Movie," Smith is a harsher satirist, sending his avenging angels into the boardroom of a corporation that has made a fortune off a Mickey Mouse-style golden calf.
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The consistent message that has come from the Catholic protests against "Dogma" (just as it did from the Catholic protests against Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" or Jean-Luc Godard's "Hail Mary") is that it's a sin to question Holy Mother Church.
The prerelease ballyhoo is in the tradition of The Last Temptation of Christ's, Martin Scorsese's 1988 adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' controversial novel, in that it is not directly linked to the picture's content but to rumours of heresy.
The consistent message that has come from the Catholic protests against "Dogma" (just as it did from the Catholic protests against Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" or Jean-Luc Godard's "Hail Mary") is that it's a sin to question Holy Mother Church.
But Smith, who previously wowed audiences with "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy" and is a genuinely talented comedic writer, seems so keen to impress upon the audience his own views of religion, he sometimes sounds like a vicar himself, albeit one that tells dick and fart jokes.
Not to be confused with the Danish publicity stunt Dogma 95, this all-American publicity stunt, a comedy about Catholicism by New Jersey yahoo Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy), can be recommended to 11-year-olds of all denominations.
Such is the case with "Dogma," the latest film from the writer and director of "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy."
In this film, Silent Bob and his stoned buddy Jake (Jason Mewes) reprise the same roles they've played in "Clerks," "Chasing Amy" and "Mallrats."
Whereas the past Kevin Smith comedies, like the vibrant "Chasing Amy," were loaded with new ideas and concepts of intrigue, "Dogma" is a case in which the premise domineers the content--hearing about the film sets our hopes high, but seeing it proves otherwise.
Reluctant as she is to accept her "holy crusade," she does so, and receives help in the form of the 13th apostle, Rufus (Chris Rock), angelic muse-cum-stripper Serendipity (Salma Hayek: Wild Wild West, The Faculty ), and the unlikely prophets Jay (Jason Mewes: Chasing Amy ) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), the stoners who act as roving commentators in all of Smith's movies.
It works more along the lines of something like My Dinner With Andre (1981) or Mindwalk (1991) than it does Clerks (1994).
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Only someone serious about religion in general and Catholicism in particular could have made "Dogma," but those expecting a modern version of "The Song of Bernadette" or "King of Kings" are going to find themselves dazed and confused.
Smith has brought us Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Clerks.
In this film, Silent Bob and his stoned buddy Jake (Jason Mewes) reprise the same roles they've played in "Clerks," "Chasing Amy" and "Mallrats."
"Dogma" is the fourth film written and directed by Kevin Smith, and completes the self-professed "New Jersey trilogy" the auteur began with "Clerks" and "Mallrats."
After the meandering and inexplicably popular "Clerks", its better-left-unmentioned sequel "Mallrats" and the cute but obvious "Chasing Amy", Mr. Smith has finally created a movie that is unique and at times both insightful and funny.
Indicentally, these two characters have appeared in all of Smith's movies, including Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy.
Dogma is the fourth film from writer-director Kevin Smith, who has directed his share of smartass little movies: "Clerks" is a cheap but clever situation comedy, "Mallrats" is mostly a misfire but it has its moments, and "Chasing Amy" is a clumsily directed but funny and insightful anti-romantic comedy.