DOGMA
Dogma looks at Christian mythology as a sort of momentous soap
opera. Smith, who wrote, directed, and produced the film, has created a
story which, in tone, resembles Mike Judge's Office
Space. Bartleby and Loki (played by Hollywood pals Ben Affleck and
Matt Damon) are presented not as traditional angels but more like employees
of God, if you will, and they have been given their pink slips (expelled
from heaven) for insubordination. Loki, the angel of death, and Bartleby,
the judge who points out the sinners for Loki to toast, decided to take
a little holiday mainly because of Bartleby's sympathy for humanity. Now
they are living in exile in Wisconsin, but thanks to a revolutionary revitalization
program called "Catholicism Wow!" created by Cardinal Glick (George
Carlin), Bartleby sees a way for himself and his friend to get back into
heaven through a loophole in church doctrine. On a special "amnesty
day" created by the Cardinal, parishioners have merely to pass through
the archway of his church, and they will be instantly absolved of all sin.
As is decreed in the Bible, any law of the Catholic church is the law of
God, so our two renegade angels begin a road trip to Glick's church in Red
Bank, New Jersey.
Of course, since God knows all and sees all, the entire population of
heaven is onto our friends' plan. Another angel, Metatron, the voice of
God (Alan Rickman), is sent to convince a young woman named Bethany (Linda
Fiorentino) to go to Jersey and intercept Bartleby and Loki, since their
plan threatens to circumvent God's authority and thereby destroy all creation.
And why does God choose Bethany, a woman who is in the middle of a serious
conflict of faith? Because she just happens to be the last blood descendant
of Christ (well, of his siblings). Along the course of Bethany's grudging
fufillment of her destiny, we meet biblical characters like the demon Azrael
(Jason Lee), Rufus, the black apostle nobody knows about (Chris Rock), and
Serendipity, the muse (Salma Hayek), who has put her inspirational powers
to good use as an exotic dancer. There are also two hip-hop prophets named
Silent Bob (played wordlessly by creator Smith) and his friend Jay (Jason
Mewes), who serve as unwitting advisors to Bethany, although all Jay really
wants is to get in her pants. Indicentally, these two characters have appeared
in all of Smith's movies, including Clerks, Mallrats, and
Chasing Amy.
This film, to say the least, is a very down-to-earth representation of an interesting biblical story. It is, to say the most, heresy. But those who would call it sacreligious (and there will be many) should look beyond the foul language and crude humor, to see more deeply into Smith's intentions to give the dusty doctrines of the ancient faith a fresh new perspective. Foul language aside, the film has some interesing things to say about human nature, and about the nature of those non-humans we have come to know and love, and hate, and pray to, and obsess about, over the last few millennia. The script is incredibly witty, and the acting superb. Smith's directing choices, like those of "The Creator," are at some times baffling, and at other times ingenious. And you'll never guess who plays God. ****½