Dogma Reviewed - Movies - http://maxpages.com/xanadu/dogma

Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, George Carlan.
Director: Kevin Smith
Writer: Kevin Smith

Irreverant, some would say a bit sacreligious, and completely hilarious...that's Dogma in a nutshell. You know you are in trouble when a movie is started out with a disclamier, and the fact that the first image you see is George Carlan as a Cardinal clues you in that this movie is going to be a tad on the irreverant side. Kevin Smith chooses to take sores that are very open to irritation and pour salt into them. I am surprised the Southern Baptists haven't already started marching with flaming torches and pitchforks to storm Smith's house. Anyone who is deeply religious and has no sense of humor when it comes to religion need not watch this film (You also need to get your head out of your ass, but I won't go into that).

But for the rest of you, there is this enjoyable romp. Two angels (Affleck, Damon) are kicked out of Heaven many millenia ago and condemned to earth because they questioned God's judgement of people. Now they have found a loophole that would let them back into Heaven. The only problem with this is that if done, it would prove God could make mistakes and existence as we know it would be eradicated. God should intervene and stop this right? Well, she (that's right...she) would but Heaven has no idea where she has disappeared to after her little trip to earth to feed her skee ball obsession. So Heaven has to rely on its only hope to save them--the last direct descendant of Christ (Fiorentino), who just happens to be an abortion doctor in Illinois. Throw in some assistance from Rufus, the unknown 13th Apostle (Rock, in his best role by far), two hoodlums from Jersey (Smith, Mewes), and a muse with writer's block (Hayek, also her best to date), and you get the feeling this world is screwed.

All throughout this trip to the fateful church, some great comedic moments are thrown in as well as some witty dialogue. Aside from all the jokes, however, there are some important philosophical statements Smith is making about religon--how harmful institutionalizing it can be, how all religions don't really differ, how illogical and silly some of the beliefs are, and how mankind has corrupted it and lost sight of the true meanings behind it. I have been previously less than impressed with Smith's other work (Chasing Amy, Mallrats), but this time he hit the mark. Granted there are a few very shallow moments (I though the Golgothan shit demon was a bit much), for the most part this is a funny, very thoughtful movie. Many will be offended, no doubt, which is a shame, because Smith is not slapping God in the face or methaphorically pissing on the image of Christianity in today's society. Instead, he is offering a very well-balanced, though sometimes scathing look at what it has become due to man's well-intentioned blunders. Perhaps the overall theme is that God does have a sense of humor, and it is ok to laugh at religious things. I, for one, am glad to know that since I've been doing so for years now.

For those who are skeptical of the church and its motives, for those of you who loved every hilarious moment of Twain's Letters from the Earth, and for those of you who do not go into violent convulsions when a joke begins, "There was a preacher, a bishop, and a rabbi...," this is your movie. If on the other hand, you are deeply religious, then I suppose I'll just ask you to pray for me, because if it was a sin to enjoy this movie, I'm going to wind up in the seventh circle of Hell.

My Call: Devilishly funny.

Xanadu8503@aol.com

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