Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), who works in an abortion clinic, is amazed to receive a night-time visit from Metatron, (Alan Rickman), an angel who claims to carry the word of God. He explains that a pair of fallen angels, Bartleby (Ben Affleck), and Loki (Matt Damon), who have been living in the purgatory of Iowa, will try to re-enter heaven via a loophole involving a church in New Jersey – Bethany's mission is to stop them. Soon she's joined by a scruffy pair of so-called prophets – who turn out to be Jay (Jason Mewes), and Silent Bob, played by writer-director Kevin Smith – we've met these guys before in Smith's earlier films. On the side of the angels are Rufus (Chris Rock), the 13th disciple, and stripper Serendipity (Salma Hayek), a muse.
Deliciously acted and consistently amusing
Kevin Smith's "comic fantasia" is as cheerfully irreverent towards organised religion as Monty Python's Life Of Brian – it has something to offend almost everyone, but there's a serious core as the non-religious Bethany discovers a kind of faith on her odyssey. The humour covers a wide field and the main target is the Catholic Church, but there are also caustic jokes aimed at of John Hughes and Charlton Heston movies, the Disney company, trendy priests, and the very character and colour of God (she's black and lonely, but has a great sense of humour).
Dogma is deliciously acted and consistently amusing, but it's much, much too long – at times it seems like a sermon. A bit of editing might have resulted in an even funnier movie.
Margaret's comments: There is a feeling that Kevin Smith's reach is a little beyond his grasp with Dogma. There are moments of sheer hilarity but not enough sustained clever satire to give the film the exhilarating feeling it's obviously aiming for. Alan Rickman's performance lifts the film immeasurably whenever he's on screen. Far from being irreligious it's actually quite a devout film with a perverse dose of blasphemy for good measure. And it's way too long, if only Smith had cut the more tedious bits.
