Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon), a pair of angels who were banished from above and forced to spend much of eternity in Wisconsin, catch wind of a little-known religious ceremony that will allow them to re-enter Heaven. Metatron (Alan Rickman), the Voice of God, charges a doubting Catholic named Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) with preventing the angels from reaching their destination.

When Bethany cannot fulfill her duties alone, she is joined in her quest by the one apostle the Bible doesn’t mention (Chris Rock) and a muse who turned to stripping after she developed writer’s block (Salma Hayek). Also tagging along are Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), two of the unlikeliest prophets in the history of organized religion, although they’re not so much concerned about saving humanity as they are getting into Bethany’s pants.     

CRITIQUE

Dogma is by no means the worst movie Kevin Smith has written and directed, but it’s certainly the messiest. The movie is ambitious, and definitely has something to say, but it’s terribly uneven and unfocused. Smith was in his late 20s when cameras rolled, and even younger when he wrote the screenplay, and the end product exhibits many of the hallmarks of a work concocted by an artist who, while certainly talented, simply wasn’t mature or skilled enough to pull it off.

Inconsistency of tone is the movie’s biggest fault. A sincere debate on the flaws of modern religion shouldn’t be featured alongside Jay’s horniness, Silent Bob’s nod to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, or all of that business involving the cinematic universe of John Hughes. At the same time, the antics of Jay and Silent Bob shouldn’t be bogged down by a serious debate on the flaws of modern religion.

Smith also isn’t able to successfully combine the sacred with the profane; sincere religious beliefs and fantasy generally don’t mix when it comes to storytelling, and in Dogma they become a murky stew. I’m pretty sure everyone who’s seen the movie remembers the demon originally spawned from the feces deposited by those who were crucified atop Golgotha, but I doubt many of them remember the serious discussion of gender politics that precedes the demon’s first appearance. (I just watched the movie and I barely remember it.)

Speaking of the Golgothan, such a creature is the sort of thing an atheist or agnostic artist could employ in a religious comic fantasy (I could easily see James Morrow making it work in one of his novels, although I doubt he’d resort to such a silly measure), but here it seriously undermines Smith’s intent. Immature shenanigans such as this make it difficult to take the more serious aspects of the movie, well, seriously.

Dogma was the first time Smith worked with actors who’d already made a name for themselves (I’m not counting Michael Rooker or Sven Ole Thorsen), and the results are very uneven. Rickman, as you can easily imagine, is quite good, but the other big names turn in very poor performances. Hayek is, to put it mildly, way out of her element; Smith’s signature dialogue kills her every time she opens her mouth.

Fiorentino, who reportedly hated Smith (the feeling was reportedly mutual) and practically everyone else on the set (ditto), is miscast; she’s a good actress, but playing likeable characters isn’t her forte, and this seriously hampers the audience’s investment in her character. And as I’ve said before, Chris Rock simply cannot act; he’s a funny guy, but he’s definitely not an actor.

Here’s the odd thing: much of what I think doesn’t belong in the movie is what I enjoy most about it. I laugh at the allusion in Smith’s tossing the angel off the train, just as I laugh at Mewes when he picks the wrong moment to remind Fiorentino about their sex pact. I also think Jay’s post-climax fit is hilarious, as is practically every line that comes out of George Carlin’s mouth. Most of this doesn’t have any business being in this story, but damn if Smith doesn’t know what makes me laugh.

Finally, while Smith’s knack for crafting dialogue can’t make all of that theological banter any easier to endure (Rickman and Jason Lee are the only cast members able to make it anywhere near palatable), there are still moments where some of his words become a perverse poetry, such as Bartleby and Loki’s exchanges in the airport or their shouting match in the parking garage (still not sure how the end up in that garage, though).

THE VIDEO

Dogma marked the first time Smith and his gang shot in anything other than a flat aspect ratio, and the 2.40:1/1080p transfer does their efforts justice. The image is nicely detailed, with a depth and smoothness that affords it a near-consistent film-like appearance. A few shots are a little soft, and grain can spike in the darker scenes, but it’s nothing too bothersome, and is almost to be expected in such a modestly-budgeted a movie.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio (available in English or French) serves the movie’s sound design well. Dialogue is always clear and intelligible, and Howard Shore’s score sounds very good (and New Edition’s “Candy Girl” sounds better than it has any right to). The mix is largely front-heavy, although the surrounds are well utilized during the action sequences. Bass action is far from thunderous, but it’s certainly fitting. English, English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles are included.

THE EXTRAS

Sony hasn’t included all of the extras from 2001’s two-disc standard-def release of Dogma, but they have included the best ones.

In keeping with View Askew tradition, the cast and crew commentary, which features Smith, Mewes, Affleck, Lee, producer/co-editor Scott Mosier, and View Askew historian Vincent Pereira, is a hilarious, entertaining barrage of insults, vulgarity, jokes, and cheap shots. Great stuff, even if it has been edited to remove all references to Disney and Miramax (the movie’s original distributor).  

The technical commentary, which features Smith, Mosier, and Pereira, covers scripting, pre-production, filming, editing, etc., and also allows the participants to offer up their thoughts on the protests and controversy the movie encountered. This track, which has also been edited in order to protect everyone from the wrath of the House of the Mouse, is as interesting as the other commentary is entertaining.

As is often the case with a Smith flick, the deleted scenes are plentiful. The selection here runs more than 90 minutes, although the explanatory introductions supplied by the writer/director help pad out the running time. Half of these bits are extended versions of scenes that made the final cut, while the rest are completely excised moments. I’d argue most were wisely cut (the explanation Smith offers as to the nature of those three punks with the hockey sticks doesn’t work, but he should have left it in just for the sake of offering up some explanation of who they are), but it’s nevertheless nice to be able to view them, as there is some truly funny material contained within.  

A selection of outtakes (14 minutes) offers up flubbed lines, missed cues, etc., but this one’s a rarity--it’s actually worth watching.

Storyboards for three sequences are also included.

An amusing commercial for Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash (2 minutes), Smith’s hometown comic shop, closes out the bonus material.

FINAL THOUGHT

Members of Kevin Smith’s cult (such as myself) shouldn’t hesitate to pick this one up, but everybody else is strongly advised to rent it first.