Dogma [1999]

August 5, 2009

Dogma is one of those movies that had a really profound influence on my life. I know it sounds a bit lame and corny, but it did. This was the first time I got the opportunity to check out a movie that’s both funny and intelligent. With religion at the center of everything, Dogma was an eye-opening experience. For nine years, this was my go-to movie when it comes to religion, but then in 2008 Bill Maher released Religulous and the rest is history (I wish). Written and directed by Kevin Smith, Dogma boasts an impressive cast with a lot of hilarious cameos. None other than Mr. Conductor himself, The Great George Carlin plays Cardinal Glick!

I could easily just list the entire fucking cast here as proof of just how good this movie is. This is above all a fun comedy with a provocative plot, so even people who are religious can find it funny. Especially when you consider how carefully Smith structured the story and twists. And he never crossed the line so, despite a somewhat controversial story, this is not an offensive movie. Well, not in my opinion, at least. It just asks questions and offers some rather creative answers.

Now, if you think that this is one of those movies with a whole lot of talking and not much action, you would be wrong. With a hefty budget of $10 million, Dogma looks and feels great. And ten years later, it hasn’t lost any of its charms. Since there are so many jokes and brilliant scenes, it has a huge replay value. I just wonder how the younger generations are going to react to it. Will they like it or are they going to think it’s pretentious and outdated? I guess we’ll see in ten to twenty years.

Loki and Bartleby, two naughty angels have been cast out of heaven because of their mischief. Sentenced to forever roam the state of Wisconsin, they soon discovered the meaning behind the Death Trip. However, when they hear that a new Cardinal is going to change things up, they decide to get involved and try to get into heaven one more time. Not knowing that this will be quite problematic, the only person who stands between them and the heavenly gates is Bethany, an abortion clinic worker.

Rickman, Rock, and Salma Hayek were phenomenal along with an always hilarious dynamic duo consisting of one Silent Bob and one Jay. If you like satire and those long but intelligent and funny conversations about religion, sex, and everything else, you’re in for a treat. With impeccable pacing, Dogma is never boring. Every ten minutes something hilariously funny or outrageously strange happens. Like nude Chris Rock appearing out of nowhere and shit like that.

And don’t get me started on Salma Hayek doing another intensely erotic pole dance. I still don’t whether it’s better than the one in From Dusk Till Dawn. Finally, if you’re looking for more comedies about religion, you can start with two Monty Python’s classics Life of Brian and Meaning of Life. You can then move on to Nuns on the Run, The Invention of Lying and Saved.