|
|
Dogma
|
|
Affleck
|
By Jana J. Monji
Over two decades ago, George Burns did a turn as God who, in modern-day
America, decided to appear before a grocery store manager, played with
earnest conviction by John Denver in Carl Reiner's 1977, "Oh, God!"
I recall seeing this PG-rated movie with my mother who stiffly proclaimed
it disrespectful if not sacrilegious. Undoubtedly some people will have the
same reaction to Kevin Smith's R-rated ``Dogma.''
Smith, who both wrote and directed this quirky film, opens the film with a
written disclaimer that humorously results in other disclaimers about
platypus. You know from the start that whatever Smith's theological beliefs,
this isn't meant to challenge either the Catholic church or faith in God.
God's existence is a given from the start. What is challenged is how humans
realize or rationalize their belief. Early in the movie, fallen angel, Loki
(Matt Damon), startles a nun into questioning her religion. His companion in
the purgatory known as Wisconsin, Bartleby (Ben Affleck), asks him why? "You
know for a fact there is a God, you've been in her presence."
Loki was the angel of wrath until Bartleby convinced him to reconsider and
defy God's will. As punishment, both were cast out of heaven. But someone or
something tips them off to a loophole in the Catholic dogma that will enable
them to return home.
To do this, they must make their way to Red Bank, N.J. where a certain
Cardinal Glick (George Carlin) is determined to give Catholicism a makeover.
After all, "Christ didn't come to Earth to give us the willies," he explains
at a press conference where he introduces a smiling Jesus giving the
thumbs-up sign, "the Buddy Christ," that will replace the gloomy image of
the cruxifixion.
But if the renegade angels do make it back into heaven, they will,
according to the theological logic here, negate all existence. To prevent
this from happening, the high-ranking Seraphim Metatron,
the Voice of God (a droll Alan Rickman) comes to Earth to convince an
abortion clinic worker and lapsed Catholic Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) to
lead a holy crusade.
Her companions are an odd mix of lewd loonies and svelte sophisticates: the
talkative, ever-horny Jay (Mewes), the adoring Silent Bob (Smith himself),
the historically forgotten Thirteenth Apostle Rufus (Chris Rock) and a muse
named Serendipity (Salma Hayek) who is currently working as a stripper.
Smith's script is an odd mix of well-crafted wit and puerile humor that
oddly meshes this disparate group of actors together into an amusing yet
deeply thoughtful social commentary. This film somehow manages to make
bodily function jokes while also taking a sling at America's holiest cow,
Mickey Mouse, in the guise of a Golden Cow named Mooby.
Smith adds a dash of gender-bending in here from proof that angels don't
have sexual identities to the presentation of God as a woman, played with
smiling silence by singer Alanis Morissette (you hear her singing as the
credits roll).
If there is a message, then perhaps it's summed up when one character says,
"I have issues with anyone who treats God as a burden, not a blessing."
|
|
|
|
