Dogma (1999)

I didn't know it at the time, but watching _Mallrats_ on VHS as a kid was my first foray into View Askew, but it wasn't until _Dogma_ that I realised there was something bigger and better I could latch on to with Kevin Smith at the helm.

_Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._

I bought this as a DVD years ago assuming it was some kind of drama or thriller a la The DaVinci Code. Turns out it is a comedy - well, almost a farce it seems. As an atheist I am okay with mocking organized religion, but he plethora of blasphemy might be too much for some viewers.

There were a few plot holes that jumped out at me, but they were forgivable in this type of comedy. With a wink and a nod, they cast edgy comedian and atheist George Carlin as a big time evangelist or bishop or something.

It seemed to take a while for the various pieces of plot to merge together, unless it was just me being thick. The movie has some laughs and is well written in places. Alan Rickman looks like he is having fun, which meant that I did too when he was on screen. So yeah, it was a fun watch mostly, but on the other hand, I gave away the DVD, so there’s that.

Though I did think some of the visual humour here was a bit puerile, some of the writing really does expose the concept of religiosity across almost all faiths to some fairly unflattering scrutiny, and at times holds the idea of monotheism up to some carefully calculated and potent ridicule. Of course, it’s supposed to be a comedy and much like Monty Python’s satirical “Life of Brian” (1979) it is deliberate in it’s intent to poke some fun at something hitherto left well alone by Hollywood. The story is all about God’s former enforcer “Loki” (Matt Damon) who had got tired of killing Egyptian babies and visiting plaques on mankind, and so had quit. That left his boss quite cross and saw both him and his friend “Bartleby” (Ben Affleck) banished to live on earth with all the pesky humans. Then, one day they get a copy of a newspaper article that suggests that there might just be a way home - but that would come at one hell of a cost, and must be prevented at all costs. Any thwarting is going to be organised by “Metatron” (Alan Rickman) but is going to have to be implemented by the unwitting last scion “Bethany” (Linda Fiorentino) who hasn’t a clue about her legendary antecedence. How is she, a mere mortal woman, meant to stop angels? Well fortunately, she has some help in the guises of an apostle (Chris Rock), a muse (Salma Hayek) and a couple of prophets - the sex obsessed “Jay” (Jason Mewes) and his best pal, the very silent “Bob” (Kevin Smith). What we also quickly realise, is that someone mischievous must have sent them the idea in the first place, so strings are being pulled - but by whom? What now ensues sees a series of escapades unfold that entertainingly challenge some of the most established mores of scripture whilst questioning almost everything that might be sacred, not least suggesting the the Almighty might be more of an Almightress! It is a little uneven, but it does has enough purple patches, usually with the on-form Rickman, Hayek and unusually (for me, anyway) Chris Rock. Mewes plays as if he were straight out of a “Bill and Ted” adventure and I felt that Fiorentino held her ground really well as the frequently perplexed lass getting to grips with the extent of “immortality” that was now permeating her otherwise perfectly mundane life. It’s irreverent, uncouth and sometime very near the bone, but it’s the structure of organised faith rather than faith itself that is the object of the plot, and there are times when I did laugh out loud. Twenty-five years on, it has retained a degree of relevance and pertinence that auteur Kevin Smith ought still to be able to look back upon with some pride. Sure, it maybe a little too long - especially at the drawn-out conclusion, but it is really quite witty and Damon and Affleck bounce effortlessly off each other. I enjoyed this more than I remembered when I saw it first time round. Perhaps I’ve just become even more cynical?