Dogma (1999) – 25th Anniversary – Review

Quick thoughts

1. Check out the Dogma website to learn more about the tour and where to watch it.
2. Grade – A 
3. It holds up. The comedy, ideas and performances still feel fresh and hilarious.
4. Linda Fiorentino is wonderful.
5. Jason Mewes and Alan Rickman are the MVPS. 
6. Affleck and Damon are great together.
7. For a wildly profane film, it’s loaded with excellent ideas.

One of my favorite all-time movie-going experiences happened in 1999 at an AMC theater in St. Petersburg, Florida. Watching Dogma in a packed theater was electric because everyone was excited to see what Kevin Smith’s “blasphemous” film was all about. All we knew was that controversies delayed the film’s release for close to a year and it featured Matt Damon, Alan Rickman, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, George Carlin, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, and Alanis Morisette in various roles. Aside from a few movie critics, no one had watched Dogma, but the idea of it inspired people to picket the film and write hate mail to Disney, the parent company of Miramax — the company that planned on releasing it. While watching the movie I distinctly remember thinking that the conversations started by the 128-minute film could be really important (I also thought the ”Knocks strong odors out” bit was hilarious). Dogma is an intelligent movie that is deeply rooted in faith, but it also questions organized religion in ways nobody was expecting. For instance, I remember perking up when Rufus (Chris Rock) says (about Jesus) “He still digs humanity, but it bothers Him to see the sh** that gets carried out in His name — wars, bigotry, televangelism. But especially the factioning of all the religions. He said humanity took a good idea and, like always, built a belief structure on it.” The line is interesting and can be explored by Christians and non-Christians who are looking to talk about Christianity and its many branches. 

Dogma revolves around two exiled angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) discovering a loophole (created by the Catholic Church) that will get them back into heaven — and out of Wisconsin. All they have to do is travel to New Jersey so they can enter a church and receive a plenary indulgence which will forgive their sins. On paper, the loophole is just a loophole, but if the two angels get back into heaven it will nullify all existence by disproving God’s omnipotence. Since God can’t be bothered to make the trip to New Jersey, her messenger Metatron (Alan Rickman) travels to Illinois and tasks an abortion clinic worker named Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) with the unenviable job of stopping the angels from destroying the world. In her quest to New Jersey, she meets two prophets (Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes), the 13th prophet (Chris Rock) and Serendipity (Salma Hayek), who help her avoid murderous poop monsters and hockey goons (with great shirts) sent to earth by Azrael (Jason Lee).

At its core, Dogma is a road trip comedy that blends heady themes with hundreds of swear words, countless sexual advances and mass murder. It’s a lot, and Smith admits that he could never replicate it because he was a “brave motherf***er” back in the 1990s. The reason Dogma works is that it’s an earnest exploration of religion created by a Catholic (Smith) who grew up in the church — but also had liberal-leaning views. The result is an intelligent piece of cinema that features an idiot named Jay (Jason Mewes) saying insane things like “We figure an abortion clinic is a good place to meet loose women. Why else would they be there unless they like to f***?”

I love that Smith was able to wrangle Dogma away from the Weinsteins, and I hope the 25th- anniversary tour and re-release are a success because it’s an excellent film that can still create conversations. The 4K restoration looks wonderful and the jokes are still as great as central air. Also, it’s fun watching Jason Mewes hold his own with Fiorentino, Rickman, Rock and Hayek. Since 1994, Mewes has impressed me with his ability to be likable while playing ultra-vulgar characters. It’s an unheralded skill that few can match and it’s super evident during his scenes with the legendary Alan Rickman. 

Final thoughts – Watch it in theaters!