DOGMA (1999)
By George Wu
Rating: *** (out of 4)
Kevin Smith is like a big kid. His humor is that of a sophisticated
juvenile's. He grew up idolizing Star Wars and loves comic books, having
also written a few. He also has a cult following, mostly composed of
teenagers, college students, and Smith's own fellow adolescent-minded
grownups. Smith is hilarious in person and in writing, but when he tries
to be earnest and moralize, that is when he goes wrong. Kevin Smith is a
better writer than director, and he'll be the first to tell you that. That
might also be part of the reason why his moralizing comes across as so
heavy-handed. Great directors show us their theses instead of having the
characters sermonize them. This was true in the overrated Chasing Amy, and
it is true for Dogma as well.
That is not to say Smith's message is a bad one. In Dogma, Smith tells us
that problems arise when people believe beyond any doubt that their insight
into God and God's desires is superior to anyone else's. Basically,
dogmatism is bad. Changing the minds of the dogmatic is virtually
impossible, and since the dogmatic believe that they have special insight,
they also know what is best for you, whether you like it or not. This is
not exactly a new message in movies (see Inherit the Wind), but I have no
problems with recycling old ones, particularly since Dogma's protesters are
proving Smith's point. Smith's own problem with delivering this message is
that he beats us over the head with it like we are reading a Dogma for
Dummies book. But this is Smith's personality, and his simplistic views
neglect such adult issues as how does one interpret the Bible (or Koran,
etc.) correctly (or if there even is a correctly) and how one settles
disputes of heretofore dogmatic concerns.
The story concerns abortion clinic worker Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) being
chosen by Voice of God, Metatron (Alan Rickman), to prevent the destruction
of the universe by two fallen angels, Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Angel of
Death, Loki (Matt Damon). Along the way, forgotten thirteenth Apostle,
Rufus (Chris Rock), stripper muse Serendipity (Salma Hayek), and slacker
duo Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith himself) come to
Bethany's aid. Fallen muse, Azrael (Jason Lee), proves to be the
behind-the-scenes manipulator for all the chicanery.
The logical but convoluted plot only exists as an excuse for the jokes and
to make Smith's points, and in itself, has little dramatic momentum. Among
the supposedly outrageous claims made by the film is that God is a woman,
Jesus was black, and the Bible was written by a bunch of racist,
misogynistic white men. Of course, Kevin Smith does not necessarily
subscribe to these ideas himself. They are a metaphor for the fears and
insecurities of the dogmatic. Smith says as much in his amusing disclaimer
that precedes the movie. When Harvey Weinstein asked Smith to put it into
the film before Cannes, Smith thought it might give validation to
protesters' claims that the film was sacrilegious, but then he rethought it
and turned the disclaimer into a joke.
The film's humor is uneven. Some parts are very funny as when Bethany goes
for a fire extinguisher when Metatron makes a burning-bush kind of
entrance. But many of the film's jokes just bomb, as in virtually anything
involving Salma Hayek's Serendipity. Also, some of the jokes can be seen
coming from a mile away. Still, Smith keeps the zingers coming at a
sufficiently rapid pace. Among the actors, Fiorentino and Rickman stand
out by far. Fiorentino virtually by herself gives the film emotional
weight. Damon and Affleck are fairly lackluster. Rock and Hayek exist in
the film pretty much only as comic relief as are Mews and Smith. But the
latter duo fare much better because Jay and Silent Bob, who recur in all of
Smith's movies, are much more in line with Smith's brand of humor. Bud
Cort, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo, Guinevere Turner, and Alanis
Morissette all make cameo appearances.
George Wu's Obsessed-About-Movies Page
http://pages.prodigy.net/zvelf/
Have I seen this movie: No
Will I see It: probably on video
