Dogma is a 1999 adventure-comedy-fantasy film, written and directed by Kevin Smith, who co-stars in the film along with an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Bud Cort, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo, and Alanis Morissette.

Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson, the stars of Smith's debut film Clerks, have cameo roles, as do Smith regulars Scott Mosier, Dwight Ewell, Walt Flanagan, and Bryan Johnson.

The film is a satire of the Catholic Church and Catholic belief, which caused organized protests and much controversy in many countries, delaying release of the film and leading to at least two death threats against Smith.[1][2] The film follows two fallen angels, Loki and Bartleby, who, through a loophole in Catholic Dogma find a way to get back into Heaven after being cast out by God—however, as God is infallible their success in doing so would prove Him/Her wrong and thus undo all creation. The last scion and two prophets are sent by the Voice of God to stop them.

Aside from some scenes filmed on the New Jersey shore, most of the film was shot in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Overview

An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon by God to save the existence of humanity from two fallen angels trying to exploit a loophole and reenter Heaven.

Synopsis

The film opens with an old man looking at the ocean from a New Jersey boardwalk, outside a skee ball arcade. He is then attacked by three teenagers who beat him into a coma with hockey sticks.

Two fallen angels—Bartleby (Ben Affleck), a watcher, and Loki (Matt Damon), formerly the Angel of Death—were banished from Heaven by God after Bartleby convinced Loki to stop killing humans. Forced to live out their lives in a place worse than Hell, Wisconsin, the two see their salvation when a church in Red Bank, New Jersey, celebrates its centennial anniversary with a plenary indulgence. By passing through the doors of the church, their sins would be forgiven, and upon death they would regain access to Heaven. However, by doing this, Bartleby and Loki will overrule the word of God. Since the fundamental basis of existence is that God cannot be wrong, to do so would destroy existence itself.

In order to stop this from happening, the angel Metatron (Alan Rickman), the Seraph who acts as the Voice of God, appears to abortion clinic worker Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) and gives her the task of preventing Bartleby and Loki's return. Though reluctant at first, she changes her mind after she is attacked by the same three teenagers that attacked the elderly man and saved by Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), two prophets whom Metatron said would appear. In addition, she is aided by Rufus (Chris Rock), the thirteenth apostle who was left out of the Bible because he was black, and Serendipity (Salma Hayek), a muse with writer's block turned stripper. Along the way to New Jersey, Bethany finds out that she is the Last Scion, the last living descendant of Mary and Joseph, and the last living relative of Jesus Christ.

On the way to New Jersey, Loki decides to kill the entire board of a company whose mascot is a golden calf named Mooby for idolatry and various personal sins. They are hoping to get back on God's "good side" before their return. Bartleby thinks it is unnecessary but still reluctantly complies. The demon Azrael (Jason Lee), a former muse, convinces them to be more subtle in their attempt to reach New Jersey, claiming that both the forces of Heaven and Hell are attempting to kill them (since God won't let them succeed and undo creation, and Satan won't let them succeed for fear they'll make him look bad), and that Loki's killing sprees are not helping. The two sides meet on a train unaware of the identity of the other, where a drunk Bethany reveals the consequences of proving God wrong to Bartleby. When their identities are revealed, Bartleby breaks a bottle and holds Bethany with it as Rufus tries to talk some sense into him. A fight ensues and Bartleby and Loki are thrown off the train by Silent Bob.

Bethany's revelation changes both Bartleby and Loki, with sensitive pacifist Bartleby describing with glee how he felt when he had Bethany's life in his hands and wished he could have cut her throat. Loki, on the other hand, realizes the ramifications of what happens if they go through with it, and becomes reluctant to continue. Bartleby rants on the unfairness of God's rule and decides existence would be better off destroyed. Loki comments that Bartleby's rant reminds him of Satan, which Bartleby angrily reacts to, slamming him into a wall and telling him that they are going home, and there's nothing Loki, or even God, can do about it. Elsewhere, Metatron reappears, comforting Bethany as she copes with the revelation about her heritage, and the group ponders over who could have orchestrated the duo's plan. Admitting that God cannot be contacted, Metatron explains God had gone to Earth in human form to play skeeball and they have been unable to contact Him/Her; apparently, someone knew enough to incapacitate Him/Her and leave Him/Her alive but unable to return to Heaven of His/Her own will, but the group know that it cannot be Lucifer because he would have already made his move by this point, and he would have just as much to lose if Bartelby and Loki succeed as anyone else. During this time Rufus and Metatron also tell Bethany of her lineage and how, previously, Jesus similarly took until age thirty to come to terms with His, Metatron admitting that he briefly wished he could have taken back Jesus's divinity when the boy originally asked him to do so.

When Bartleby and Loki reach the church, Bartleby goes on a killing spree as a ploy to lure police to the scene, intent on letting them kill him after he enters the church. Watching from a nearby bar, Azrael (who, by this point, has captured Bethany, Rufus, Jay, Bob, and Serendipity with the help of the three teenagers) explains to Bethany that he is the mastermind behind their return to Heaven, wanting to destroy existence rather than spend eternity in Hell, but forced to manipulate Bartelby and Loki as demons cannot become human like angels can. He is fatally dispatched[clarification needed] when Silent Bob hits him with a golf club blessed by the Cardinal of the church, and his teenage minions follow when Jay, Rufus, and Serendipity dunk their heads into sinks filled with water sanctified by Bethany, thanks to her "divine heritage." Despite their capture by Azrael, the five heroes reach the church before Bartleby and Loki (who has cut off his wings and become mortal) can enter. Loki, now human (and drunk), tells Bartleby that the carnage has gone far enough and tries to help the others, but Bartleby lures him close and stabs him to death. He then fights Rufus, Serendipity, and Bob. When all hope seems lost, Jay mentions John Doe Jersey, a comatose patient in a hospital across the street who was beat up outside a skeeball arcade, and who is being kept on life support because of pro-life protesters. Realizing that this is God trapped in mortal form, Bethany and Bob race to the hospital as Jay foolishly shoots off Bartleby's wings with a submachine gun, turning him human. Bartleby, while half-crying due to the pain, laughs triumphantly as he becomes human.

At the hospital, Bethany removes the life support from God's human form. God manifests at the church (as Alanis Morissette) and neutralizes a remorseful Bartleby, who tearfully apologizes for all the damage he has caused, s/he then kills Bartleby by emitting a scream that is fatal to all mortals that hear it. God then brings back to life all the people who had been killed. Silent Bob shows up with Bethany's corpse, injured in the manifestation of energy when God had been freed. God heals Bethany, and at the same time conceives an heir inside her, to carry on Scion's line. All the heavenly beings return to heaven through the Church doors, leaving Jay to crudely hit on Bethany.

Cast

• Ben Affleck as Bartleby, an omniscient grigori watcher angel who, feeling sorry for the human race, asked Loki to lay down his sword. Both were expelled from Heaven and banished to Wisconsin. Initially the more laid back and reasonable of the two, his sanity snaps when he comes to the realization that God has given humans "infinite patience" and the choice of whether or not to worship Her, while the angels' lives were meant to be those of servitude and they in turn were exiled for a single transgression. He subsequently becomes a deranged, unstable killer but is later on defeated by God.
• Matt Damon as Loki, the former angel of death who, after getting drunk with Bartleby one day, lays down his sword and gives the finger to God, leading to his and Bartleby's expulsion from Heaven. More extroverted and humorously aggressive than his partner, he has no qualms about killing those who have committed harsh sins in the past with a recently purchased Desert Eagle, though he is unwilling to kill the innocent. He also likes to convince members of the clergy that there is no God, despite knowing full well there is, commonly using Lewis Carroll's tale of The Walrus and the Carpenter as an example of 'religious' figures leading the little people to their deaths; his stated reason for doing so is to "keep them on their toes". Loki experiences a role reversal when Bartleby snaps, and tries in vain to talk Bartleby out of going through with the plan but is killed in the process by Bartleby.
• Linda Fiorentino as Bethany Sloane, a worker at an abortion clinic who is given the task of stopping Bartleby and Loki from returning to Heaven. Her husband left her because an infection rendered her infertile, which has also made her a lapsed Catholic. She is the last living descendant (the last scion) of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph of Nazareth.
• Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as Jay and Silent Bob, two stoners/dealers/prophets from New Jersey who join Bethany on her quest after saving her from the demon triplets. They originally joined in the hopes Bethany would have sex with them, then because she would pay them, and finally to help save Earth. They stumble onto their prophecies completely by accident, with Jay just randomly blurting out unintentionally useful information and suggestions while Bob handles the more physical side of the current crisis.
• Chris Rock as Rufus, the thirteenth apostle who was written out of the Bible, which he attributes to racism. He knew Jesus, and claims that Jesus still owes him twelve dollars. He also says Jesus was Black, and that he was martyred in Antioch for preaching this. He helps Bethany, Jay, and Silent Bob to reach New Jersey in exchange for them helping him change the Bible (making sure he is included and that Jesus' race is corrected).
• Alan Rickman as The Metatron, the voice of God, as God's voice cannot be heard by humans or your "mind would cave in and your heart would explode within your chest" (Metatron muses that 'it took us five Adams to figure that out!'). A wise yet cynical Seraph, Metatron's demeanor is usually ruined by one thing or another getting on his clothes. Despite his sarcastic demeanor, it was Metatron who gently convinced Bethany why she has to continue on her quest, when she has a breakdown after finding out the truth about her lineage, admitting that Jesus had a similar reaction when he learned the truth and regretting that he was unable to take Jesus' heritage away to give the boy the chance at a normal life.
• Jason Lee as Azrael, a muse who was sent to Hell after hiding during the war between God and Lucifer. The film's true villain, he plots to wipe out existence itself by getting Bartleby and Loki back into Heaven: his reasons for doing so is that after spending millennia in Hell, Azrael would rather destroy existence and himself along with it than go back there. His minions are the Stygian Triplets and Noman the Golgothan. Azrael is actually the name of the Islamic angel of death.
• Salma Hayek as Serendipity, a muse who got a body on Earth so she could get credit for her work, only to find that her powers of inspiration couldn't be used for personal gain. She instead began work as a stripper (though she lacks female genitalia). She tells Bethany that God is really a woman, and she wrote the Bible to reflect this, but those actually doing the writing were all men and thus changed the entire book to put women in a more unfavorable light. It should be stated that in spite of her indignant stance on God's femininity, both Rufus and the Metatron state that God is neither male nor female, but is simply 'God'. She claims to be responsible for 19 of the top 20 movies of all time: someone sold their soul to Satan to inflate the grosses on Home Alone.
• George Carlin as Cardinal Ignatius Glick, a pompous, publicity-seeking Cardinal at a church in Red Bank who launches a campaign for a new form of Catholicism called "Catholicism Wow!", as well as discontinuing the standard "Jesus on a cross" motif in favor of a more upbeat (and controversial) "Buddy Christ", depicting an affable Jesus pointing and winking with a thumb up. Bethany describes him as "the kind of asshole who'd bless his golf clubs for a better game", which comes in handy when Bob uses a club to kill Azrael due to it being blessed by a man of God.
• Ethan Suplee as Voice of Golgothan "Shit Demon", Hell's Chief assassin, an "excremental" formed out of the excrement of all who were crucified at Golgotha when they died. He can fire explosives balls of feces from his hands as projectiles, and is strong enough to easily defeat five humans in combat. He is summoned by Azrael to attack Bethany, but is defeated by Silent Bob with air freshener ('knocks strong odors out').
• Barret Hackney, Jared Pfennigwerth, and Kitao Sakurai as The Stygian Triplets, three teenagers brought from Hell by Azrael to aid in his machinations. They wear roller skates and wield hockey sticks. In a deleted scene, they are revealed to have murdered a toddler by smashing its skull in while they were still alive, just to see what it looked like. They were killed in a car crash on the way to a detention center. Jay, Rufus and Serendipity defeat the three by dunking their heads in blessed water (courtesy of Bethany). They are never shown talking, but they do seem to emit an audible sound similar to buzzing insects such as flies or locusts.

Other players

• Janeane Garofalo as Liz
• Alanis Morissette as God
• Bud Cort as John Doe Jersey
• Brian Christopher O'Halloran as Grant Hicks
• Jeff Anderson as Gun Salesman
• Scott Mosier as Smooching Seaman

Controversy

Although there was no opposition to the film while the actual filming and pre-production was taking place, the following months of post-production and publicity were plagued with controversy over a perceived anti-Catholic message in the film.

In an interview, Smith said: "You gotta find the line, and then cross it".

Over time, the filmmakers received over 300,000 pieces of hate mail, which Smith posted on his website. Among these were "two-and-three-quarters" death threats. Smith explained this in his movie An Evening with Kevin Smith: One of the letters was threatening to start with, then became more friendly further on. The Catholic League in particular attacked Disney and Miramax, the original distributors, for being anti-Catholic. The film was originally scheduled to come out in November 1998, but was pushed back to November 1999 in the hopes the controversy would die down. When that didn't work, Disney sold the film's distribution rights to Lions Gate Entertainment.

When the film actually came out, Kevin Smith and his friend Bryan Johnson participated in a protest at the Sony Multiplex in Eatontown, New Jersey, carrying a sign which read "Dogma is Dogshit." A news crew captured the incident and broadcast an interview with Smith (though he wouldn't give his real name and gave Johnson's as his own) on News 12 New Jersey that can be found on YouTube.

Disclaimer

The film opens with the following disclaimer:

Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass; 4) a foresaid word for not being blamed later.

Though it'll go without saying ten minutes or so into these proceedings, View Askew would like to state that this film is from start to finish a work of comedic fantasy, not to be taken seriously. To insist that any of what follows is incendiary or inflammatory is to miss our intention and pass undue judgment; and passing judgment is reserved for God and God alone (this goes for you film critics too... just kidding).

So please before you think about hurting someone over this trifle of a film, remember: even God has a sense of humor. Just look at the Platypus. Thank you and enjoy the show.

P.S. We sincerely apologize to all Platypus enthusiasts out there who are offended by that thoughtless comment about Platypi. We at View Askew respect the noble Platypus, and it is not our intention to slight these stupid creatures in any way. Thank you again and enjoy the show.

Reception

The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay as well as a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America honor for Best Screenplay.

Critics were mostly mixed to positive about the film, with a 68% on rottentomatoes.com. It did better with fans, getting a respected 82% by the RT community.

DVD

In 2001 a two-disc special edition DVD of the film was released with numerous extra features including:

• Commentary by director Kevin Smith, actors Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes and Jason Lee, Uber-producer Scott Mosier and View Askew Historian Vincent Pereria
• Commentary by director Kevin Smith, Producer Scott Mosier and View Askew Historian Vincent Pereira
• Complete Set of Storyboards from Three Major Scenes
• 100 minutes of deleted scenes with View Askew Crew Intros
• Cast and Crew outtakes
• Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash Spot
• Saints and Sinners Talent Files

The DVD was originally scheduled to include a documentary called Judge Not: In Defence of Dogma, which detailed the protests and controversy surrounding the film. Because the documentary portrayed The Walt Disney Company quite negatively in their handling of the film, Disney threatened legal action, forcing the featurette to be removed. The documentary was eventually released on the DVD for Vulgar. For the same reason, all references to Disney on the DVD's running commentaries are censored.[citation needed]

Sequel

In late November 2005, Smith was asked about a possible Dogma sequel on the ViewAskew.com message boards. His response:

Smith later commented he was amazed that the post was picked up by the press and noted that he had only thought about it and had not actually written anything yet. Smith also stated that even if the project ever formulates, it is a very long way off.

A one-shot comic featuring Bartleby and Loki was announced by Smith in 2000. It was going to be a 50 (or so) page story detailing how these two angels confronted God and were kicked out of Heaven and forced to stay in Wisconsin. As of February 2009, the comic remains on Smith's agenda, but has not been worked on.[citation needed]

Production

• The "Mooby's" restaurant used in the movie was a remodeled Burger King location in Pittsburgh. The store, as well as numerous other Burger King locations nationally at this time, closed down unexpectedly shortly before filming as a result of the company's financial problems at the time.
• Before shooting, Kevin Smith warned Jason Mewes that he needed to be on point due to the involvement of "real actors," such as Alan Rickman. As a result, Mewes memorized not only his dialogue, but the dialogue for every character in the entire screenplay, much to Smith's surprise. [3]
• Smith originally approached director Robert Rodriguez to direct the film. Rodriguez turned him down, citing the fact that the film seemed too personal, and suggested that Smith should direct it himself.
• Footage of the exterior shot of the train scene was recycled from the movie Narrow Margin (1990).
• Smith originally had Samuel L. Jackson and Will Smith in mind to play Rufus.
• Two prominent Pittsburgh buildings are used in this movie: the U.S. Steel Tower (Mooby Inc.), and The Grand Concourse (the fancy restaurant). The conference room massacre-scene was filmed in the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. All the props in the room were fakes, except for the phone that Loki (Matt Damon) threw a knife into.
• The "Wisconsin" airport scene in the beginning of the film was actually shot at Pittsburgh International Airport, complete with cheesehead stands.
• There is no church in McHenry, Illinois that looks like the one featured in the movie. The same church is seen in the Blues Brothers movie, though, which takes place in Illinois, as well.
• The Church is actually in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania it is St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church - Larimer Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
• Alanis Morissette plays God in Dogma; she also wrote and recorded the song "Still" for the movie. "Still," and the film's orchestral score by Howard Shore, were released on the album Dogma: Music from the Motion Picture.
• Jay makes a reference to The Piano when he first sees God (Alanis Morissette). Holly Hunter, who starred in (and won an Oscar for) The Piano, was approached at one time to play God. Although she declined the part, Kevin Smith chose to keep the line in the movie.
• According to Kevin Smith's comments on the Dogma publicity stills on the film's official website, there was going to be a final face-off between Silent Bob on one side and the redhead Triplet and the Golgothan on the other side in the hospital. The Triplet would come back with a burned-out face, and at the end of the battle, God would turn the Golgothan into flowers. The scene was dropped from the final cut of the film.[4]
• The scenes shown outside of the abortion clinic were in a city outside of Pittsburgh called New Kensington. The place was actually a private doctor's office, but had been without a tenant for years.
• The bar and strip club scene were filmed in Slap Shots Bar in Dormont right outside of Pittsburgh limits.

References

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