Review - Dogma

It's funny to laugh at the extreme irony of situations. Like how Dogma has been put down as being totally blasphemous when, to me anyway (I can't speak for the narrow-minded people on TV, or you, for that matter), it was actually a very honest, spiritually uplifting movie.

Certainly this is some of Kevin Smith's finest work to date. While there will always be a special place in my heart for Clerks, this film was marvellous as well. Upon repeat viewings, like the entire Kevin Smith Jersey Trilogy (Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy), this movie will surely become more and more adhered to my psyche. Soon I'll be reciting and quoting like there's no tomorrow.

This flick is wildly different than any of the Jersey Trilogy. While Clerks and Mallrats were pretty much on the same wavelength and Chasing Amy was similar but more serious, Dogma goes in a totally different direction. It was like the movie that Kevin was trying to make with Mallrats, a fun action flick, but with religious tones and a magical stroke of genius. There are scenes in the film that make you totally forget that this is a Kevin Smith movie, they're so different from his other work.

The cast is superb as well. Linda Fiorentino struck some major chords as Bethany, the "main" character. (Although the main character in Dogma is disputable...is it Bartelby and Loki? Bethany? Jay and Silent Bob? God Herself?) Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as Loki and Bartelby, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as Jay and Silent Bob, Chris Rock as Rufus, Alan Rickman as Metatron, Salma Hayek as Serendipity, George Carlin as Cardinal Glick, Alanis Morissette as God...brilliant, all of them. Who I can't get over, though, is Jason Lee as Azrael. I mean, wow. Affleck was a big wow too, but Lee was amazing. You have to see the flick (and Chasing Amy and Mallrats too, just to have the comparison) to truly understand the greatness of his performance. Trust me on this. Lee and Fiorentino: both great.

And hey, the guys from Clerks are even in this! Brian O'Halloran plays a newscaster (with the last name of Hicks, no less!), and Jeff Anderson plays a clerk (what else?) in a gun shop. Their pictures are even in the same frame in the credits...how cool is that?

But enough about me rambling. Just see the flick, for goodness sake. I can't think of a single reason why you shouldn't.

Grade - A++ (can I do that?)

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