A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Dogma

Date Viewed: 11/22/99

Details:

Linda Fiorentino

Alan Rickman

Alanis Morissette

Matt Damon

Ben Affleck

George Carlin

Chris Rock

Selma Hayek

Jason Mewes

Kevin Smith

Director: Kevin Smith

Score: 1/2

The Review: One of the oddest movies I've seen in a long time -- good odd, funny odd, and interesting odd -- but nevertheless odd. A bit like Brazil, were it to have been done in an uneasy contest between Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino to see how darkly satiric they could be about established religious dogma while remaining just this side of tolerable. Not to say that line is never crossed, but the audience is warned with a series of humorous disclaimers up front. All hail the sacred platypus.

At the frequency with which religious themes have saturated this year's movie offerings, it's only about time that one of them would be funny, intentionally. Imagine George Carlin as the Cardinal from New Jersey, Alan Rickman as an angel, the Voice of God ("remember the burning bush...?"), Matt Damon as Loki, the Angel of Death (retired, expelled, and looking for a way back "home"), and Chris Rock as the (hitherto unknown) 13th apostle Rufus. Add to this rumors of a black Christ, Selma Hayek as a muse and stripper (as opposed to Sharon Stone), and Alanis Morissette as God -- a God who is addicted to SkeeBall. If you aren't grinning by now, you will not enjoy the movie. This is an ensemble cast of "big" names who obviously enjoyed working together on this project. The humor is broad, on many fronts, and the dialog is often quite witty (although the director Smith does not give his own mostly silent character much to say).

The plot combines a road movie (Fiorentino on a trek to NJ in the company of a pair of spaced-out maybe-prophets to save existence as we know it), with the menace of a twisted Stephen King novelette (a trio of murderous street hockey players under the command of a demon from hell), and a few tidbits of Catholic trivia (plenary indulgences, and a bizarre updating of Vatican III). As they travel towards New Jersey in a race with Damon & Affleck, the entourage slowly enlarges as clues and characters fall like pennies from heaven (literally). Fiorentino goes from a crisis of faith through several bizarre encounters through revelations of her future importance, and keeps her cool and a grounded credibility -- pretty much the sole human in an otherworldly cast.

The humor is a bit forced at points, occasionally cruel, and a bit random in its violence -- hence a less than fully positive recommendation -- but this has the makings of a cult classic. Enjoy.

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