Dogma (film)

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Dogma
Directed by Kevin Smith
Produced by Scott Mosier
Kevin Smith (uncredited)
Written by Kevin Smith
Starring Linda Fiorentino
Ben Affleck
Matt Damon
Salma Hayek
Alan Rickman
Bud Cort
Chris Rock
Jason Lee
Jason Mewes
Kevin Smith
George Carlin
Music by Howard Shore
Distributed by Lions Gate Films
Release date(s) November 12, 1999
Running time 130 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $10,000,000 US
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Dogma is a 1999 comedy film, written and directed by Kevin Smith, who stars in the film along with 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 religious satire of the Catholic Church throughout the film caused organized protests and much controversy in many countries, which resulted in long delays in releasing it and also at least three serious death threats against Smith.[1][2]

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

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.

This film was rated R by the MPAA “for strong language including sex-related dialogue, violence, crude humor and some drug content”.

Like many of Smith's films, the movie is noted for its heavy use of profanity; The word "fuck" is used 106 times in the film, for a rough average of 0.82 "fuck"s per minute, and the word "shit" is used 38 times in the film, a rough average of about once every 3.34 minutes.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Two fallen angels – Bartleby (Affleck), who is a Grigori, and Loki (Damon), formerly the Angel of Death, were banished by God to spend all eternity in a place worse than Hell (namely Wisconsin) after Loki, who'd just slaughtered the first born in Egypt (The Tenth Plague), had gotten drunk and was convinced by Bartleby to resign as the Angel of Death. He renounced God and left Heaven, flipping Him off on the way out, thus costing their entitlement to eternal paradise; they were condemned not to go to hell, but to spend eternity outside of Heaven's gates.

Grigori and Loki find a loophole in their punishment
Grigori and Loki find a loophole in their punishment

Azrael (Lee), a demon (and fallen muse) with a hidden agenda, secretly sends the duo a newspaper article about a church in New Jersey where a Cardinal (Carlin) has declared a blanket amnesty in the form of a plenary indulgence (a perennial misunderstanding of the term) and initiated a contemporary Catholic image campaign--"Catholicism Wow!" with the 'happier' savior: Buddy Christ! --in celebration of the centennial anniversary of his church. This blanket forgiveness would allow Bartleby and Loki to be removed of all sin and allow them entry into Heaven.

The Metatron aka the voice of god
The Metatron aka the voice of god

However, amnesty for these fallen angels would necessarily constitute overruling the word of God (Alanis Morissette in a cameo role). And, as explained in the movie, the fundamental basis of creation in all forms is the principle of God's infallibility (in other words, what She says that is going to happen will, and that She is always correct). That means that since Bartleby and Loki were banished eternally from Heaven, their return to it would subvert God's word; the result would be not just the end of the world, but the annihilation of all creation.

Bethany awoken by the sudden firey entrance of the Metatron
Bethany awoken by the sudden firey entrance of the Metatron

The angel Metatron (Rickman), the Seraphim who acts as the Voice of God, appears to abortion clinic worker Bethany (Fiorentino) and tells her she is the Last Scion, the last living descendant of Mary and Joseph, and thus the last living relative of Jesus Christ, and gives her the job of preventing Bartleby and Loki's return. At first she is reluctant, but changes her tune after she is attacked by three teenagers (who were sent to Hell for bashing in a baby's skull to see what it looked like) under the command of Azrael. She is aided by Rufus (Rock), the thirteenth apostle who was left out of the Bible because he was black; Serendipity (Hayek), a writers-blocked muse turned stripper; and the prophets Jay and Silent Bob (Mewes and Smith).

The major theme of the film is about modern people regaining their faith in God, and the danger in faith being confused with dogma. The film also is critical of the usage of religion to justify greed, war, racism, and homophobia. It also states that Heaven is for everyone, not just one religion, and that a person's race, religion, sexuality, and upbringing will not condemn him/her to eternal damnation, as long as s/he is a purehearted, good person.

Alanis Morissette plays God in Dogma; she also wrote and recorded the song "Still" for the movie.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
  • Bethany Sloane - a worker at an abortion clinic who is given the crusade to stop Bartleby and Loki from returning to heaven. Her husband left her because an infection from an abortion when they were still in school rendered her infertile. The last living descendant of Mary (who was the mother of Jesus) and Joseph of Nazareth. At the end of the movie, Metatron says that she is pregnant with a new last scion.
  • Rufus - the 13th apostle who knew Jesus (Jesus still owes him 12 bucks) and comes to help guide Bethany, Jay, and Silent Bob to New Jersey in exchange for them helping him change the Bible (To ensure he is included and that Jesus' race is corrected. Jesus, according to Rufus, was black.)
  • Bartleby - a watcher who knows everything about anybody, whose request of Loki to lay down his sword causes his expulsion from heaven and banishment to Wisconsin. Transubstantiates but is "killed" by God at the end of the movie, ceasing to exist (thus no longer being banished but not reversing God's decree either).
  • Loki - The former angel of death who after getting drunk with Bartleby one day lays down the sword and flips off God, causing his expulsion from heaven and banishment to Wisconsin. He was killed by Bartleby in the climax of the movie.
  • Azrael - A muse who was sent to hell after hiding during a war between heaven and hell, who returns to earth as a demon with a plan to destroy existence through Bartleby and Loki. His minions are the Stygian Triplets and Noman the Golgothan. Azrael was killed after Serendipity inspired Silent Bob to use Cardinal Glick's stolen driver as a weapon. Since the club was blessed by Glick for a better golf game, it was able to destroy Azrael, a demon. Azrael is actually the name of the Islamic angel of death
  • 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 sleep with them, then because she would pay them, and finally to help save the world. Both do, in fact, help save the world: Bob finds the article about Cardinal Glick that leads to the two stoners stealing the blessed golf club that kills Azrael; Jay reveals where God has been hidden all this time.
  • Metatron - the voice of God. Hates getting his clothing wet or dirty. Very cynical. Best known for a scene in which he meets Bethany and exposes his lack of genitalia.
  • Serendipity - muse who got a body on earth so she could get credit for her work, but caught a case of writer's block, reportedly God's idea of a joke, and began work as a stripper.
  • Cardinal Ignatius Glick - Cardinal at a church in Red Bank who launches a campaign for a new form of catholicism called "Catholicism Wow!"
  • Noman the Golgothan - Hell's Chief assassin, formed out of the excrement of all who were crucified at Golgotha. Summoned by Azrael to attack Bethany in the strip club scene. Defeated by Silent Bob with air freshener.
  • Stygian Triplets - Three teenagers brought from Hell by Azrael to aid in his machinations. It is revealed in a deleted scene that, in life, they had murdered a toddler by smashing its skull in, 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.

[edit] 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-Christian message read into 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-a-half" 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 (U.S.) in particular attacked Disney and Miramax, the original distributors, for being anti-Catholic. The film was originally scheduled to come out in November of 1998, but was pushed back to November of 1999 in the hopes the controversy would die down. When that didn't work, Disney sold the film's distribution rights to Lions Gate Films.

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 a disguised Smith on the evening Channel 12 news.

[edit] 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, producer Scott Moiser 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 deleted scenes include one where Loki explains to Silent Bob his take on Star Wars and how it is actually about religious conflicts.

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.

In a 2005 radio interview, Smith announced the possibility of a new edition of the DVD in the coming years.

In a recent interview, Smith said that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, the home video distributors of the film, is really wanting to release an extended edition DVD, much to his surprise. Some fans have stated that if a 10 year anniversary DVD is put out, scenes that should be made (a la The Lost Scene in Clerks X): Loki laying siege to Egypt, Loki giving God the finger, The Hosties Commercial, and The vision of hell.

See also: New Jersey films.

[edit] Sequel?

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

"So weird you should ask this, because ever since 9/11, I have been thinking about a sequel of sorts. I mean, the worst terrorist attack on American soil was religiously bent. In the wake of said attack, the leader of the "Free World" outed himself as pretty damned Christian. In the last election, rather than a quagmire war abroad, the big issue was whether or not gay marriage was moral. Back when I made "Dogma", I always maintained that another movie about religion wouldn't be forthcoming, as "Dogma" was the product of 28 years of religious and spiritual meditation, and I'd kinda shot my wad on the subject. Now? I think I might have more to say. And, yes - the Last Scion would be at the epicenter of it. And She'd have to be played by Alanis. And we'd need a bigger budget - because the entire third act would be the Apocalypse. Scary thing is this: the film would have to touch on Islam. And unlike the Catholic League, when those cats don't like what you do, they issue a death warrant on yer ass. And now that I've got a family, I'm not as free to stir the shit-pot as I was when I was single, back when I made "Dogma". I mean, now I've gotta think about more than my own safety and well-being. But regardless - yeah, a "Dogma" followup's been swimming around in my head for some time now."[1]

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 January 2007, the comic remains on Smith's agenda, but has not been worked on.

[edit] References to other View Askewniverse films

  • The "Got Nails?" poster in the train when Silent Bob throws out the two angels is the same as the one which is outside of the Quickstop in the movie Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II. Silent Bob also has a zippo lighter featuring the fictitious company.
  • On the train, Jay can be heard describing the events of Mallrats to Bartleby and Loki.
  • In the train scene where Rufus and Bethany are talking in the train car, Rufus is wearing a Moobys shirt, the restaurant/corporation seen in the movie, along with Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks II.
  • On the train when Rufus wakes up he mutters the words "poopie trim", that is the same phrase William Black mutters in Mallrats.
  • After the climatic scene at the church, Jay suggests to Silent Bob that they travel to "Quick Stop," the New Jersey convenience store that acted as the chief filming location in Clerks and was seen again in Chasing Amy.
  • Azrael (Jason Lee) says to one of the Stygian Triplets "One side, Red." Lee's character in Mallrats said the same line while pushing through the crowd in front of the mall comic book store.
  • God in human form (Bud Cort) is seen outside a skeeball arcade. Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams' characters played skeeball at a boardwalk arcade in Chasing Amy.
  • The newscaster played by Brian O'Halloran in the airport scene, when Loki is reading the newspaper article, is named Grant Hicks, a reference to Gil, Jim, and Dante Hicks who were all played by O'Halloran in Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Clerks, plus the other View Askewniverse movies. These four people are known as the Identical Hicks Cousins, according to Kevin Smith, because they all look the same but are not brothers.
  • When Loki and Bartelby try to get tickets to New Jersey, there is a sticker on the window that says 'DERRIS', a reference to View Askew regular character Rick Derris. The "DERRIS" bus line is seen again in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
  • At the end of the credits, it says "Jay and Silent Bob will return in Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin". While the actual Clerks II was not released until 2006, the characters of Jay and Silent Bob followed their appearance in Dogma with appearances in the short-lived Clerks: The Animated Series. Film-wise, their next roles were in the 2001 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

[edit] References to other media

  • When Loki (Damon) is trying to talk the nun out of Christian faith in the beginning, he refers to "The Walrus and the Carpenter" from the book Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll.
  • After the scuffle on the way to New Jersey (when Silent Bob (Smith) throws Bartleby (Affleck) and Loki (Damon) off the speeding train), Silent Bob looks at a man sitting in a seat near the door and says in a strong tone "No ticket," a direct reference to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Jones throws a German officer out the window of a Zeppelin.
  • The Metatron (Rickman) refers to the Karate Kid movie series saying "Wax on, Wax off" when God places her hands over Bethany and resurrects her.
  • The Metatron makes another reference to "The Six Million Dollar Man" telling Bethany "She can rebuild you. She has the technology. She can make you better, stronger, faster".
  • When Rufus (Chris Rock) first falls out of the sky, Jay comments, "Maybe he has a message written on him, like in Con Air!" In the movie Con Air, Dave Chappelle's character was killed, had a message written on him and was thrown out of a plane carrying prisoners to alert the authorities that the plane was hijacked.
  • In the scene when Bartlbey and Loki confront Cardinal Glick in front of the church Cardinal Glick asks a police officer named McGee to remove them in which Bartleby replies "Don't make me angry, Mr. McGee, you won't like me when I'm angry". In the Incredible Hulk t.v. series there is a reporter name McGee and "You won't like me when I'm angry" was a popular line from the show.
  • There are a few references to the films of John Hughes films. Sixteen Candles, Weird Science and The Breakfast Club are all mentioned by Jay in the diner scene when he speaks of searching for Shermer, Illinois. Serendipity also references Home Alone as the only of the top 20 highest grossing films that she didn't inspire.
  • Mooby the Cow, the Mickey Mouse like character, originated in this movie before it went on to be in other View Askewniverse films was a reference to the Old Testament book of Exodus when Moses finds his people worshiping the Golden Cow. (a way of pointing out that media and characters can sometimes become our false gods)

[edit] Production

  • Smith had this script written before he wrote and shot Clerks., shelving it only because he did not have the proper financing for special effects to pull it off at the time. The end credits of Clerks included the line "Jay and Silent Bob will return in Dogma".
  • 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 Kevin Smith's surprise. [2]
  • Kevin 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.
  • Two prominent Pittsburgh buildings are used in this movie: the U.S. Steel Tower (Mooby Inc.), and The Grand Concourse (the fancy restaurant).
  • During the board room scene Loki (Matt Damon) refers to a board member as "Mr. Burton". This may be a reference towards director Kevin Smith's relationship with Tim Burton after an incident involving a press misquote.
  • The "Wisconsin" airport scene in the beginning of the film was actually shot at the Pittsburgh Airport complete with "cheesehead" stand-ins.
  • 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.

[edit] Goofs

  • In the board room scene, when Loki is carving a voodoo doll, the head of the doll can be seen falling off just as the camera pans over to Bartleby.
  • When Bartleby is listing off Mooby products and divisions, he apparently only misses the magazine, but he doesn't mention the fast food chain that is seen earlier in the movie.
  • Near the end of the film, God (Morissette) walks out into the middle of the street and stands right next to Loki's (Matt Damon's) body. This is just before she makes all of the bodies and carnage disappear. As the camera zooms in toward her, you see Loki's right leg start to move as though Damon was getting up too soon, before he was no longer visible in the shot.
  • After Rufus falls to earth, when he is reading the Aramaic to Bethany, he concludes by pointing out Jesus' name Left-to-Right while Aramaic is read Right-to-Left
  • When referring to Asbury Park, NJ, Jay claims the Boardwalk is only five miles away from the church in Red Bank, NJ. In reality, Asbury Park is approximately 10-15 miles away from any location in Red Bank.

[edit] References

  1. ^ “Mr. Smith Goes to Austin” by Kimberley Jones, “Austin Chronicle”, August 10, 2001
  2. ^ “Kevin Smith is seldom 'Silent'” by Andy Seiler, “USA TODAY”, October 24, 2001

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
v • d • e
Kevin Smith
Films
The View Askewniverse: Clerks | Mallrats | Chasing Amy | Dogma | Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Clerks II
Other: Jersey Girl | An Evening with Kevin Smith | An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder
Upcoming: Untitled Horror Project | Untitled non-Askewniverse comedy | Clerks: Sell Out
Abandoned: The Green Hornet | Superman Lives | Fletch Won
Comics
Clerks | Walt Flanagan's Dog | Chasing Dogma | Bluntman and Chronic | Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do | Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target
Notable characters
Jay and Silent Bob | Dante | Randal | Banky | Alyssa | Leonardo | Bluntman and Chronic | Mooby | Buddy Christ | Brodie | Willam | Minor characters
Miscellaneous
View Askew Productions | View Askewniverse motifs | View Askew Media | The Flying Car | Clerks: The Animated Series | Clerks: The Lost Scene | Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash | Silent Bob Speaks | Sucks Less With Kevin Smith | My Name Is Earl
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