User reviews

It is not often that you get to see a group of stars that you like in a funny movie that also makes some interesting points.

Matt Damon (The Bourne Ultimatum ), Linda Fiorentino (Unforgettable). Severus Snape, Jay and Silent Bob, Salma Hayek (Frida), George Carlin, and, of course, God (Alanis Morissette), all join to make this irreverent and funny movie.

The premise is so interesting, and the fact that it is set in New Jersey is so appropriate, whether intentional or not. As a recovering Catholic, I remember the teaching of the church that I could basically sin all I want, but if I repent at the end, I will be saved and go to heaven. New Jersey is reputedly the home of many undesirable criminals with vowels on the ends of their names - maybe some of them even relatives of mine - and I know they are predominately Catholic. I am sure they are counting on this "escape clause," just as Loki and Bartleby were counting on the same thing.

Yes, while I was laughing, I was also carefully looking at the images {the golden calf (money) we worship} and listening to the lines. There is a wealth of material in this movie and it was thoroughly enjoyable.

One to see again and again.

"Dogma" isn't the kind of comedy that most people will find themselves holding onto their guts during. It's more the second-long "ha!" kind of comedy.

That simply means Kevin Smith's writing is clever enough to the point where you will be pleasantly shocked by some of the conversations and events of the film and think it all rather amusing and humorous. It's not hilarious, it's just clever and a bit funny.

The premise is rather interesting and surprisingly from a more fantasy-esquire genre than Smith traditionally dabbles with. Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck) are more or less fallen angels that have found a way back into heaven. They must be stopped or the world will come to a screeching halt, so a seemingly random protagonist named Bethany gets charged by God to stop them. Simple, but the slick, nonchalant approach to religion keeps the satire rampant.

The film does spend a lot of its time explaining itself, which isn't too bad considering Smith keeps the explanations to-the-point and allows the characters to stay interesting in the process. Chris Rock, who plays an apostle, and Alan Rickman, who plays God's messenger/ voice are two of these characters that are both good in the film and Smith has allowed to maintain their character's edge despite lines upon lines of explanation.

Getting from point A to point B and so on is not the film's strength. The physical events that take place are ultimately boring and unexciting. It's the moments along the way, the conversations and the philosophy that come about, that make it successful. Affleck's character raises a lot of interesting religious questions about humanity and his conversation with the protagonist on the train is rather insightful. In general, Smith has used Bethany as a way to keep the viewers skepticism of the plot active in the film. She keeps it from getting preposterous. In general, the whole cast is very talented and their characters well written, which keeps the film interesting.

It's not the funniest or most interesting comedy in terms of plot and the sequence of events, but "Dogma" is a smart concept that ultimately results in a sharp satire and some great thoughts that scrutinize religion in a way that never seems too out of line.

I was fully expecting Alan Rickman to walk away with "Dogma", even with such an impressive cast. And he comes close. But what I absolutely did not see coming was just how funny Jay is in this movie. I've always preferred Silent Bob, but Mewes is a riot.

This isn't my favorite of the View Askewniverse. It's long-winded and the incessant conversations on scripture mythology get old. You can tell Kevin Smith was exorcising some self-doubt here, but by the time the gang gets trapped in the bar, I'd mostly checked out.

I can't hate on a movie that's given the world Buddy Christ, but at a certain point, I was missing that first half pretty hard.

6/10

I always thought the phrase, "I laughed until I cried," was just an oxymoron. Until it happened to me. I watched Dogma: the funniest movie I have ever seen. The movie seemed designed specifically for my warped sense of humor. It was an incredible mesh of the high-brow and the low-brow.

It had one character who was extremely foul-mouthed, and kept making up hilarious obscene phrases. It also had a lot of perceptive, biting (and very funny) theological and social commentary.

For me, it was sort of like being tickled hard in the ribs for about an hour. When I reached the breath-taking climax of the film, the resolution was such a shock and was so unexpectedly emotional and I was so sore from all the laughing, I actually burst into tears. Now, dammit I am a grown man. I never do that. Not even for anything real, much less a movie. But it happened.

I can see a lot of Catholics triggering and I love it.

While both funny and frightening, this film is more than just a comedy with gratuitous violence and (bad)-language. It's a theological reflection...and a call to the Church to focus on things that matter (like living life to the fullest, helping those in need, honoring and respecting all, expecting respect in return) rather than those that don't (like...well, dogma [doctrines/church laws] or any belief that causes us to "draw a line in the sand," condemning to hell or perdition any who disagree with us). As I watched it (the first and all subsequent times), I felt sure that the movie was written by someone who really loves his church -- but is smart and aware enough to recognize its shortcomings, its blindspots, even its failures and hypocrisies. Rather than simply leaving or ignoring or dismissing it, Smith chooses to enter into dialogue with it, using the potent medium of film to do so. One can only hope that the church--not just Roman Catholic but all branches of it-- takes him up on his call to conversation.

Not to be missed in the film, on a lighter note, are the introductory disclaimer and the "Thank Yous" at the end. Smith thanks Elaine Pagels, for God's sake -- who knew anyone in Hollywood read contemporary, feminist theology? What a welcome revelation....

Initially promising start with an interesting premise and a bit of inspired casting, DOGMA wanes immensely after the first thirty minutes. DOGMA commits the Hollywood version of mortal sin by taking itself way too seriously. Once the screenplay takes to this convoluted path, the humor screeches to an abrupt stop. For a motion picture that is supposed to take a farcical approach towards organized religion (namely Catholicism), it surely revels in its own inflated sermonizing. For a look at humorous takes on religion that's been done better, check out THE LOVED ONE (1965) or LIFE OF BRIAN (1979).

Smith hit a home run with "Chasing Amy", but strikes out big with this disappointment. There is none of the biting wit, none of the intellect. There is no deep message here, only a little praise of faith. We don't Kevin to preach the faith message to us, we need him to make us laugh.

He even manages to make Chris Rock UNFUNNY. That in itself is more of a "miracle" than the story in this mess. The only redeeming factor is casting Alannis as God. That was a really nice touch.

Go out and rent "Chasing Amy" instead.

Another vote from a cradle Catholic who was not remotely offended by this movie. Not that some of the negatives mentioned by other posters here aren't true -- yes, a lot of the humor is gross, yes, the F-word is overused, yes, its criticism of organized religion is less stinging that you'd expect (though that in itself is a slightly foolish expectation, given that the writer/director is himself an active member of an organized religion). And yes, if you're not Catholic, much of the movie is a little foggy, under-explained, and not very engaging. That last one I definitely agree with; I seriously doubt whether I'd recommend the film to a non-Catholic at all.

But, oh, God, I LOVED it, serious flaws and all! It's a huge chaotic mess with about sixty different trains of thought and philosophy, from the ecstatic to the scatological, slugging it out for dominance, and in its very sloppiness there's a sense of anarchic, exultant wonder I've never seen in a movie before. The only two things like it that I can think of are Thornton Wilder's play "Skin of Our Teeth" and G.K. Chesterton's amazing joyous fever dream of a novel "The Man Who Was Thursday", both of which are works by people who may or may not have faith but who definitely have a good idea. Or several dozen of them, and who just run with them wherever they go. These works are big chaotic messes, but in that way they are mirrors of Creation, the mother of all big chaotic messes. In all these works, just as in the real world, love and joy and beauty and filth and cruelty and despair are constantly tumbling over and bleeding into each other; the one universal rule is that everything is absurd, that the human race is the most absurd thing of all, and that this absurdity can be the catalyst to either suffocating grief or a kind of hilarious wonder.

If you go into "Dogma" expecting a trim and tidy theological comedy of manners, you'll be sorely disappointed. If you're looking for something with the same filthy gorgeous lunacy of existence itself, this is it.

An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loop-hole and reenter Heaven.

This is a much-loved part of Kevin Smith's universe, with many people considering it his best film. For me, I always thought it was his worst. After the strongly-scripted trilogy of "Clerks", "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy", suddenly we start getting some strange things like a giant poop monster. Really? That right there negates all the clever ideas you tried to add to the script.

This is also the point in Smith's career where the budget was getting too big. The films got bigger than they needed to be and the casts got more famous. And why? This did nothing to improve the core of Smith's work, which does not succeed on larger scales.

Dogma is firmly rooted in Kevin Smith's View Askew world so fans of his other films will not be disappointed. However, it also expands on the direction he took in Chasing Amy by dealing with subject matter and concepts that are personal and thought provoking. Dogma goes beyond the "dick and fart jokes", which are reassuringly present, and gives the viewer something to think about.

The film deals with thoughts on religion, Catholicism mainly, in a way that pokes fun at the institution but does not deride it. Dogma is by no stretch of the imagination an anti-Catholic movie. It embraces religion and points out the potential and actual problems that can occur within any religious institution. The film's comments and contents are definitely meant to be taken with a grain of salt.

The cast is great and there are many instances of hilarious viewing, usually Jay and Silent Bob, as well as very sensitive and expressive moments from the various actors.

In the end, Dogma is a thoroughly fun and thoughtful viewing experience that both old and new fans will enjoy. A movie outside the typical fare that is worth spending your money on seeing.

I go to church and I find this movie very religious. I show it to children at my church's annual vacation bible school.

I am a huge Kevin Smith fan and after seeing this film I can say that it was everything I hoped it would be, and a little bit more. It's extremely well written and directed. The film has the same great comedy we're used to from Kevin Smith, but he shows that he has another dimension that I don't think many people thought was there.

Jay and Silent Bob have their biggest role so far. Jay has some of his laugh out loud funniest one liners yet. But what really makes this a great film is that it is genuinely thought provoking.

There are religious people out there who will criticize this film as being anti religion, anti Catholicism, when it is anything but (well, a little anti Cathlic maybe). The central theme to the film is that there is a God, but not the God that most people know (or think they know) or believe in. The characters in the film are trying to get the message across that people have changed the original God, man has made God into the image they want him/her to be, made their own religious rules, rules that God never intended. From a strictly biblical standpoint, Smith is right on, which is not something that can be said about many films dealing with religion. And isn't that the entire point to Christianity, that it's based on the bible.

Bring back Matt Damon from the old days. Such a great film - I watch it once a year. The satire is totally on point here.

This is not Kevin Smith's best piece of work. His script was not quite up to his usual standard, most likely because it wasn't based on the everyday life of normal people. Even so I still had plenty of laughs and loved the performance of God. If you like Smith's movies, your sure to get a laugh from this one.

Linda Fiorentino, the star of this film, put on one of the very worst performances I have ever witnessed in any large budget American film I have seen.

I also think Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, and Jason Lee were all pretty awful. Even Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith were no good in this one.

The script is just terrible. I'm a big Kevin Smith fan, but almost every line in this one is cringe-worthy, and especially those said by Linda Fiorentino.

The whole story is just a jumbled mess--it seemed very much made up on the fly as they went along.

And wow is it long. And boring. And not even a little funny.

This film seems to be trying to be a critique of organized religion on some level, and so, I want to make it clear that I am not saying negative things out of some loyalty to some religion. I'm not a religious nut--just the opposite. I'm completely nonreligious. Religion is the single strangest thing about humanity, to me.

I have no understanding of any positive thing that's been said about this film. It is one of the very few films I have given a 1 rating to. I can't believe one of my favorite directors made something this awful.