Dogma

An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon by the Voice of God to stop two exiled angels from entering a New Jersey church and thus negating all existence. She is aided by the little know thirteenth apostle named Rufus, a literal muse turned stripper and two bad-mouthed, mall-crawling, joint-smoking prophets: Jay and Silent Bob. An ex-muse turned demon named Azrael tries to keep the group from accomplishing their goal so he can have his revenge against God.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 satire elements in this movie are well done. I thought the edition of George Carlin as the self-centered Cardinal Glick was an especially nice touch. I am a George Carlin fan and I have heard his routines about taxing the properties of the Catholic Church. I think the issues with race and women in the Bible were dealt with in a fine way as well. The dialogue was smart and witty and the cast did particularly well. Jay and Silent Bob took the movie with their wise-cracking, foul-mouthed wit and humor. I am also a huge Kevin Smith fan and he incorporated elements from all of his other movies.While held back from being truly stunning by some pacing issues and some minor script awkwardnesses, Dogma is an enjoyable trip from beginning to end. Smith plays textures like a cardshark - from action sequences to philosophical debates to stoned one-liners to dramatic monologues, the action flows remarkably smoothly for all of the twists that are thrown at it. I was also extremely impressed by the tasteful execution of the more violent scenes, where the graphic aftermath may be shown, but the action happens off-camera.Towards the very end, there were some surprisingly touching moments (of course rendered through Smith's unique style), and the closing scene felt like something right out of a good ol' 80's movie (that's a good thing!). Issues and all, a truly enjoyable film!