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Dogma (film)

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Dogma
Directed byKevin Smith
Written byKevin Smith
Produced byScott Mosier
Kevin Smith (uncredited)
StarringLinda Fiorentino
Ben Affleck
Matt Damon
Salma Hayek
Alan Rickman
Bud Cort
Chris Rock
Jason Lee
Jason Mewes
Kevin Smith
George Carlin
Music byHoward Shore
Distributed byLions Gate Films
Release dates
November 12, 1999
Running time
130 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10,000,000 US

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 shot 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.

Plot

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. 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.

File:Alan Rickman as Metatron.jpeg
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.

The angel Metatron (Rickman), the Seraph who acts as the Voice of God, appears to abortion clinic worker Bethany (Fiorentino) 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). Along the way to New Jersey she finds out that she is the Last Scion, the last living descendant of Mary and Joseph, and thus the last living relative of Jesus Christ.

The angels reach the church. Bartleby, who has 'snapped' from the pain of not being in heaven and being cast aside by God, goes on a killing spree. Loki cuts off his wings and starts drinking. Azrael is killed by Silent Bob with the Cardinal's blessed golf club (a driver). Bartleby kills Loki. Bethany releases God from a body called John Doe Jersey, but dies. After God takes care of Bartleby, she cleans up the burning vericles and smashed bodies from the church. She also brings Bethany back to life, and just before the non-humans go back to heaven, Bethany finds out she is miraculously pregnant, possibly the second coming of Christ.

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 (not easy).

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

Cast

The small role of a nun was played by Betty Aberlin, better known as "Lady Aberlin" from the childrens' television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Characters

  • 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, sending him to hell since he had become mortal but not repented for his sins.
  • 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.

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 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.

Disclaimer

The film opens with the following disclaimer:

Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass.

Though it'll go without saying ten minutes or so into these proceedings, View Askew would like to state that this film is from start to finish a work of comedic fantasy, not to be taken seriously. To insist that any of what follows is incendiary or inflammatory is to miss our intention and pass judgment; and passing judgment is reserved for God and God alone (this goes for you film critics too...just kidding).

So please before you think about hurting someone over this trifle of a film, remember: even God has a sense of humor. Just look at the Platypus. Thank you and enjoy the show.

P.S. We sincerely apologize to all Platypus enthusiasts out there who are offended by that thoughtless comment about Platypi. We at View Askew respect the noble Platypus, and it is not our intention to slight these stupid creatures in any way. Thank you again and enjoy the show.

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.

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.

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 Mooby shirt, the restaurant/corporation seen in this movie, as well as in 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 climactic scene at the church, Jay suggests to Silent Bob that they travel to QuickStop, 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.

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.
  • Bartleby and Loki refer to Krush Groove and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on the bus.
  • Immediately after the scuffle on the way to New Jersey, during which 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 (Morrisette) 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 (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 and a message was written on his body, which was then thrown out of an airplane to alert the authorities that it had been hijacked by the prisoners it was carrying.
  • In the scene when Bartleby and Loki confront Cardinal Glick in front of the church, Glick asks a police officer named McGee to remove them, to which Bartleby replies, "Don't make me angry, Mr. McGee. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." In the TV series The Incredible Hulk, one of the main characters was a reporter named McGee, and "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" was a frequently recurring line.
  • There are several references to films by John Hughes, including Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, and The Breakfast Club, all mentioned by Jay during the diner scene when he speaks of searching for Shermer, Illinois. The character Serendipity (Hayek) also references Home Alone, saying that it is "the only one of the top 20 highest grossing films" that she did not inspire.

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. In an opening scene, an aircraft for US Airways can be seen in a window; US Airways maintains a hub in Pittsburgh.
  • 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.
  • According to Smith in his audio commentary, actress Linda Fiorentino was very difficult to work with, sometimes to the point that she wouldn't even speak to him.

Goofs

  • In the board room scene, when Loki (Damon) 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 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 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, Jay claims the Boardwalk is only five miles away from the church in Red Bank. In reality, Asbury Park is approximately 10-15 miles away from any location in Red Bank.

Quotes

  • Metatron: Tell a person that you're the Metatron and they stare at you blankly; mention something out of a Charlton Heston movie and suddenly everybody's a theology scholar! May I continue uninterrupted?
  • Loki: Mass genocide is the most exhausting activity anyone can engage in, next to soccer.
  • Metatron: Anyone who isn't dead or from another plane of existence would do well to cover their ears, right about... now!
  • Jay: I feel like I'm Han Solo, and you're Chewie, and she's Ben Kenobi, and we're in that fucked-up bar!!!

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
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