Dogma: Resurrected! (25th Anniversary Celebration) review

Dir. Kevin Smith

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★★

How tragically fitting is it that Kevin Smith’s Dogma — a film about angels trying desperately to reenter Heaven — has languished in a purgatorial space for years? With the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film going out of print, and consequently commanding outrageous prices online, Dogma was one of the unfortunate films still to be owned by the Weinstein brothers. No streaming clause existed in the film’s original rights contract, so unavailable is it even on premium rental platforms. If you’re lucky enough to have a copy (or multiple, such as myself), and are a die-hard View Askew fan, you’ve probably been clinging to it like it’s the good book itself.

Thankfully, in 2024, Smith managed to regain control of Dogma, and proceeded to do what he does best: take the film on tour. Over the past several months, Smith hit the road, resurrecting the cult classic by way of involved audience screenings followed by his trademark lengthy Q&A sessions. For those less fortunate, he did us a solid, and struck a deal with Iconic Events to screen the film for four days in cinemas all across the country. If you cannot make a screening, fear not: a new DVD/Blu-ray release is said to follow suit.

Oh, what a joy it was not only to see Dogma back in the hands of its creator, but also experience it on the big screen. I hold out hope I can enjoy Chasing Amy, Mallrats, and of course Clerks in a dark auditorium before my time expires.

Despite my reverence for it, Dogma is admittedly the View Askew film I’ve seen the fewest amount of times, so a rewatch was necessary for multiple reasons. An irreverent take on the Catholic doctrine, the film revolves around Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon), two angels banished from Heaven by God, sentenced to live in Wisconsin for all of eternity. The two angels, who have the ability to hide their wings to blend in with the public, learn that a cardinal (George Carlin) in New Jersey is holding a publicity stunt where any who walk through the doors of his church will receive a plenary indulgence, ridding their souls of sin. If the two angels sacrifice their wings and die with a clean soul, they will have no choice but to be readmitted to Heaven. The two are further encouraged by the demon Azrael (Jason Lee) and his Stygian, hockey playing triplets.

Of course, there’s consequences to this. Like the undoing of all creation that would result from contradicting God’s plan. Metatron, the voice of God (Alan Rickman, naturally) comes down to Earth to recruit Bethany Sloane (Linda Fiorentino), an apathetic Catholic woman who works at an abortion clinic in McHenry, IL. Her reluctant journey to Red Bank, NJ will have her meeting with two unlikely prophets, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith); Rufus (Chris Rock), the black Thirteenth Apostle who was cruelly omitted from the Bible; and Serendipity (Salma Hayek), the muse of creative inspiration who cannot inspire herself, so she strips.

The controversy Dogma created leading up to and upon its release in 1999 is now nothing more than a funny hallmark of pop culture (and, lets be frank, the hypocritical and reactionary Catholic League, who denounced the picture as blasphemy). If you do something most skeptics wouldn’t, and actually watch the movie, you might be surprised how affectionate and somewhat wholesome the entire production is. At the time, this was Smith’s biggest movie by far, in terms of storytelling and scope, and coming off a trio of hangout movies, including his previous, a bro-mantic love triangle involving a lesbian. His ability to juggle a plethora of different characters, all of various creeds and backgrounds, is again on full display. He affords them all some lovely monologues, and underscores their entry into this eclectic road movie with lovely introductions.

Dogma also proves that Smith’s formula of stoner humor can be fitted into more meaningfully substantive works. If you would’ve told a viewer of Clerks in 1994 that Jay and Silent Bob would be integral players, or prophets, in a religious satire, their skepticism would’ve probably outweighed Bethany’s. Yet, they provide some of the biggest laughs in the entire picture, and their commentary could also reasonably be seen as that of someone who approaches this movie with one eyebrow raised.

Speaking of Bethany, Fiorentino is so wonderful here; a lovingly drawn everywoman, who asks the questions about God both believers and nonbelievers alike have wondered. Her resistance to her duty, as outlined by Metatron, is easy to understand, but it’s the way she proactively accepts her responsibilities that makes her inspiring, all while questioning everything at the same time. On one hand, she really doesn’t have much else going on in her life to justify inaction, and her conversations with Rufus, and eventually Serendipity, are thoughtful.

The cast is uniformly outstanding. Affleck and Damon are so effective as a pair of angels with a brotherly undertone because the two have a natural banter, the kind that can only be brought out by a lifelong friendship. This also might be Chris Rock’s finest hour in film; he’s one of the funniest comedians alive and he has a brilliantly unique role that affords him the opportunity to take shots at the Catholic Church and perform his usual, off-color schtick.

When Alanis Morissette shows up as God herself, she doesn’t even need to say a word to be impacting. Furthermore, her song “Still,” an original track recorded for the movie, functions germane to the film as it plays over the credits, Morrissette’s rich, half-soprano pipes matching the emotional tone of the preceding picture.

The only scene that doesn’t work is the one involving Golgothan, the “shit demon,” comprised of various pieces of human excrement. He spawns in a dive bar, and is the result of the waste that evacuated humans who died by crucifixion, and thus had their bowels empty as they died. There’s not much to say. Even in a film that can be as silly as this one, it’s juvenile, unfunny, and seemingly inserted because Smith and his cohorts found it amusing.

Dogma is as funny as any movie Kevin Smith has made, and I wonder if being unavailable (by modern terms) for so long only furthered its legend and notoriety by piquing curiosity. It went from the film the Catholic Church didn’t want you to see to the film the rat bastard Weinsteins didn’t want you to see. On top of the fact that it revolves around angels, spiritual doctrine, and the many contradictions of religion, written and directed by a faithful Catholic, it has an authenticity about itself that even great satires can’t share. It’s one of a kind, from a perpetually modest filmmaker who continues to doubt his abilities even when he proves himself wrong, yet again.

My review of Clerks
My review of Clerks II
My review of Clerks III
My review of Mallrats
My review of Chasing Amy
My review of Jay and Silent Reboot

Starring: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Alan Rickman, George Carlin, Bud Cort, and Alanis Morissette. Directed by: Kevin Smith.