Remembering Dogma

 

 

Jon: For me, “Dogma” ranks at the bottom of the Kevin Smith directed films and not because it’s bad either. I know that sounds like I’m going to rip on it, but us fan boys love to rank things, so when I say it’s at the bottom of his filmography, that’s like saying “Kundun” is one of the lesser Martin Scorsese pictures. It doesn’t mean much because it’s still a Scorsese picture, but it’s no “Raging Bull”. So while I like “Dogma”, as it’s still funnier than most so-called comedies, its no “Chasing Amy”.

It’s a unique film for sure, dealing with Catholic traditions and practices. For all of the (unnecessary) flack Smith gets for his flat camera work, “Dogma” is more like an action picture. There’s stuff going on everywhere, it’s a visual feast, especially for a comedy, a new direction Smith is taking. Humor is still here, obviously and my two favorite lines are:

Jay (standing outside of an abortion clinic): 

Bethany: “Wait a second you knew Jesus?”

Rufus:  “Knew him? Shit…nigga owes me 12 bucks!”

For me, it’s the fact that Smith tackles religion in a way, in which he doesn’t just use it as a punching bag, but instead uses it to look at it satirically. Of course, the Church came down hard on this film, but it’s not like Smith is attacking Christianity because he despises it, in fact he’s curious about it. You just can’t talk religion or question it, but we all do. He definitely over-plots it, so don’t be afraid to roll with it since it might be hard to understand. I liked it, but I’m hardly in the mood for “Dogma”. You might ask does the questioning of religion bother you. No, I like to question religion, not because I’m an atheist, I was raised a Catholic, it’s mostly because it feels so much unlike “Clerks”, “Chasing Amy” which is good and bad. What are your feeling on “Dogma”, Donny?

Donny:  “Dogma” for me was a a nice departure from the flicks that most of his fans, myself included were expecting to see from him.  I was expecting more potty humor, which “Dogma” offers up aplenty, only the ideas presented here almost cancel out the filthy dialogue.  When I first saw “Dogma” I hadn’t set foot in a church in years, but seeing the characters talk openly about belief, and questioning that belief took me back to a time when I went to church.  It reminded me of the problems that I have with my own faith, and reminded me of the reasons I don’t attend anymore.  Sure the flick questions belief, but it never questions the existence of God, it merely asks if we (meaning anyone that believes) might take him (or her) more seriously than he (or her) takes himself (or herself).  

I agree with Jon when he says it’s no “Clerks” or “Chasing Amy,” but I don’t think it has to be.  I’m happy that it wasn’t like those movies.  I think sometimes filmmakers get stuck making movies that mirror their previous movies so much that they get bored, and the films suffer because of this boredom.  I think “Dogma” took the elements of the universe that Smith created, and changed the rules.  It allowed the characters to take on roles that they normally wouldn’t tackle, and it definitely pushed the limits of where a comedy can go.  So while, like Jon, I didn’t get that same feeling in my gut that “Clerks,” and “Chasing Amy” gave me, I did enjoy the film immensely.  Maybe even more than the previous films in some ways.  “Dogma” showed me that Kevin Smith had grown as a filmmaker.  Sure, it was funny, and there was a giant poop monster in it, but he tackled a difficult subject and rocked that bitch!