Posted by Mr.FunBuddy at 141.211.148.34 on November 12, 1999 at 12:44:40:
I don't agree with this review but interesting to see both sides of the
coin, and it came from the daily paper of the school Ming used to attend:
University of Michigan. The Daily reviewers do have a history, I might add,
of hating all movies except for "art flicks", or AKA, anything that's shown
at our art house theatre here, the Michigan Theatre.
'DOGMA' shows inept Smith
By Ed Sholinsky
Daily Film Editor
Put aside all of the controversy surrounding "Dogma," with the Catholic League threatening that the world will come to an end if people see this film. Put aside your love of
writer/director Kevin Smith's college classics "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy." Put all of this aside and see "Dogma" for what it is: An overwritten, poorly directed piece of junk.
Starting with a mocking disclaimer, "Dogma" tells audiences that the film is a "comic fantasy," not a religious satire. The disclaimer is the funniest and smartest part of the movie,
poking fun at the fact that the filmmakers even had to attach a disclaimer to the film, a la "The Last Temptation of Christ." It's all down hill after the disclaimer, though.
Essentially, Smith has bitten off more than he can chew in trying to tell a
comic Christian fable about two fallen angels, Loki (Matt Damon) and
Bartleby (Ben Affleck), attempting re-entry into heaven. It seems that a
Cardinal (a very off George Carlin) in New Jersey (it is a Kevin Smith
film, you know) has opened up a loop hole in his attempt to modernize
Catholicism. Via an anonymous tip, Loki and Bartleby learn of this
opportunity and set out to escape their exile in Wisconsin and get into
Heaven via the Garden State.
God dispatches the 13th and unknown apostle Rufus (Chris Rock) and
Metatron, the voice of God (Alan Rickman). They have to convince
abortion doctor and lapsed Catholic Bethany (a horrid Linda Fiorentino)
to hook up with two prophets, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and
Smith, respectively), and stop Loki and Bartleby. It seems that if they
enter Heaven they will contravene God's orders and that will cause the end
of the world, which seems infinitely better than ever sitting through this
movie again.
Smith is so over the top, as if he's trying to one up his other movies, that
he loses sight of the story he's trying to tell. At it's heart, "Dogma" has the
makings of a very interesting movie. Smith examines his faith, the
Catholic Church and God from a uniquely humorous position, but fails at
telling the story because he forces it along. "Dogma" is held back by
inane dialogue and situations, something Smith has proved he can handle
in "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy." He resorts, though, to the lower than low
brow humor that drove and ultimately destroyed "Mallrats."
This is out of place in "Dogma," and Smith does better when he restrains
himself. It's here that the clever dialogue that Smith is known for shines
through, whether it be Jay and Silent Bob arguing over John Hughes movies or Rufus telling Jay that he masturbates more than anyone else on the planet. These moments get
overshadowed by the times when Smith introduces a shit monster or when he has Metatron appear in flames only to have Bethany spray him with a fire extinguisher.
All of the problems with Smith's script pale in comparison to his ineptitude behind the camera. Never known as a visual director, Smith tries too many tricks that end up making
the film hard to watch. You'll spend more time trying to figure out what you're looking at than following Smith's story telling. Smith is no good when he tries to get fancy and
fares much better when he puts the camera down and lets the action unfold before it.
Smith behind the camera is equally as painful as Smith in front of it. In his first three films Smith used Jay and Silent Bob effectively in cameo appearances. They are suited
better to one or two scenes, but in "Dogma," they have more screen time than any other characters. Though it might be fun when the pair enters the film, by the time they've been
on screen for a half an hour they get tiresome. By having Silent Bob on screen for so long it's hard to keep him quiet and the humor of the character is lost.
Smith is not the only actor who doesn't live up to expectations, though. With the exception of Rickman the cast is uniformly bad, particularly Selma Hayek as Serendipity the
muse. Normally reliable actors like Fiorentino, Jason Lee (as the demon Azrael) and Affleck really stink up the screen. For a movie that seems so near Smith's heart, you'd expect
more than phoned in performances from the ensemble.
Despite all of the heart that Smith pours into "Dogma," he should have spent more time pouring over the script and maybe more time considering turning over the script to a
better director. So much goes wrong here that you'll wonder if Smith will have the inverse problem of the "Star Trek" film series, which has the curse of the odds, and have the
curse of the evens.