Dogma (1999)

An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loophole and re-enter Heaven.

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer:

Kevin Smith

Stars:

Bud Cort, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bud Cort	...	John Doe Jersey
Barret Hackney	...	Stygian Triplet (as Barrett Hackney)
Jared Pfennigwerth	...	Stygian Triplet
Kitao Sakurai	...	Stygian Triplet
George Carlin	...	Cardinal Glick
Brian O'Halloran	...	Grant Hicks (as Brian Christopher O'Halloran)
Betty Aberlin	...	Nun
Matt Damon	...	Loki
Ben Affleck	...	Bartleby
Dan Etheridge	...	Priest at St. Stephen's
Linda Fiorentino	...	Bethany
Derek Milosavljevic	...	Kissing Couple
Lesley Braden	...	Kissing Couple
Marie Elena O'Brien	...	Clinic Girl (scenes deleted) (as MarieElena O'Brien)
Janeane Garofalo	...	Liz

Storyline

An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is enlisted to prevent two angels from reentering Heaven and thus undoing the fabric of the universe. Along the way, she is aided by two prophets, Jay and Silent Bob. With the help of Rufus, the 13th Apostle, they must stop those who stand in their way and prevent the angels from entering Heaven.

---

Plot Keywords:

angel | clinic | abortion clinic | abortion | church | 

---

Taglines:

Look out Below

---

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language including sex-related dialogue, violence, crude humor and some drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Official Site (French)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

God

Filming Locations:

600 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£137,050 (UK) (24 December 1999)

Gross:

$30,651,422 (USA) (24 March 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

View Askew Productions, STK

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the train when Silent Bob grabs Bartleby, he yells, Schueler Bob? I'll get you for this Schueler Bob! Ben Affleck ad-libbed the line, much to the amusement of the cast and crew, intending it to be Silent Bob in German. Kevin Smith left it in even though Schueler is actually German for pupil.

---

Goofs

A wooden board is seen being moved against the doors in the board room to prevent them from swinging open, just before the blood is splashed on them.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Announcer: Ladies and Gentlemen, the driving force behind Catholicism WOW, Cardinal Glick.
Cardinal Glick: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now we all know how the majority and the media in this country view the Catholic church. They think of us as a passe, archaic institution. People find the Bible obtuse... even hokey. Now in an effort to disprove all that the church has appointed this year as a time of renewal... both of faith and of style. For example, the crucifix. While it has been a time honored ...

---

Crazy Credits

After the end credits, Jay's line "So... does that mean Bethany's... part black?" line is repeated.

---

Connections

References Darkstalkers III (1998)

---

Soundtracks

"Still"
Written and Performed by Alanis Morissette
Published by MCA Music, a division of Universal Studios, Inc./1974 Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Maverick Recording Company

User Reviews

Chesterton lives!

Another vote from a cradle Catholic who was not remotely offended by this movie. Not that some of the negatives mentioned by other posters here aren't true -- yes, a lot of the humor is gross, yes, the F-word is overused, yes, its criticism of organized religion is less stinging that you'd expect (though that in itself is a slightly foolish expectation, given that the writer/director is himself an active member of an organized religion). And yes, if you're not Catholic, much of the movie is a little foggy, under-explained, and not very engaging. That last one I definitely agree with; I seriously doubt whether I'd recommend the film to a non-Catholic at all.

But, oh, God, I LOVED it, serious flaws and all! It's a huge chaotic mess with about sixty different trains of thought and philosophy, from the ecstatic to the scatological, slugging it out for dominance, and in its very sloppiness there's a sense of anarchic, exultant wonder I've never seen in a movie before. The only two things like it that I can think of are Thornton Wilder's play "Skin of Our Teeth" and G.K. Chesterton's amazing joyous fever dream of a novel "The Man Who Was Thursday", both of which are works by people who may or may not have faith but who definitely have a good idea. Or several dozen of them, and who just run with them wherever they go. These works are big chaotic messes, but in that way they are mirrors of Creation, the mother of all big chaotic messes. In all these works, just as in the real world, love and joy and beauty and filth and cruelty and despair are constantly tumbling over and bleeding into each other; the one universal rule is that everything is absurd, that the human race is the most absurd thing of all, and that this absurdity can be the catalyst to either suffocating grief or a kind of hilarious wonder.

If you go into "Dogma" expecting a trim and tidy theological comedy of manners, you'll be sorely disappointed. If you're looking for something with the same filthy gorgeous lunacy of existence itself, this is it.