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 loop-hole and reenter Heaven.

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer:

Kevin Smith

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino

8 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.

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Plot Keywords:

silent bob character | jay character | angel | clinic | abortion clinic | 

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Taglines:

Get 'touched' by an angel.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Your guide to Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

God

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,669,945, 14 November 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$30,651,422, 26 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

All angels are identically dressed, except for the color of their clothes.

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Goofs

When Bartleby mentions all the Mooby establishments and merchandise in front of the Mooby Inc board, he and the board never mention the fast-food restaurant seen earlier in the movie.

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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 ...

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Crazy Credits

"DOGMA" is the culmination of a lifetime's worth of disparate spiritual and satirical influences, which owes a debt to sundry storytellers and word-smiths these authors and instigators I humbly thank in no particular order... Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke, Saint John, Sam Kinison, George Carlin, Elaine Pagels, John Milton, Cervantes, Martin Scorsese, Alan Moore, Thomas Moore, Spike Lee, Douglas Adams, Robert Bolt, Quentin Tarantino, Nikos Kazantzakis, Denys Arcand, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Matt Wagner, Howard, Robin, Jackie, Fred, Gary, and Everyone at The Howard Stern Show and Sister Theresa from 8th grade

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Alternate Versions

At the end of Loki and Bartelby's discussion of the arch's ability to cleanse the soul of all sin, in the DVD version Loki says, "If I had a dick, I'd go get laid." In the original theatrical version, the line was, "If I had a dick, I'd masturbate," referring to the Catholic belief that masturbation is a worse sin than fornication. (Essentially, this is because fornication can lead to marriage and procreation, but masturbation cannot.)

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Connections

Featured in The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? (2015)

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Soundtracks

Love Is Strange
Written by Sylvia Robinson & Mickey Baker (as M. Black)
Performed by Mickey & Sylvia
Used by permission of Ben Ghazi Inc. (BMI) & Twenty-Nine Black Music Inc. (BMI)
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

simply fabulous--kevin smith rocks!

While both funny and frightening, this film is more than just a comedy with gratuitous violence and (bad)-language. It's a theological reflection...and a call to the Church to focus on things that matter (like living life to the fullest, helping those in need, honoring and respecting all, expecting respect in return) rather than those that don't (like...well, dogma [doctrines/church laws] or any belief that causes us to "draw a line in the sand," condemning to hell or perdition any who disagree with us). As I watched it (the first and all subsequent times), I felt sure that the movie was written by someone who really loves his church -- but is smart and aware enough to recognize its shortcomings, its blindspots, even its failures and hypocrisies. Rather than simply leaving or ignoring or dismissing it, Smith chooses to enter into dialogue with it, using the potent medium of film to do so. One can only hope that the church--not just Roman Catholic but all branches of it-- takes him up on his call to conversation.

Not to be missed in the film, on a lighter note, are the introductory disclaimer and the "Thank Yous" at the end. Smith thanks Elaine Pagels, for God's sake -- who knew anyone in Hollywood read contemporary, feminist theology? What a welcome revelation....