Reviewing the Askewniverse (part 4 of 7)

Alright, here we go again; while I haven't had time to review everything, I have continued my trek through the lives of Jay and Bob, so I'll be posting multiple reviews in the coming days. For this one, I had to jump back a little bit, and pick up from where my previous review left off...


For my next stop through the wonderful world of Kevin Smith, I revisited what will undoubtedly remain the most controversial film of his career: "Dogma," a religious satire that not only led to protest groups (one of which was attended by a not particularly incognito Kevin Smith), but also an avalanche of hate mail directed to the View Askew offices. Was it worth all that? Well... it is a movie with a rubber poop monster.

Personally, "Dogma" isn't one of my favorite Askew movies; not because I find its messages to be offensive (in fact, I agree with pretty much everything it has to say), but because I think this film marked the beginning of the Askewniverse's downward slide into juvenile humor that snowballed (no pun intended) throughout the "Clerks" cartoon and climaxed with "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." Fortunately, however, the juvenile humor such as the aforementioned poop monster is actually nicely balanced by a hearty dose of very intelligent humor - so intelligent, in fact, that the film may actually require two or three viewings before its elaborate religious explanations are fully comprehended. More than anything, it is safe to say that Kevin obviously did his homework, providing an understandably controversial yet perfectly reasonable view of Christianity. For example, take the story of Jesus's unspoken siblings. Smith offers us the very plausible theory that Jesus could very well have had siblings, because Mary and Joseph were married - and though Mary was a virgin at the time of Christ's conception, it would be silly to think that a marriage would go on to span entire decades without procreation. More close-minded viewers would surely dismiss that theory because it hasn't been spoken by the Church; but for those daring enough to dive below the rose-tinted surface of religious education, it is certainly worth pondering.

In terms of actors, "Dogma" expands the View Askew family with several notable names - primarly, the brilliant Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, and Salma Hayek. (While I regrettably haven't seen Alan in another film, his strong performance in this film has certainly inspired me to look deeper into his career. From what I've heard, I understand that "Die Hard" should be my next stop?) Another welcome addition, and one that has since made a return appearance in Kevin's work (appearing as a teacher in "Jersey Girl"), was the briefly-seen but nonetheless surprising Betty Aberlin. Being a Pittsburgh native, seeing Betty outside of her usual environment of the Neighborhood of Make Believe is always humorous, because my lifetime of watching the Cardigan Sweatered One has conditioned me to view the former Lady Aberlin a bit narrow-mindedly; but her two appearances so far have been pleasant, so I hope she comes back in the future. (Besides, where else can you see the characteristically mellow Betty as a drunken nun?!) Last but not least, "Dogma" marked the Askewniverse debut of controversial recording star and "You Can't Do That On Television" cast alumnus, Alanis Morissette. Nowadays, the preferred theatrical depiction of God seems to be that of Morgan Freeman, whose commanding presence was the centerpiece of both "Bruce Almighty" and its sequel; but the Alanis version still remains a hilarious alternative. Certainly everyone would love to be greeted in the afterlife by a silent pixie that randomly stands on her head, right? :-)

Praise aside, however, I have to turn this review ugly for a moment, and critique the performance of Linda Fiorentino. Not only did Fiorentino prove to be a bruise on the back of the production, choosing to quarrel with Kevin over his methods, her performance lacks so much of the energy that the film required. The best way I can describe it is like this - while the rest of the lively characters like Jay and Silent Bob are enthusiastically caught up in the midst of an outrageous, fast-paced comedy, Linda always seems supremely disinterested in her surroundings, and has the behavior and appearance of someone desperately in need of sleep. (Want me to take this further? Okay - while appearing in the film, Jason Mewes was still in the middle of his decade-long narcotic addiction; and during filming, repeatedly fell asleep. However, even he was able to convey an incredibly stronger performance than Linda.) While I hate to just flat out demolish an actor's performance, I just can't stress how miscast the character of Bethany was. During Janeane Garofalo's brief appearance at the start of the film, one can't help but think how much better Janeane would have been in Linda's role. Janeane's real-life personality perfectly embodies what Bethany was meant to represent, so I truly think that this was an major missed opportunity on Kevin's part.

Before wrapping up, I would like to say that, besides touching on a number of my own religious views, "Dogma" has a deeper personal significance for me - despite being set in Wisconsin and New Jersey, the film was actually shot in Pittsburgh. I still get a smile upon entering the downtown area and seeing the Mooby's headquarters - in actuality, the USX Steel Building. (The interior of the building was not the Steel Building, however - Matt Damon's massacre actually occurred somewhere at Carnegie-Mellon University.) The extravagant restaurant that the Metatron whisks the cast to later on in the film is the Grand Concourse, a train station-turned-restaurant located at Station Square; and the Wisconsin airport where Betty Aberlin makes her cameo is in fact the Pittsburgh International Airport. While I'm not aware of the exact locations, Cardinal Glick's church and the Mooby's restaurant were also located in the Pittsburgh area. I've been told that a CVS Pharmacy currently stands on the former site of Mooby's.

To wrap up, I'm actually a bit undecided about how exactly I feel about "Dogma." It has its ups and downs; and while the downs are strong enough to cause irreparable harm to the movie, it still manages to be entertaining and very well-written. While it's not a movie that everyone could stomach (as was proven in graphic detail at the time of its release), those with an open mind will find a lot to admire about "Dogma," because it gives viewers with more controversial opinions the privilege of being able to connect with a movie that not only unashamedly breaks free of religious norms, but also offers an understanding hand to those who may have been looked down upon for their supposedly abnormal beliefs. On the other hand though, anyone who doesn't want to think that deeply about a comedic film can always sit back and laugh at a movie about Jay and Silent Bob saving the world.