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Dogma: Special Edition (DVD)
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Brian "Shit Demon" Pritchard (Columnist)
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Of Kevin Smith's five films, Dogma is my personal favorite. In so many ways, Smith proved himself as a true filmmaker here. Certainly his most epic piece, Dogma is a complex tale, one about a quest in which a woman who has lost her faith in God must stop a couple of fallen angels from becoming cleansed of their sins, regaining entrance into Heaven, and "thus negating all of existence." Deep down at the heart of this film is a message about faith, religion (as well as the boundaries it can riddle us with), and what God is really all about. If that all sounds a bit heavy, worry not. There are so many things going on in Dogma, you're liable to be too distracted to worry about pesky little things like "Do I believe in God?" (For the record, I do believe in God... But we won't get into that here, if for no other reason than to keep Berg quiet.) The point is, the theme of religion and faith is handled quite thoughtfully here, not to mention delicately; the movie never insults or offends, no matter what your take on God is. (Of course, for the truly unmotivated, there's always the big poop monster.) Also, Smith does a nice job of balancing the plotlines (not to mention egos) of the all-star cast: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, etc. (A very funny, very sardonic turn by Alan Rickman is my personal favorite.) In "Dogma", there's enough humor and action to keep you entertained, and enough philosophy to keep you thinking. It's a great, great movie.
And then there's Jay and Silent Bob, who - despite finally being given something to do - seem completely out of place here. It is in this film that they truly seem like a crutch more than a relief, and it becomes clear why Smith has recently chosen to retire them. Oh, not that they're not funny anymore. Quite the opposite, really. It just seems like the fantasy themes at hand here put Jay and Bob out of their element; this film just doesn't fit in with the other three. Dogma doesn't suffer with Jay and Silent Bob in it, but it doesn't gain any points either. All the same, this film was a huge leap for Smith, and a welcome one at that. True, it makes Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back seem like a bit of a disappointment in comparison, but at the same time it makes you realize why he's hanging up these characters... spurs, so to speak. Dogma proved Kevin is ready to move on. I guess he just needed some closure first. It's tough to blame him.
Now, as for the DVD... Oh. My. God. (Pun completely intended.) I don't believe it's possible to ask for more. Initially, Columbia released a paltry offering - not at all in keeping with Smith's other stellar DVDs. Now we have been handed one of the most divine two-disc DVDs of all time. It starts with the fantastic packaging, which is a replica of The Bible, only with Dogma logos. Inside are discs featuring products and logos related to the film, as well as themed artwork designed specifically for the disc. The deleted scenes (over 100 minutes worth!) are far more expansive here than on discs before; some scenes make you question why they were cut, while with others it's pretty clear (although Smith does do his best before each clip to explain why the decisions were made.) Among the highlights of not only the deleted scenes, but of the entire disc itself, is the infamous 'Fat Albert' sequence, deleted form the final film, in which Jay and Silent Bob actually get up and do a song-and-dance routine to the theme of... well, you know. (This is also the scene in which Jason Mewes, as the gutter-mouthed Jay, is at his finest.) Add to this some funny, funny outtakes (Damon waxing theoretical about Star Wars is great) and not one, but two commentary tracks and you have yourself a good day or two's worth of digging to do. Have faith brother that this is a must-own for your DVD collection. Just ask The Buddy Christ.
10/10
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Dogma
Starring:
Ben Affleck
Matt Damon
Linda Fiorentino
George Carlin
Salma Hayek
Jason Lee
Jason Mewes
Kevin Smith
Alan Rickman
Chris Rock
Directed by:
Kevin Smith
Written by:
Kevin Smith
Rated: R
Strong language
Sex-related dialogue
Violence
Crude humor
Drug content
Briefly, how we rate the movies we see...
| 10 |
_Perfect
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| 9 |
_Excellent
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| 8 |
_Great
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| 7 |
_Very Good
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| 6 |
_Good
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| 5 |
_Not Bad
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| 4 |
_Not Good
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| 3 |
_Pretty Bad
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| 2 |
_Really Bad
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| 1 |
_Suck Ass
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| 0 |
_Feces on Film
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