Posted by Headshot at proxy-567.public.rwc.webtv.net on November 18, 1999 at 04:27:56:
...and I gotta admit, I was never a huge Kevin Smith fan. Not that I disliked the films, mind you...I just never really heard of the whole "Kevin Mystique" until a buddy of mine forced me to watch "Chasing Amy".
Now, I enjoyed the film, and found the multitudinous "Star Wars" and other pop-culture references to be funny, but the movie didn't become the "religious experience" that the Kevin Smith films had seemed to become for his fans.
Then, one night, I happened to catch a glimpse of a tape on my buddy's shelf. That tape was "Clerks", and it was in letterbox. I figured, why the Hell not? I popped in the tape, and that was all she wrote, boys and girls.
"Clerks" was the kind of movie I would have made myself. It was simple, it was funny, it was real. It caught all the Kevin Smith "mystique" and wrapped it up into a Heaven-sent, monochrome bundle and dropped it on my head. After that, I spent a lot of time tracking down Smith's other works. To me, "Chasing Amy" was his most Human film, "Mallrats" his funniest, "Clerks" his most revealing.
But "Dogma"...oh, "Dogma"...
I wasn't ready to let this film into my heart when I walked in. I went into it fairly blindly, expecting a mildly amusing comedy rife with nifty effects. It caught me off guard, snuck up on me when I wasn't looking and smacked me in the noodle with a metaphorical frying pan.
I came, I saw, it conquered.
"Dogma" had all the treats - the patented "Smithian" dialogue, the great cast moments, the simple-yet-effective cinematography, the rude humor, the pop-culture references. But this film had a bit more for me...it had heart. I know that it was one of the first films Kevin wrote, but he wanted to wait until he had the budget to do the effects right. It shows that in some of the Humanity that was rife throughout the picture. Very thoughtful, very dynamic, but very close to the heart. I liked that. Flawed angels as heroes and villains in modern cinema, I think there's a collegiate thesis in there somewhere. Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition, as it were.
I loved the little parody elements in the film - the moment at the end with Azrael and the golf club...straight out of "The Howling". Very funny. Seeing the original cast members in all their little roles...that was great. I loved the moments, I loved the ideas, I even loved Alannis as God. Don't ask me why, but I was ready to really hate her in the role. Granted, it's kind of a big part to fill, but the notion of a pop-slash-modern-ballad singer hailing as the Allmighty Creator of All Things just seemed a bit off-ish. But she pulled it off well, and it almost seemed to fit in a karmic sense. God is a fun-loving sort who found a Heavenly existence to be so boring and straight, that He?She created Earth as a place where Order is subservient to Chaos, the total antithesis to the Hereafter. It's kind of like Vegas to the Afterlife...a place to cut loose and hang heavy with the locals. Actually, I kind of like the idea of a Heavenly Father who knows how to party.
All of Kevin's other films notwithstanding, it's "Dogma" that turned me into a Kevin Smith fan. He's the kind of filmmaker I would be if I had the money and the equipment, so he's the kind of filmmaker I feel compelled to watch...and envy.
Thanks, Kev.