starring : matt damon , ben affleck , linda fiorentino , chris rock , alan rickman , janeane garofalo , jason lee , jason mewes , kevin smith director : kevin smith written by : kevin smith in the north america of the late 90's , a time and place wherein the description " devout catholic " is an oxymoron , you wouldn't think a film like dogma would have had trouble finding a distributor , much less require the painfully self-embarrassed disclaimer which precedes it . surely even the most pious , guilt-ridden rc couldn't possibly take offense to something smith rightly calls a " comic fantasy , " something so purposely irreverent it rivals the great schism for sheer , laugh-out-loud ludicrousness . i mean , come on . we're talking about a movie that features damon and affleck as fallen angels ( complete with really fake-looking wings ) who discover a policy loophole that will either allow them to get back into heaven with a clean slate-- or cause the obliteration of everything , depending on whom you ask . we're talking about dusky-voiced fiorentino as a heroine whose family tree contains more 'begot's than the book of genesis , and chris rock as " rufus , the thirteenth apostle , " who insists he was written out of the bible because he's black . we're talking about inspired bits of ironic casting like alanis morissette as god , or better yet , george carlin as a cardinal who interprets jesus' " let the children come unto me , " as " get 'em when they're young . " we're talking about stoners jay and silent bob ( jason mewes and smith , who show up as these same characters in every smith movie ) as prophets , fer chrissakes . by all rights , a film this goofy should have inspired nothing more than simple indifference , and not just in catholics . yet for the most part , it all clicks . damon and affleck are ideal as millennia-old buddies ; their scenes together have a seemingly effortless , comfortable ease , and they even get to poke fun at speculation about their offscreen relationship . certain corporate idolaters are slammed mercilessly , to hilarious effect . even jay's juvenile , expletive-riddled banter , annoying as it can be , often provides a shockingly funny counterpoint when the going threatens to get serious . the film does lose some steam in the late going , however , and the ending doesn't match the promise of the first half . still , dogma ends up being a thoughtful and heartfelt expression of smith's simple message about the difference between ideas and beliefs , faith and religion , and why we're all here . 
