Dogma (1999)

Would you believe that the last living descendent of Jesus Christ is a woman working at an abortion clinic in Illinois? And that she's been sent on a holy mission with two minor characters from Clerks and Mallrats as her guides? Prepare to suspend any and all disbelief as you watch the religious satire Dogma, the fourth film from writer/director Kevin Smith. Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) has been disappointed in life and has found her faith severely tested after her husband leaves her when she discovers she cannot have children. So Bethany is all the more puzzled when she's approached by Metatron (Alan Rickman), a grumpy angel. Metatron wants her to help him stop Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon), two fallen angels who were ejected from paradise, have escaped from exile and are heading to New Jersey. If they are able to pass through the arc of a certain church, it will prove God is fallible and the world will come to a swift end. Bethany has no idea what to do or why she's been given this project, but she heads out anyway, with her assigned assistants Jay (Jason Mewes), an appallingly rude former dope dealer and self-styled ladies man, and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). Along the way, Bethany picks up more helpers, including a celestial muse named Serendipity (Salma Hayek) and Rufus (Chris Rock), who claims to have been the 13th apostle and that Jesus owes him 12 dollars. Boasting a huge supporting cast -- including George Carlin, Jason Lee, Janeane Garofalo, Bud Cort, and Alanis Morissette (as God) -- Dogma proved to be highly controversial even before its release. Miramax Pictures, owned by Disney, financed the film, but several weeks before Dogma's world premier at the Cannes Film Festival, they announced they would not release the picture and intended to sell it to another distributor (which would turn out to be Lions Gate Films). Director Smith, however, has always contended that Dogma is a film about the importance of faith, if not organized religion. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi