Dogma: A Screenplay

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The latest battle in the eternal war between Good and Evil has come to New Jersey in the late, late 20th Century. In Kevin Smith's comic fantasia Dogma, angels, demons, apostles and prophets (of a sort) walk among the cynics and innocents of America and duke it out for the fate of humankind.

In what can only be deemed a comedy parable, two renegade fallen angels attempt to jerry-rig the entire cosmological system—unless a rag-tag group of humans can stop faith. Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), the heroine of Dogma, is a woman who feels her prayers haven't been answered when, out of nowhere, a heralding angel appears in her bedroom and declares her the potential savior of humanity. This abrupt meeting sets her off on an extraordinary journey of mystery, comedy and suspense as she is transported to a fantastical world of celestial characters and spirited adventure. Along the way she will meet up with a heaven-sent messenger (Alan Rickman), an apostle with a 2,000 year old beef (Chris Rock), a hotheaded demon (Jason Lee), a heavenly Muse (Salma Hayek) and two unlikely Prophets known as Jay and Silent Bob as they each discover the power of their own individual faith.

Few comedies have at stake the very fate of humankind, but Dogma is not your usual comedy. It is an imaginative and surreal adult fable bursting with wild ideas, fantastical creations and boisterously funny characters. The film is both Kevin Smith's fantasy about the relationships, conflicts and lifestyles of Celestial Beings—who it turns out are just as caught up in the small indignities and large absurdities of the universe as humans#151;and a love letter to the sacred mysteries of life.

FROM THE CRITICS

Charles Taylor - Salon