Dogma critique
The catalysts, if not the stars, are two fallen angels, played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. After 2,000 years in exile in Wisconsin, they have discovered a loophole in church dogma that may allow them back into heaven, if only they can pass under the arch at a Catholic church in New Jersey. The only problem: If they pass under the arch, they will undo all of creation. Linda Fiorentino plays Bethany, the woman chosen by God to stop the boys from crossing that threshold. A thundering voice and a ball of fire come to her in the middle of the night. She puts the fireball out with an extinguisher, revealing a frustrated and long- suffering angel of God, played by Alan Rickman. The energetic Chris Rock shows up as the 13th apostle, claiming to have been left out of the New Testament because he's black. The apostles are the foul-mouthed Jay played by Jason Mewes and Silent Bob played by Kevin Smith (also film director). They come to Bethany's rescue when the original trio of fallen angel punks attacks her. The audience then discover that this group of thugs is under assignment by a fallen angel who escaped Hell, Azrael played by Jason Lee. Azrael wants Loki and Bartleby to succeed because he would rather be obliterated than go back to Hell. When they get to the church, they find the scene of Bartleby and Loki's bloody massacre, but since they still exist, they conclude that they haven't yet entered the church. Bartleby stabs and kills Loki, presumably sending him to Hell. The group then attacks and tries to stop Bartleby. Jay tries to help by shooting off his wings with a machine gun, only to learn that he just made him human... and thus enable him to re-enter Heaven once he dies.
Bethany, who heard in the news about the homeless man who was beaten by the Stygians at the beginning, realizes that the man is God, and if she takes Him off life support, God would be able to come down and stop Bartleby. She goes with Silent Bob to the hospital, and unplugs the man's life support system, which releases God from the body. However the force of God's spirit exiting the body is so powerful, it kills Bethany. Bartleby opens the doors to the church, only to find God and the Metatron standing at the door. Upon seeing God and realizing that he has failed, Bartleby sobbingly apologizes. Existence is saved, and everyone is happy. Silent Bob then brings out Bethany's dead body, which God instantly repairs and revives. Bethany wakes up, and is happy that everything is okay. Bethany thanks God for everything, and her faith is restored. The Metatron then reveals that Bethany is pregnant, before taking Rufus and Serendipity with him and God back to Heaven. At the beginning, we meet two fallen angels who get their kicks out of sitting in airports and analyzing human beings. At one point, Loki convinces a nun into denouncing Christianity by explaining how an "Alice in Wonderland" poem is symbolic for religious tyranny. I love this movie because it dares to question every religion and everything about religion
