I went to go see the 1999 film Dogma at the movie theater this weekend — a sentence that probably sounds impossible if you’ve ever tried to find it online. I don’t know how this happened, but I’m so glad it did. Dogma has been out of reach for years, yet somehow theaters brought it back from the dead for a special weekend-only run.
The marquee called it:
“Resurrection! A 25th Anniversary Special Event” — even though Dogma came out in 1999 and, by most calendars, that would’ve made 2024 the actual 25th anniversary.
But hey, who’s counting? The film certainly isn’t. If anything, that slight anachronism felt right at home with the movie’s irreverent charm and chaotic spiritual logic.
🔒 Dogma’s Locked-Down Legacy: Why You Can’t Stream It
If you’ve ever tried to watch Dogma in the age of streaming, you’ve probably discovered that it’s basically nonexistent online. That’s not an accident — and it’s not because the movie flopped or faded into obscurity.
The reason Dogma is missing from every major digital platform has to do with rights ownership and a now-disgraced Hollywood mogul.
Kevin Smith, the brilliant mind who wrote and directed the film, doesn’t own the rights. Harvey Weinstein does, through a now-defunct company. After Weinstein’s downfall, no studio wanted to touch the distribution, and the film quietly disappeared from shelves, catalogs, and streaming platforms.
Smith has even spoken publicly about how the film is being “held hostage,” and that he’s tried (unsuccessfully) to buy it back from Weinstein. Until then, it’s trapped in movie limbo.
So for years, Dogma has been a cinematic ghost. Unless you’ve got a working DVD or a questionable torrent, you’re out of luck — unless a theater pulls off a miracle.
🎟️ A Loophole Worthy of Bartleby and Loki
That’s exactly what made this theater screening feel so surreal and special: movie theaters found a loophole — just like Dogma’s fallen angels Bartleby and Loki, played by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, respectively.
In the film, the two fallen angels try to re-enter Heaven by exploiting a technicality in Catholic dogma. In real life, movie theaters are exploiting a legal technicality of their own: while the film can’t be sold or streamed, theaters can still license a 35mm or digital print for a one-time screening, as long as they’re not distributing it for home viewing.
It’s poetic, really — watching a movie about divine loopholes by attending one.
This movie wouldn’t be available to me at all if it weren’t for the theater taking that risk and leaning into that gray area. Dogma may be spiritually messy, but in this case, the cinema made a pretty righteous move.
🍿 The Experience: A Cult Classic, Finally on the Big Screen
The theater was showing it Thursday and Sunday only — and it looked like that was it. The impermanence added to the magic. My wife and I are celebrating our anniversary this weekend, so a second showing was out of the question, but I’m just grateful I got to see it once.
I didn’t know Jay and Silent Bob were going to be in this — not really my vibe — but the rest of the cast was incredible.
Linda Fiorentino ate. Maybe too much. But go off, Linda.
Alan rickman was an absolute vibe and then some. He loved his role, it’s obvious. He had such enjoyable sas as the voice of God. It was so fun to see him and George Carlin step into roles that you know they could just totally own because they loved every part of it.
Salma Hayek continues to be the time-defying goddess she’s always been. Every few years I try to come to terms with how good she looks for her age, and then I discover an even earlier movie that makes it worse (or better?).
And Jason Lee? I spent half the movie thinking he was Ryan Reynolds before the glow-up. Even his voice sounds like a slightly deeper Reynolds alt.
The practical effects and off-screen action added charm and humor, not cringe.
The movie was funnier and smarter than I expected. The writing was sharp — irreverent but intentional. It pokes at Christianity without going full “burn it all down.” There’s a kind of spiritual curiosity underneath all the sex jokes and demon poop.
✝️ Faith, Forms, and Finding God in a Kevin Smith Movie
One thing that stood out was how the movie approached the form of God — literally. In Dogma, God seems to appear on Earth in the form you personally would recognize or admire most. For one character, that ends up being Alanis Morissette. (Honestly? Bold choice. Unproblematic. Accurate. And hilarious that her voice is too godly for anyone to hear it without exploding.)
That idea — that God appears in your ideal form — feels blasphemous to some, but it actually tracks with parts of Scripture. After death, believers are promised new bodies, perfected and renewed. There’s even a verse that supports this idea:
1 John 3:2 — “We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
I still believe God is a “He” — because that’s what the Bible tells us, and that foundation is essential to my faith. But the idea that God, in His power, could show Himself differently to different people… that doesn’t scare me. It makes sense. And it happens in the Bible more than once. Dogma doesn’t claim to rewrite the Bible — it just takes some of its spiritual flexibility and runs with it. Sometimes literally.
🙏 Final Thoughts: Holy Laughter, Unholy Rights, and a Perfect Movie Night
This might be the most enjoyable Kevin Smith movie I’ll ever watch. It’s the perfect blend of absurdity, honesty, and oddly sincere theology. And thanks to some distribution loophole, I got to see a film that’s been buried for two decades — not in some basement, but in a big, echoing theater.
I probably won’t be watching it again anytime soon. Unless Weinstein lets it go (don’t hold your breath), Dogma will remain in limbo. But for now, I’m grateful for the resurrection.
Now I’m being borderline blasphemous but I guess I’ll just have to wait for the next coming of Dogma.
Guarantee my mom would hate that line. But she doesn’t read my blog so this is the perfect place to put it.
Anyway, to wrap this up, I probably won’t become a Kevin Smith convert overnight, but I’m glad I caught the one that felt less like a stoner sketch and more like a playfully spiritual philosophy seminar wrapped in a fart joke.
And I’m glad it got to see it while it was in a theater. Felt like we were catching a comet soaring by.
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