If a movie came out today starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon there would be certain expectations associated with that film given the current quality of both actors. However, speaking 15 years ago and adding Kevin Smith in as the director, suddenly we're talking about something very different. We would be talking about Dogma, the crowning film achievement of View Askew Films and creator Kevin Smith. By far the boldest satirical commentary produced on the Christian religion with angels, demons, fallen angels (there is a difference), Golgothan (poop monster), and top it all off with Alanis Morissette as God. Noting the overall sexualized tone, vulger language, and violence of the film as deterrents for the film being viewed by young audiences, it does offer some rather profound truths all while remaining humorous such as, "Faith is like a glass of water. When you're young, the glass is little so its easy to fill. As you get older, the glass gets bigger. The same amount of liquid doesn't fill it anymore, but periodically the glass has to be refilled. or Alan Rickman's character, "Tell a person that you're the Metatron and they stare at you blankly. Mention something from a Charlton Heston film and suddenly there a theology scholar."
As a general concept, comedy or rather "good" comedy within film occurs because of a tension between a general truth which is readily understood and an inaccurately applied conclusion to that truth. For example the quote above's point is that in general people can get their theological understanding of God from film instead of understanding what The Bible actually says. The film is largely set against organized religion which it makes fun of and not so much the actual theological truths which it uses as a premise in the first place. Christians should be aware of perhaps taking some aspects of our faith too seriously and others not seriously enough. For expressing that point "Jay and Silent Bob" style, there is Dogma.
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