Who Were You in "Dogma"? Trivia Quiz

Answer: George Carlin

Cardinal Glick is the head of a local New Jersey church which is celebrating its centennial. Glick wants to make this an occasion to remember, one that will promote the church to greater heights and generate new parishioners, particularly among the younger generation. To this end, he creates the image of a "Buddy Christ", one that is a far more appealing constellation than the one seen hanging on a cross. In addition, and this is the kicker, he offers a plenary indulgence that will remove all sins from anyone that enters the church on the day. Little does he know, at the time, that this is the loophole that the fallen angels, Loki and Bartleby, are looking for.

George Carlin, who portrays Glick, was an American stand-up comedian, well known for his dark sense of humour and his views on religion and a range of other taboo subjects. He would win five Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Albums, one of which was "Jammin' in New York" (1992).

Answer: Matt Damon

Loki represents one of the two fallen angels trying to find a loophole that will help them make their way back into Heaven. Whilst he is currently one of the bad guys, he was once God's favourite, was entrusted with the flaming sword and held the title as the 'Angel of Death', responsible for going forth and visiting God's wrath upon the unworthy. After completing the last task he'd been assigned - killing every first born among the Egyptians - he goes on a bender with his friend Bartleby, a Gregorian angel, who convinces him to discard his role as an assassin. An inebriated Loki then does the unthinkable by throwing away his sword and flicking the middle finger at God.

Loki is played by Matt Damon, an Oscar winner for "Good Will Hunting" (1997) and notable for playing the role of the amnesia affected assassin Jason Bourne on four occasions between 2002 and 2016. The first of those being "The Bourne Identity" (2002).

Answer: Ben Affleck

Bartleby is the second of the fallen angels though the blame for the punishment dished out to him and his friend Loki could rightly be placed at his feet. His last task for God was to deliver ten plagues upon the citizens of Egypt and he'd done so with aplomb. However, by this stage, he had become disillusioned by it all and, with the help of some Dutch courage (alcohol) he convinces Loki that they should quit their day jobs and move on to greener pastures. Sadly, for them, the greener pastures they get banished to and end up spending millennia on, is a plot of land that will eventually become part of Wisconsin. Here they spend their thousands of years plotting to get back into Heaven.

Ben Affleck donned the wings as Bartleby in this picture. He made an early mark in films alongside Matt Damon in "Good Will Hunting" (1997), for which the pair earned Oscars for their screenplay. Ben would collect a second Oscar for Best Picture with "Argo" (2012) and he showcased his versatility by playing the mathematically savant assassin in "The Accountant" in 2016.

Answer: Linda Fiorentino

Bethany Sloan, who works at an abortion clinic, is the main protagonist in this movie. There is a touch of irony about her occupation as she was raised a devout Roman Catholic who became pregnant and then decided to abort it. She developed an infection during this procedure and, as a consequence, is no longer able to have children. This would lead to the destruction of her marriage and her loss of faith in God. Along comes the angelic being Metatron who recruits her with the task of saving humanity from the actions of two renegade angels. She accepts the mission and her faith is restored and she also discovers that she is the last living descendant of Jesus Christ.

Linda Fiorentino, who plays Bethany, made her movie debut in "Vision Quest" (1985) but rose to prominence with her performance as Bridget/Wendy in the erotic thriller "The Last Seduction" in 1994. It was a role that earned her a string of awards, including Best Actor from the New York Critic's Circle, the London Critic's Circle and the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts).

Answer: Janeane Garofalo

Liz is Bethany's best friend and a clinical counsellor at the abortion clinic. Jewish, blunt, and straight to the point, she has only a minor role in the film but she is entrusted with delivering one of the most memorable lines in the story - the glass of water analogy about faith:

Liz: "He said that faith is like a glass of water. When you're young, the glass is small, and it's easy to fill up. But the older you get, the bigger the glass gets, and the same amount of liquid doesn't fill it anymore. Periodically, the glass has to be refilled."
Bethany: "You're suggesting I need to get filled?"
Liz: "In more ways than one. You need to get laid, Bethany Sloan. You need a man, if only for ten minutes."

Janeane Garofalo's career began in stand-up comedy as a regular on "The Ben Stiller Show" in 1990. She has appeared in more than fifty movies including, starring alongside Uma Thurman in "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" in 1996.

Answer: Jason Lee

Azrael is a former muse, the brother of Serendipity and one of the main antagonists in "Dogma". Originally, when Satan attempted to usurp God and set off the entire war between the celestials, Azrael declared himself to be neutral in the conflict, thinking it was the safest place to be. However, in failing to choose a side, he'd angered God who, in turn, banished him to Hell. Like Loki and Bartleby in Wisconsin, Azrael has been plotting a way out of the infernal underworld.

It is Azrael who tips off Bartleby about the plenary indulgence offered by Cardinal Glick. He also manages to incapacitate God, preventing the Almighty from interfering with his plans. To add to his vileness, he sets the murderous Stygian Triplets, a group of demonic teenage ruffians, on the path to kill Bethany.

Azrael is played by Jason Lee, a former professional skateboarder, who has made a habit of appearing in films made by Kevin Smith. Along with "Dogma", these include the likes of "Mallrats" (1995), "Chasing Amy" (1997) and "Jersey Girl" (2004). However, he is best known for his portrayal of the lovable petty criminal Earl Hickey, in the television comedy "My Name is Earl" (2005-09).

Answer: Alan Rickman

Metatron is an angelic being who acts as the voice of God, whenever God wishes to communicate with mankind. Why? Because God's voice would cause the heads of mortal creatures to explode, hence the need for an intermediary. Metatron is the one who uncovers Azrael's plan to escape from Hell and, immediately, realizes that, if successful, it could mean the end of all of existence. Due to Heaven's bureaucracy, he is unable to intervene, so he puts together a team of ragtag, mismatched holy figures, stoners and outcasts to act on his behalf.

In bringing his deliciously dry British wit to the role of Metatron, Alan Rickman proves to be the perfect choice to portray this dignified yet sarcastic and world-weary angel. Rickman made his film debut as the criminal mastermind Hans Gruber in the explosive action thriller "Die Hard" (1988). He would win a BAFTA for his performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the swashbuckling blockbuster "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991) and then enhanced the "Harry Potter" series of films with his quiet, yet intense and tragic performance as the cynical Professor of Potions, Severus Snape.

Answer: Chris Rock

Rufus is, supposedly, the forgotten thirteenth apostle, who becomes a member of the ragtag bunch of heroes assembled by Metatron to aid Bethany Sloan in her quest to stop the fallen angels, Loki and Bartleby, from destroying the world. He combines with the muse Serendipity to wipe out the Stygian Triplets by dunking their heads into a bucket of holy water.

Rufus is brought to life on the big screen by Chris Rock, a Grammy Award winning comedian, who has never shied away from sensitive subjects such as race relations and human sexuality in his routines. "Rolling Stone" magazine once listed him at number five on their list of the "Top 50 Stand Up Comics". After making a scene with his minor role in "Beverly Hills Cop II" (1987) he featured strongly in films such as "Sgt. Bilko" (1996) and "Lethal Weapon 4" (1998), before becoming the voice of the hopelessly optimistic zebra Marty in three films from the "Madagascar" franchise between 2005 and 2012.

Answer: Salma Hayek

Serendipity is a muse and she is also the sister of the villainous Azrael. However, unlike her brother, she chose to be on God's side when the Great War broke out. As a reward, God granted her the boon that she'd requested... to live her life on Earth. Despite this seeming to be an innocuous request, there was an ulterior motive in it for Serendipity. She was the muse of inspiration, often bragging that she had been the spark and the motivation behind nine of the top ten grossing films of all time. In Heaven though, there was no fame, glory, fortune or recognition for her, on Earth, she figured, this would be a different story. Sadly, she soon found out, that while her gift inspired others, it left her with severe writer's block.

She gets chosen by Metatron, along with Rufus, the thirteenth apostle and two stoner prophets, Jay and Silent Bob, as part of the team designed to help Bethany save existence.

Cast as Serendipity is the magnetic Salma Hayek who'd cut her acting teeth in the telenovela "Teresa" (1989-91) before establishing herself in Hollywood in films such as "Desperado" (1995), "Wild, Wild West" (1999) and the dramatically biographical film "Frida" (2002), for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. In 2017 she appeared alongside Samuel L. Jackson as an assassin and Jackson's wife, Sonia Kincaid, in the action comedy "The Hitman's Bodyguard". She would reprise that role in the 2021 sequel "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard".

Answer: Alanis Morissette

Despite God being the super-being in this film, the Almighty does have foibles, mainly a fondness for playing skee-ball. To accommodate this predilection, the Creator would choose, from time to time, to walk the world disguised as a human being. This provides an opening for Azrael who takes God out of the picture by placing the human form the Supreme Being inhabits into a coma... trapping God within it.

Whilst God is referred to as a male in the film, he has taken the form of a female while on Earth, demonstrating that the Almighty is genderless. That female form is portrayed by Alanis Morissette, a woman not naturally noted for her acting prowess but more for her skill in music where she became known as the "Queen of Alternate Rock Angst". Her breakout album was "Jagged Little Pill" (1995) which included the hit single "You Oughta Know".