Briefly...
I've never seen a film that was so brilliant and so dreadful at the same time. Smith occasionally produces moments of utter brilliance, eg
Rickman's deeply moving account of how he had to persuade the boy Jesus to take on his saviourhood;
the subversion of the church's desire to become 'hip';
the entire sequence with the mute God;
the review of accepted Biblical content;
the (under-explored) tension between Catholicism and abortion.
In fact, it's when Smith becomes theological that the film succeeds, even if his standpoint is questionable. Unfortunately, the film as a film is a mess - too many characters, glib dialogue which throws away the jokes, clumsy editing, and a plot which seems to have been stitched together in a hurry. This looks like a half-finished screenplay, an early draft in need of trimming.
Thank goodness, then, for the talent on offer: Linda Fiorentino's performance is robust and occasionally profound, and she carries the entire movie. Matt and Ben aren't given enough to do, and the film squanders their obvious talent. Rickman doesn't surprise, since he is usually splendid. Other characters can annoy more than produce enjoyment (Hayek, Rock, and particularly Mewes - this is my first Kevin Smith film, and I was sick of Mewes by the end, so God knows how all the people who've seen Amy and Clerks must think of him).
I enjoyed the film very much, despite these flaws, but wish Smith had taken his time and put the script through some more re-drafts, because we might have had a masterpiece. Still, 7 out of 10, because I had fun.
I've never seen a film that was so brilliant and so dreadful at the same time. Smith occasionally produces moments of utter brilliance, eg
Rickman's deeply moving account of how he had to persuade the boy Jesus to take on his saviourhood;
the subversion of the church's desire to become 'hip';
the entire sequence with the mute God;
the review of accepted Biblical content;
the (under-explored) tension between Catholicism and abortion.
In fact, it's when Smith becomes theological that the film succeeds, even if his standpoint is questionable. Unfortunately, the film as a film is a mess - too many characters, glib dialogue which throws away the jokes, clumsy editing, and a plot which seems to have been stitched together in a hurry. This looks like a half-finished screenplay, an early draft in need of trimming.
Thank goodness, then, for the talent on offer: Linda Fiorentino's performance is robust and occasionally profound, and she carries the entire movie. Matt and Ben aren't given enough to do, and the film squanders their obvious talent. Rickman doesn't surprise, since he is usually splendid. Other characters can annoy more than produce enjoyment (Hayek, Rock, and particularly Mewes - this is my first Kevin Smith film, and I was sick of Mewes by the end, so God knows how all the people who've seen Amy and Clerks must think of him).
I enjoyed the film very much, despite these flaws, but wish Smith had taken his time and put the script through some more re-drafts, because we might have had a masterpiece. Still, 7 out of 10, because I had fun.