Cinema: Can God Take A Joke?

If he (or she) can, there'll be a lot to laugh at in Kevin Smith's randy but defiantly devout Dogma

In September, the chunky young auteur faced a packed house at the Toronto Film Festival and smiled. "We're here tonight," Kevin Smith said, "and lightning has not struck the building. So I guess it's O.K. with the Lord." Smith, 29, had endured a rough six months, ever since the Catholic League, a lay group with 350,000 members and an intimidating letterhead, had pressured the Walt Disney Co. and its subsidiary Miramax Films to drop Dogma, Smith's rambunctious comedy about God, faith and a monster made of poop. Smith was able to make his movie freely, but if the protesters had had...

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