Chris Rock, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, and Linda Fiorentino.

Director Kevin Smith is well known for his so-called New Jersey trilogy, which forcused on the early adult life through malls, convenience stores, lesbians and Stan Lee. So does it make sense that his next film would be a piece of comic fantasia based around two fallen angels' attempts to return to heaven and the consequences around it? Not exactly.

But in his new film, "Dogma," Smith and company attack the weighty issues of faith and existence while still retaining the unique dialogue and style that permeated his previous films.

Loki(Matt Damon) and Bartelby(Ben Affleck) are angels banished to Earth for prior errors, but find a loophole in new Catholic dogma which will allow them passage to heaven. But their return home will have apocalyptic consequences, so Bethany(Linda Fiorentino) is chosen by the voice of God (Alan Rickman) to stop them.

During her travels, she faces friends and foes along the way. The supporting cast is incredible, consisting of Chris Rock, Janeane Garafaolo, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek, George Carlin and a surprise casting for God.

And reprising the roles in the NJ trilogy are Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, AKA Jay and Silent Bob.

Instead of just being comic relief, they have a key role as sidekicks/protectors on Bethany's travels.

Even though he might have three lines of dialogue, Silent Bob is played with silent aplomb and heroism.

Jay is his usual loquacious self, always focused on girls and ganja while the fate of humanity plays out before him. But the base imperfection of his character is perfect for the film.

The major characters, most of which are the product of some sort of heavenly descent, fight with the same imperfections of mankind. Muses get writers' block, angels grapple with the concept of free will and chosen ones denounce their destiny.

With the deep religious themes, understanding Christian theology and mythology will help one appreciate a lot of the imagery and jokes in the film.

But anyone with an open mind can enjoy the movie.

Of course, the unorthodox depiction of angels has spawned protests and a "Hate Letter of The Week" section on their official website. Well, that an assertions that Jesus was black, Virgin Mary was no virgin, God is a she, liberal use of the f-word by holy characters, the Bible as relative truth, masturbators as heroes, a stripper, violence, gore, a shit monster, and fart jokes.

In fact, Miramax (a subsidary of Disney) dropped the film after pressure from a variety of religious groups.

This makes the scene where vengeance is carried out upon the board of Mooby the Cow(basically Mickey Mouse meets the golden calf) particularly ironic.

Fortunately indie distributor Lion's Gate picked up the project, because Dogma is blessed with excellent interation and timing between the characters.

Combine this with a great script and it is funnier and more spiritual than anything you might see on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Or most of Hollywood.