by BRUCE KIRKLAND (Toronto Sun)

Casting Alanis Morissette as God in his religious comedy Dogma was a no-brainer, filmmaker Kevin Smith says.

"The reason for me is that Alanis is very, very much that character," Smith says ingenuously. "Alanis isn't God, that's for sure, but she is so serene. She is such a serene, calm person who has just such an angelic nature about her."

Morissette, in concert with Tori Amos at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto tonight, appears in a cameo at the end of Dogma, which debuts at the Toronto film festival this weekend.

Morissette has no dialogue, but lets out a primal scream and then does a cutie-pie handstand, toppling over in a bed of flowers.

Smith deliberately refused to ask Morissette to do a song for the movie.

"I didn't want to undercut why she was cast. It had nothing to do with her day job. It had everything to do with who she is. I don't care what's going on in your day," Smith says. "You spend five minutes with her and it's not really that bad out there, is it?"