RED BANK - No, there wasn't any red carpet rolled out, nor was there a "hands-and-feet-in-cement" ceremony with a multitude of stars on hand. However, the premiere of Kevin Smith's latest comedy film "Dogma," a benefit screening for 440 of the Highlands-raised filmmakers' most loyal fans, was met with as much anticipation and enthusiasm as any Hollywood movie debut.

On Monday evening at Red Bank's Clearview Cinemas, White Street, Smith and many of his View Askew cronies (including producing partner Scott Mosier and co-star Jason Mewes) welcomed hundreds of admirers eager to get a sneak peek at his fourth feature film.

"Dogma," a religion-flavored farce, stars a host of top-name actors: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (the Academy Award-winning pair made famous in "Good Will Hunting"), George Carlin ("The Prince Of Tides" and "Car Wash"), Alan Rickman ("Die Hard"), Chris Rock ("Lethal Weapon 4"), Linda Fiorentino ("Gotcha"), songstress Alanis Morrisette as well as Smith and Mewes, reprising their roles as the ever-popular "Jay & Silent Bob."

According to View Askew spokesperson Kim Loughran, the event ‹ which raised more than $10,000 for the American Diabetes Association ‹ sold out very quickly (at $30 per ticket) and that it had been Smith's idea for the fundraiser as a way of "giving something back to the community."

"I think it's going to be a great evening," said Loughran, who along with the Toms River-based band The Amazing Meat Project would be entertaining fans at a post-screening party at Downtown Cafe, Front Street. "I really think everybody will enjoy the music, just enjoy the reception, hopefully enjoy the movie and it's just for such a great cause."

Fans began lining up in front of the theater around 6 p.m. for the 9 p.m. show (which eventually was pushed back to close to 10 p.m. due to the overwhelming crowd on hand), with Trenton resident Scott Hess and pal Ryan McClelland from Langhorne, Pennsylvania the first two ticket-holders on line.

"It's great that he has a bunch of stars in this film, but that's not what I really care about," said McClelland, an admirer since Smith's first flick "Clerks" came out six years ago. "I came to see a great New Jersey guy make a really good film."

While most fans came from around the central New Jersey region, others drove ‹ and flew ‹ in from points as far away as Alaska and Australia, all simply for the chance to see the special one-night-only screening.

"We knew that when Kevin Smith had something new coming out, we'd probably do something big here," said Clearview Cinemas spokesman John Halecky, who also noted that the screening would be the theater's first-ever showing with the DSS (Digital Surround Sound) System in place. "But I don't think anybody anticipated the kinda crowd we've got here... it's wrapped around three blocks down right now!"

After hundreds of fans (Loughran reported only seven no-shows) filed through the front doors swiftly, finding seats in either of the two theaters showing the movie simultaneously, Smith (holding four-month-old daughter Harley Quinn proudly) addressed the packed audiences with thanks for supporting the American Diabetes Association. Two members of Smith's family, an aunt and uncle, both passed away from complications related to the disease while his father is also a diabetic.

"It's a funny movie. That's the thing in the midst of all the controversy about it what gets lost is the fact that it's a funny, funny movie. And when it plays in front of an audience, the audience loves it," Smith said of the film, which opens nationwide on Friday, November 12. "You'd have to be a real stick-in-the-mud not to find this movie funny on some level."

Smith, who is now working on the animated series "Clerks," set to begin airing on ABC in February, admits that he has settled down quite a bit since getting married and having a child. In fact, he is truly enjoying his role as husband and father. "It's really nice," he added, "because you tend to get bogged down in the day-to-day, the trivial and then you're standing there looking at your kid and you're like ‹ Whoa! ‹ that's really why we're here. It's really the most important aspect of my life."