Well, thanks to Kevin’s posting his itinerary, Mrs. Mabel and I thought we’d have a go at trying to get into last night’s Philly screening. You know, see if anyone had come alone and could walk us in. We got lucky (after a last minute scramble to a nearby comic store that was rumored to have tix, but disappointed) and found a couple of generous folks who were happy to help us out.

JG turns out to be a sweet, modest, tender piece of work. Talk about “One From The Heart”. It’s still recognizably Kevin, while doing things you’ve never seen in a Kevin Smith film before. There’s solid laughs that made the audience roar, wonderful acting (Affleck and Tyler make a believable and incandescent couple), and the razor sharp writing that KS fans treasure.

When it’s over, it lingers with you like a pleasant evening with good friends. I think it’ll do well.

There was a Q&A after the screening and one guy (who’d been quite vocal about this topic during the screening) wanted to know why there were so many shots of people pulling their pants down (?). “You don’t pull your pants down, dude?” Kevin asked. “I mean, even in the shower?” The guy also faulted the music, finding it corny, but had no suggestions. Kevin politely suggested that the fellow, er, conclude what he had to say, much in the manner of Julianne Moore’s character in “Magnolia”.

There was also frank and candid talk about Mewes and how his personal problems made it difficult for Kevin to face making another film with him, which was partly why he started on the path that led to JG. He said Jay’s 1 year of sobriety date will be April 6, “so I said I’d throw him a party and get him a rum cake.” It’s really something to hear him talk about how he tried to deal with all this, rejecting the tough love approach at first, trying it out of desperation, things getting worse, until finally the clouds broke. But at no time no you ever get the impression that he would have abandoned him. That just wasn’t an option. This is the kind of guy you want to have in your corner.

Other topics included Kevin’s late father, the Peter Biskind book, Carlin (“His dream role is to play a priest that strangles six kids”), and the uncanny resemblance that Raquel Castro bears to Jennifer Lopez. The Ollie Trinkes that ran the event started to try and wind it up, but Kevin kept soliciting questions, even when they were blinking the lights off and on. I swear, the hardest working man in show business.

And yes, I got to see myself on the big screen, something I don’t get to do everyday. Thank you, Kevin.

And I may have to look into this Atkins thing. I’m here to tell you, the guy looks great.

PAULSBORO — Jersey girl Geraldine Melvin is returning to her roots to see her hometown silver screen debut.

After leaving the borough 60 years ago upon moving to Philadelphia, Melvin, 87, a 1933 Paulsboro High School graduate, is making the trek Wednesday to see the local advance screening of director Kevin Smith’s “Jersey Girl.” The film, which stars Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, George Carlin and Raquel Castro and features Jennifer Lopez, was partially filmed in the borough and Philadelphia, during 2002.

“I just wonder whether there’s some people that I went to school with who are still living down there,” Melvin, who was born Geraldine Aberman, wondered aloud. “I’m sort of anticipating perhaps meeting Kevin Smith.”

Her daughter-in-law Cheryl Faye Schwartz of Bensalem, Pa., credits Smith himself, with reuniting Melvin with her residence of yesteryear.

Schwartz met Smith last year at a party in Red Bank and mentioned that it would be nice for her mother-in-law — who enjoyed Smith’s jab at Catholicism in “Dogma” — to return for the Paulsboro “Jersey Girl” showing. Concerned that tickets would not be available because neither of the women currently live in Paulsboro, Schwartz reconnected with Smith via the Internet last week. And, the movie-maker didn’t disappoint.

“He said, ‘Let me see what I can do,’ ” Schwartz said. “The next day I had an e-mail from the mayor … Here’s the Paulsboro resident who got the tickets for us.”

Mayor John Burzichelli said he was happy to help.

“She’s coming to her alma mater,” Burzichelli said of Melvin, noting that the gesture shows Smith is a “real guy.” “It was typical Kevin Smith. He thought enough about their circumstances.”

Smith has become well-known for his tongue-in-cheek humor, which tends to appeal to younger audiences through colorful characters Jay and Silent Bob. Still, Melvin said she’s never too old for a good laugh.

“I might be a senior citizen in age, but I keep forgetting how old I am,” Melvin said. “I think the way young people think. I like young people much better than old people.”

For the former piano teacher and mother of two, next week’s showing will reacquaint her with the place where her fond, early memories — many from her former Delaware Street residence — still thrive.

“It’s just a totally, totally different town now,” Melvin said of the Paulsboro she knew and loved. “As Cheryl was mentioning these various sites to me, I felt as though I was looking down from another planet. I remember when there were no paved streets. I remember a little wooden church about a block from where I lived.”

If you go

Writer/director Kevin Smith will present a special local screening of “Jersey Girl” Wednesday at Paulsboro High School at 7 p.m.

DIRECTOR’S CUT – Seems J.Lo isn’t the only one who’s been betrayed by Ben Affleck. Director Kevin Smith, in Boston yesterday to promote “Jersey Girl,” said the Cambridge actor’s a real sweetheart, “but he goes out and cheats on me, doing movies with other people.” Best known for his 1994 comedy “Clerks,” Smith is a big fan of the whole Affleck clan, having cast Ben in “Mall Rats,” “Dogma,” and now “Jersey Girl,” and Ben and Casey Affleck in “Chasing Amy.” “Their mom, Chris, also has exquisite taste,” Smith said. “She’s the one who told Ben that he should see `Clerks.’ Actually, I hold his mom in much higher regard.” Of “Jersey Girl,” which hits theaters March 26, Smith said he’s hoping it’ll be Affleck’s comeback film after the disaster that was “Gigli.” “I helped put him on the map, and maybe this one will save his bacon,” he said. “That [expletive] is going to owe me big time if this is a hit.” The movie, which Smith describes as “about a dude and his kid,” does not include a Ben-and-Jen wedding scene, although the scene was shot. “We decided we could tell the story without it, so we cut it,” Smith said. Finally, we just had to ask about those persistent rumors that Ben wears a toupee. Any truth to that? “I came in one day and said, `Dude, I just read on the Internet you’re wearing a rug,’ ” Smith said. “No, man, that fantastic head of hair is his.”

At nine years old, Raquel Castro can finally say that her dream has come true. After all, she has wanted to be an actress for over half of her life.

When Castro was four years old she saw the movie “Selena” and was amazed at the performance of break-out star Jennifer Lopez.

“I saw the movie, and I said, ‘I want to sing and dance,'” says Castro. “Then one day my mom snuck in my room when I was dancing, and she said, ‘She would be a good actress.”

The charming toddler began auditioning with against and landed a part in a Robitussin commercial. This year she will debut in her first feature film, “Jersey Girl,” which also star Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler.

In a coincidence only possible in Hollywood, Lopez also has a role in the film. Castro could not believe her luck at having the chance to work with the woman who had inspired her to perform in the first place. “The first time I met her I couldn’t talk,” Castro says. “I got so nervous. That was the best day of my life.”

It can be hard enough for adults to balance a demanding job with personal responsibilities . How does a nine-year-old manage? “I know lot of kids who act,” Castro explains. “I’m good at school and at acting. First I do my homework, then I look over my scripts.”

When the cameras are off, Castro is a normal girl who enjoys karate, playing piano, singing, ice skating, horse-back riding, and reading. In the future she would like to be in a scary movie or one with actor-singer Hillary Duff, but for now she might be headed to Broadway; the young actress recently auditioned for an upcoming production.

Already wise for her years, Castro offers sage advice to others pursuing a career on the big screen: “If you want to do a movie, never be scared. You have to have faith in yourself. Do your best, and it’s going to be good.”