Click ahead for your first look at menus, screens, our unearthed, “director’s cut” unedited review (we’ve been saving this since the night of the show, since it does have story spoilers), and our thoughts on the final product.

DVD REVIEW

First, he took on colleges across the country. Then, it went international. Now, for the third time around, Kevin Smith once again takes the stage with hours of new entertaining anecdotes and off the cuff humor in a way that only he can do it. “A Threevening With Kevin Smith”, the appropriately named followup to his two previous best selling live discs, presents over 5 solid hours of entertainment in this one man show.

What we enjoy about this series is that each brings a slightly different flavor to it. The original “An Evening With Kevin Smith”, filmed at college campuses, brought that unpredictable nature of what happens when you put a bunch of college kids in an auditorium with Smith. For the international editions, we saw the best moments from shows in Canada and the United Kingdom, enjoying fans from abroad, their unique questions, and the unique way in which Kevin goes global. Now, for the first time, a single one-night show is the focus of this disc. For most of us, our 37th birthday is just another year towards 40, though for the director, given the significance of this number in his film canon, it became the perfect day to spend with the fans.

And really, while Kevin does seem to come into each show with a few yarns he’s planning to spin, it’s really the audience which steers the ship for all of these shows, and this one’s no exception. We call this a one-man show, but it’s always the audience that helps set the course. Kevin’s done it this way as far back as we can recall, and the format always just works. For a guy filming a DVD that will be seen by millions, once and done, the confidence in letting the crowd have such power is exemplary of what a unique talent this is.

“Threevening” arrives in a jam-packed 2 disc edition – We love the cover art, though were a bit disappointed to not find any liner notes or leaflets inside, just the standard 2 disc holder within the case. This has become a common practice, since really, when you think of it, when was the last time you actually USED those liner notes?







Disc menus are fairly basic this time around, no material filmed by Kevin as in the previous discs. This time, we get a static graphic with some smaller moving looks at moments from the show, including Kevin and a few audience members. Major tales told during the epic performance have been thankfully marked by chapters with meaningful titles, allowing you skip back to those favorite spots during future viewings. Disc one contains the main program only, along with (hooray!) the R-rated “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” trailer and the all audiences “Clerks II” trailer. The promotional spot for “Now You Know” that we’ve seen on other discs is also included up front. Disc two brings the remainder of the show, kicking off with our favorite moment, the “Die Hard” story. This disc also houses some special additional material, which we’ll go into shortly.

The show was filmed as well as produced by Zak and Joey of Chop Shop Entertainment, who know their way around a DVD – These guys were responsible for the awesome “Snowball Effect” documentary, all those hilarious “Train Wreck” Clerks II shorts, and are currently assembling a new “Zack And Miri Make a Porno” full length doc as well. Not only are they fans, but they’re good at what they do. At the show, we noticed the guys making full use of all the cameras on hand, allowing them more coverage and angles than we’ve ever seen at a Q&A. The end result allows for the perfect look at Smith as he works the crowd and the stage, as well as those precious crowd reaction shots.



Since we attended the show in person, our review of the actual show itself is likely better as it was written then over anything we could do now. So, here is the unedited version from August 2007 (careful, as it does contain spoilers):

START OF ORIGINAL REVIEW

It started with St. Kevin, and it ended in an anal fissure. That’s how it was last night when a sold-out crowd took over the town of Red Bank, NJ, as Kevin Smith took to the stage of the Count Basie theater once again. 20 lucky attendees had the chance to step up to the mic and share a moment with the man of the evening, who celebrated his 37th birthday with a seven hour extravaganza. The waterfront area was buzzing with a kinetic energy, crowd of pedestrians on Monmouth St. (and lack of parking) clearly indicated this was no normal night for this trendy little town. The shady, dishelved woman scalping tickets outside on our way in, discreetly asking “Need a ticket?” on my way in confirmed it — This was the place to be tonight.

Right on schedule, following an introduction from wife Jen and daughter Harley, Smith took to the stage to a chorus of “Happy Birthday”, backed by a projected photo of the man in his MUCH younger years. Lines of hopeful question askers flank both sides of the room, all of whom we’re told lined up immediately, without even seeking their seats. Without any imposed time limits, and a stocked cash bar in the theater lobby, it’s looking to be a memorable night before the first tale’s even been told.

Zak Knutson, whose Chop Shop Entertainment will produce the DVD based on this event, has things well in hand — Cameras are capturing the question lines, the audience, the stage, the aisles, and a MASSIVE crane rig on stage right is panning both the crowd and all aspects of Kevin and the stage throughout the evening. Knutson’s disclaimer to the crowd to bring their A-game with questions does not go unheeded. But before the crowd had their say, Smith had a monologue to give.

For most past Q&As, Smith’s jumped into the audience within moments — This time, for this special birthday occasion, he’d done some homework — The religious backstory (or lack thereof) of St. Kevin, the saint who bore his namesake. With notes in hand, and humorous observations aplenty, the night (and the crowd) were rolling before the first fan had even walked up to a mic. This being the first filmed Q&A I’d seen, it was also interesting to see the amount of effort that went into moving the many cameras around the stage and crowd — This was obviously the most work and coverage they’ve had for one of these shoots so far.

By 7:45, the formalities complete and the introduction wrapped, it was time for the first question — One geared towards children’s movies, which led into the first and possibly longest tale of the night — That of the Smith canine clan. The dude can weave a yarn like no other — Tales for the evening ranged in both topic and length: Jay Mewes’ Clerks II enthusiasm. The ups and downs of money and fame. The saga of the ill-fated “Clerks” live-action sitcom (the animated series’ “Outbreak” script dated back this far). Sneaking into a “Catch & Release” test screening. Hearing his name on TV. For almost seven hours, it was all that and so much more, including (as always) those unsuspected audience moments that you just can’t see coming. When a male fan offered fellatio in return for the answer to a question, many audience members demanded the dude deliver, moments after Kevin’s one-word answer.

An evening highlight featured a fresh tale of the time Smith spent with Bruce Willis on the set of “Live Free or Die Hard”, which culminated with a surprise July 4th phone call from the action icon. Willis cited their Jersey ties and offered up “We should make a movie together sometime”. In response, Smith dropped the mic to express his utter shock at the moment. He added that, at present, he sadly has no projects that would be a fit, nor would he ever expect it to culminate. The details of meeting and working with Willis, one of the biggest box office stars in the world, are too good to spoil here. This one’s positively a tale best experienced, not read.

Unlike Ben Affleck, whom he cited as too entrenched in the Hollywood game to dish the dirt in public, Smith wasn’t afraid to throw out candid, even embarrassing stories involving some of the most famous folks in the biz – The likes of Jennifer Lopez, Tim Olyphant, Hayden Christensen, and even ‘ol Ben himself. If these tales told for public consumption are this compelling, one can only imagine how lurid the stuff that CAN’T be shared onstage must be.

Most of the night’s big revelations had been spent up at the San Diego con just a few short days ago. The “Heroes” gig was briefly discussed. We learned that Showtime’s “Manchild” pilot was indeed jettisoned, and won’t see air due to the show opting for David Duchovny’s “Californication” instead (not for the lack of the former being a “great pilot”, execs said). The surf story that went with it was fresh and hilarious, with Smith remarking the upside being no longer wearing a wet suit or paddling into the shark-infested ocean. The “Die Hard” interview he conducted with Bruce Willis for the eventual DVD ran somewhere from 45 minutes to an hour, though there’s no idea how that will be cut together. Dogma II? Never going to happen, though one day, in comic book form, we could possibly learn what became of some of the original’s characters. The “Evening With” series, of which this show will become part of, was never planned to be an “all-Kevin” collection. Other directors were planned to film their own sessions, though the process stalled when some realized they weren’t up to the task.

Smith’s callbacks to previous moments in stories throughout the night kept the audience in stitches, rewarding those who stuck it out for the duration and didn’t miss a beat. For me, the joy of hearing the director speak stems from his inner-geekdom that shines through in these stories. He expresses his love for modern classics like “Terminator 2”, and “Shaun of the Dead”. He makes veiled references to “Arrested Development” and “Goodfellas”. The inner geek in me was abolutely drooling over his recounting of his recent tour through the soundstages of “Battlestar Galactica” (still the best show on television today). Moments like that make me realize why he’s so good to his fans — He realizes what it’s like to totally geek out about something. Much like his Galactica set experience, for those of us to line up to shake his hand, get his autograph, and watch him speak…That’s OUR Galactica set visit. And he gets that. Kevin Smith truly is just, well…”one of us”.

At 1:45 AM, Smith had done what he set out to do — Ending on a high note, with the lurid extended tale of his proctological exploits a couple years back, he thanked the crowd and proclaimed he was “Going to bed”, leaving the still full auditorium cheering and hungering for more. Once again, the man had delivered. The crowd, while hungering for more, left fulfilled and jovial, discussing their favorite moments of the evening. What was this reporter’s? Hard to say, there’s always so many. It’s tough to shake that vision of Smith and Willis, on the set of a “Die Hard” film, having an outside trailer chicken barbeque complete with fresh Philly tasycake desserts. It’s just too bad there weren’t any Seagram’s Golden Wine Coolers to wash them down with.

END OF ORIGINAL REVIEW

In watching the disc and remembering the show, there are definitely some small cuts and edits there to allow things to flow more smoothly, though we can’t really see anything major that was taken out. In fact, even though we were there, we didn’t spot any of the moments where they snipped or relocated anything, so our kudos to the editors on a seamless job. For those of you thinking you are missing some moments of the night, fear not — It seems that most (if not all) of the smaller quips and edits have been relocated to a massive “Special Features” section located on disc two, where you can see quicker Q&A stuff or some asides that didn’t flow well with the main stories. The end result is pretty cool – You get the main product of the disc, with a chapter devoted to each big routine, and the smaller stuff in quick bites on the side. We haven’t seen a disc done this way before, but we like it. They don’t necessarily fit into the context of any of the major “set pieces” of the show, they just work right where they are.

Speaking of these quick nuggets, we’ve heard that a single easter egg exists somewhere on the disc and involves the View Askew Prom, an even that Kevin was in town for that weekend as well, though we’ve yet to locate this one. Once we do, we’ll tell you how to find it as well. Until then, happy hunting.

For those of you lucky to spend the night with us in Red Bank, “Threevening” represents a nice way to remember the occasion, and we’re happy to say, plays incredibly well and fresh despite having seen the show from start to finish. And of course, for those of you not at this show, and especially those who have not seen Kevin live, the discs once again prove that the talent of Mr. Smith stretches well beyond the written page and the work he does behind the camera – Should he ever tire of the movie business, he could tour with this act forever.

“A Threevening With Kevin Smith” is now available on 2-disc Special Edition DVD everywhere, thought we would recommend purchasing a personally signed copy from the star himself via Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.