Instead, a much more low-key, traditional, and benevolent idea was formulated -- Sell tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis for a fee that went straight to charity: In this case, diabetes. While the Chasing Amy gala was a show up at the door and be recognized type of affair, Kevin's popularity had grown so much in the past 2 years that this was the only possible way to handle things. Tickets sold quickly, and in a couple days both of the Sony's theaters, the same 2 that held a sold-out crowd at Vulgarthon well over a year and a half ago, would again be filled by eager View Askew fans waiting to catch a glimpse at the next chapter in Smith's filmmaking career.

We were running on little to no sleep after a weekend where we'd just moved every bit of stuff we owned into our new places, so it seemed like the odds were NOT in our favor for making it into Red Bank for this one. Monday morning, however, we decided that this was just too big of an event to miss. With a TON of fans there (most of them fans from the online community, good people like yourself) getting their first look at Dogma, it was sure to be an event that would be talked about years down the line, just as the Amy Gala is today. And so, after a full day's work and about 6 hours total sleep for the entire weekend, we jumped into my trusty Saturn coupe around 5:15 PM and headed east.

The trip in was fairly uneventful, save a stop at the yummy Midway Diner (any place the truckers flock to can't be all bad, and that place has some good food), and then, since it seems that a View Askew trip can't happen without some sort of drama, the obligatory car trouble. It seemed that my car (an automatic) was having trouble shifting gears -- It was bucking and missing the gear change unless I gave it some MAJOR gas. Not good. And it was getting worse as the stop and go driving continued on the highway (since it seems folks STILL don't understand the meaning of the words "PASSING LANE").

After a couple of really rough shifts that it seemed the car would just die from, we pulled into Red Bank around 8:30. Made a quick stop at the Texaco station for a fill-up (got the premium stuff, hey, maybe that would help at least get us home), and made our way towards the theater's parking lot which, by the way, is right downtown and within walking distance to the Stash and some other View Askew landmarks.

The parking lot is FULL -- It doesn't even look like we're going to find a spot...Until we luckily catch a glimpse of a couple towards the end of the lot. We quickly snag a spot and exit the car, and see the immense line, about 4 or 5 people wide, that stretches back down the entire block, almost hitting Broad Street! That's some line. Seeing that we've got a few minutes to spare, and that the Stash is open until 9, we head up to pick up a few pieces of swag, namely, the comics that we'd been missing from the collection. On the way, we spotted Vincent Pereira and Ben "Dutch" Holland on their way out. We told them we'd catch them at the door in a few, since Vincent was running the show there. We headed up to the Stash's door -- Walt was in there, and obviously getting worn out after working a long, late day, but he was very kind to let us in to buy a few things before we headed on our way to the theater.

A couple readers of the site spotted us as we walked by and said hello -- It was nice talking to Glenn and Jen & Scott Kramer again (since we'd met previously at the Stash Bash)...We also had the chance to meet News Askew/board regulars Kungfu Dork, Allentown Mike, PirateGirl, DJ Andy & Matt Ebert. We know we're forgetting a few of you, too, and we apologize for that. Thanks to everyone who stopped us to say hello as you were in line or heading into the theater. It's always nice to meet everyone that we've only known through cyberspace in the past. Ming was also in the area with his trustly little digital camera, shooting pictures of the line and hoping they'd show up despite the darkness outside. Man, we REALLY gotta get one of those cameras!

It was getting close to 9 PM, and we wanted to watch the line trickle in, so we headed over to the theater door, where we saw the dude with the tall, spiky hair, Brian Lynch, standing, harassing innocent passers-by as he so enjoys to do. He decides that he wants to hug me and act weird, hoping that we'd cite all of this stuff in this very report. I told him that he wasn't much weirder than usual, which disappointed him a bit, since the last thing he wanted was to be predictable. All is going well for the guy, though -- It seems that "Everybody's Dead" is in full swing and will hopefully film somewhere in the Red Bank/Jersey area if he gets his wish. You also have NOT heard the last of Big Helium Dog yet, and there may be some big news on that in the near future. Lynch is currently working on a screenplay for Warner Brothers and getting ready to settle in on the west coast.

The line started moving into the theater lobby to much applause from the outside, and it was moving in at a steady pace. Vincent was at the door ensuring everything was moving smoothly, and that folks were being seated properly. The first, and larger theater had filled up in no time, so they took a break and halted the line to give folks time to get refreshments and find their eay to their seats. We noticed Scott Mosier open a side door and let a few VIPs in prior to the rest of the audience, as well.

In the meantime, we swung around towards the street to see Kevin, Jen (Pushing cute little Harley Quinn in a stoller), Jay, and Kim heading up towards the theater. Kevin stops to say hello, and asks us why folks weren't being seated. We let him know that the line moved well for a while but just stopped, and that seating had started later than planned. He seemed a bit dismayed that things weren't exactly on time, but there wasn't much that could be done now. We remarked that Harley's probably thinking to herself "Dogma...AGAIN???". I told Kevin that Scott was hovering around the side door, so he went up and knocked. He and the rest of the gang went inside, save Jay, who hung out along the side of the theater with us and had a cigarette. Lynch and Jay started talking a bit, until one brave fan from the line walked over and asked for a picture. Brian offered to start taking pictures of folks with Jay, and Jay was happy to oblige (though he looked at us at one point and suggested that we could start charging folks a dollar per shot and make a little bank). Until all was said and done, and all the fans got inside the theater, Jay had taken about 30 or 40 shots with fans -- Really generous of the guy. I took a shot of him with Ming that will hopefully turn out. Ming and Gramp also got a couple shots of us that hopefully will NOT turn out. Heh heh.

After the last of the group walked in, we walked in with Jay and Brian to see if there were any seats left. The kind bunch that had been standing outside with us beforehand had actually set 3 of them aside for us, which was nice, so we took a seat with Brian for a few minutes -- After noticing that some folks were still milling about without seats, though, we quickly got up and let them have them. We'd seen the flick before, anyway, so we opted to stand in the back of the theater and watch it from there. It would be easier to see audience reaction this way, regardless. By the way, the free swag was a very nifty signed mini poster, "The Prophets" version of the Dogma promo with Jay & Bob, signed by Kevin. Way cool.

Kevin, Scott, Jay, Kim, and Vincent all came into the theater moments after we stood in the back. Kevin walked up with Harley strapped in tight and hanging in front of him, against his stomach, to much applause. After a few funny opening lines, he proceeded to give us a little bit of background concerning why the screening was for diabetes (it runs in his family) and thanked everyone for coming out and for their generosity. He warned the audience to lower all expectations for the flick, that way if they loved it, they'd feel like they got 30 bucks' worth, but if not, they wouldn't feel cheated. The guy's too modest! Kevin also was sorry to mention that due to the fact we were running SO late, and that the theater employees had to close shop, there would NOT be any time for Q&A after the show. With that, Kevin walked off, down went the lights and up came that famous disclaimer, to a ton of applause and laughter.

There's no need for us to review the flick or the print again, since it was indeed the same print I caught in Toronto and that we both saw a couple weeks back in New York. Audience reaction was generally very good, though we were surprised that it seems a few of the jokes were missed by the fans. Some of the more obscure references were lost or perhaps a bit hard to hear simply because of laughter from a previous joke or the muddled sound in the theater, but we're sure most in attendance will see the film again during its release. Having watched this film with 3 distinctly different crowds now, the same pattern does normally form: Until Jay & Silent Bob appear, during most of the exposition, there are few laughs, even though there are some really fantastic jokes and bits in there. The audience is probably so busy digesting the plots and explanations during the Airport and Metatron scenes that some of the other stuff gets missed. This will definitely be better appreciated in subsequent viewings, trust us. After Jay & Bob appear though, the most uproarious laughter occurs, especially in that diner sequence where Jay's on fire and totally steals the show. The Mooby boardroom scene continues to be an enjoyable one as well, with a couple of the greatest line reads ever in a VA flick, "11-Year-Old...Boy!" and "He's your son, you sick f#@k!", plus that wonderful parking garage scene. So much great stuff, and it's all packed into 2 hours of good, solid movie. The audience had a great time, and as a whole of course totally dug the flick, giving Mewes by far the loudest applause when the "final bows" appear on screen. The final bow sequence at the end, by the way, is really quite cool -- The actor and actress placement is great, and it's all done using outtakes or alternate shots not used in the flick. Good stuff. Alanis' Still plays over the credits as always, though Kevin does promise some last minute credit modifications and additions for the final theatrical version.

Jay was surprisingly still around at the close of the screening (he'd also come in to hear the audience reaction to his big entrance in the film), but Kevin & the rest had likely adjourned to the other theater or to Kim's acoustic show up the street. Alas, we couldn't make it up there, unless the bar wanted a couple of extra patrons sleeping on barstools there or something into the next day. It was time to hit the road.

It was about 10 minutes past midnight until the credits wrapped up and we exited the lobby -- We said our goodbyes to Vinnie, Brian, & Dutch and headed to the car. It was going to be a LONG 3 hour trip home, since we were both tired as hell already, and I had to be up at 6 AM for work the next day. The car trouble was pretty scary on the way home, but only in instances where we had to slow down for folks that were in the wrong lane or cutting me off. Luckily, we were able to keep the speed up there at a steady rate for the majority of the trip, so hopefully the wear and tear on my poor little Saturn isn't too bad -- I'll find out tomorrow, I guess. Anyway, we made good time getting home, about 2 1/2 hours to my place (Chris had to grab his ride and drive another 10 or so) -- And I only almost nodded off about 10 or 15 times on the trip back. Not bad.

Once again, Kevin and the gang have done an excellent service to the fanbase by taking the time out of their lives to come out and allow some of their biggest supporters a chance to see their next opus, almost a full 3 weeks before the rest of the country. As always the crew and the fans were overly kind and generous, and, while the event was very short for us, we made the most of it and had a fine time. Thanks to all of you for coming out, and we'll see you at the next one (Vulgarthon 2000?) with a full report!