To celebrate his 37th birthday, Kevin Smith took to the stage. Anyone else might've thrown a party, but the man who bankrolled "Clerks" with maxed-out credit cards has never been one to follow convention. Filmed in his native New Jersey, "A Threevening" features jokes, stories, and questions from the audience. Instead of a suit, Smith's apparel consists of long shorts, checkered sneakers, and a sweat-inducing overcoat (hence, the pile of towels to wipe his face). It may sound like the ingredients for a stand-up routine, except he wrings more humor from biographical incidents than pre-written punch lines. Aside from the movies with which he's been involved, like "Clerks II" and "Live Free or Die Hard", he relates the history of Saint Kevin, a delicate medical dilemma, and the sexual proclivities of dogs Shecky, Mulder, and Skully. Naturally, there's name-dropping--Harvey Weinstein, Hayden Christensen, Bruce Willis, etc.--and more profanity than a Richard Pryor record, but Smith's appeal lies in his honesty and humility. When he says, "Throw a rock, you'll hit a better filmmaker than me," he's calling it as he sees it; not asking for pity or praise. And if he has little patience for the "whiny" and "emo," as he describes "Superman Returns", he's just as generous with the praise, describing favorite flicks, like "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan", as "pimp." The Q&A continues in the deleted scenes, in which the director sets the record straight about a rumored "Dogma" sequel and the "Clerks" sitcom. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"