“There was a branch out effect where one of the actors wanted me in the film, which led to another,” he said. “It’s all word of mouth. It’s not like this guy is talented or anything. I’ve been stabbed, shot, kissed a girl. I’ve been a dad twice.”
The new movie is based on a book he wrote and self-published called “Big Trouble in Jackass Flats.” The description for the book is, “Slim Goodbody came to Jackass Flats seeking turmeric, and perhaps a little adventure. He didn’t know he’d find love, and a run-in with a posse of insane clowns. It’s not your typical historical western romance; it’s hysterical western romance.”
“I wanted to write about an antihero who fakes his way through everything,” he said. “I think westerns are silly. Everyone is macho. The main character has ADHD, irritable bowel syndrome and a compulsive disorder. There’s going to be high levels of stupidity. I naively thought that would translate well into film. It’s mostly dialogue.”
Canestaro said translating the book into a script was fairly easy. The challenges he did have were related to the filming of the movie and the logistics of getting people together at the same time to film. He used local actors and comedians in the film, including Adam Clevenger, Erin R. Ryan, Noah Shane, Nate Washington, Wendi Furguson, Geoff Burkman, Luke Capasso, Don Smith, James L. Edwards and Jill Tobias. Canestaro said he enjoyed filming with everyone.
“I loved every day being on set,” he said. “It was nerve-wracking, but we had a lot of belly laughs on set. When we took a break, we took way too long. I enjoyed it, especially being with such funny people. We’re comedians, so we are always ‘on’ in between acting.”
One challenge Canestaro encountered was with filming certain shots. He said since it’s a western period piece, if anything from the present was in the shot, it had to be re-shot or edited out. The film was shot entirely in Ohio. Most of the recording was done at All Hallows Eve, LLC in Williamsburg, Ohio. It’s a Halloween venue that is a western town. He also filmed at Randall’s Ranch in Urbana and other locations in Tipp City and Enon.
Another issue Canestaro had was finding the leading role. He said he went through five leading actors before a friend told him that Canestaro should be the lead character. That is what ended up happening.
“I took over the lead, and I’m directing, which is hard,” he said. “That put us behind. It was one step backward, two steps forward. I associated with the character pretty well. I can associate with being a scared cowboy. I was faking my way through making the film like the character was faking his way through the story.”
Over the last year, Canestaro has been editing the entire film himself. He took video editing courses at Sinclair Community College for help. Now the film is ready to go, and he’s looking forward to showing everyone the finished product.
“I hope everyone has a good night,” he said. “I’ll just sit in the back and hope to hear laughs. In this case, I won’t be on stage. It will be a nameless guy getting laughs. Hopefully, people get engaged with the story.”
Canestaro said he is halfway done writing his next script. However, he is going to make it in modern times because of the difficulties he faced making a period piece. He believes that people will connect with the themes in “Really Big Trouble.”
“There’s a couple through-lines in the movie that keep occurring, like a call-back in comedy,” he said. “It’s funny but with deep meaning. Slim’s romantic. The whole story also contains modern nuisances occurring back in that time. It has modern themes in the old days and shows how stupid they are, how privileged we are. He’s [Slim] trying to discover courage.”
Tickets for both shows are $10 and can be purchased on Eventbrite or by going to www.neonmovies.com and www.englewoodcinema.com.
Laugh Riot Girl round-up
- Comedian Stewart Huff will perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at Bricky’s Comedy Club, 319 S. Second St. Huff was born in Campbellsville, Ky. and grew up in Knoxville, Tenn. He has been performing comedy for over 20 years, beginning when he decided to drop out of college to become a writer. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at brickyscomedy.com.
- Comedian Amber Autry will perform at 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Dayton Funny Bone, 88 Plum St. Suite 200 at the Greene. Nashville-based stand-up comedian known for her high-energy performances and sharp, relatable humor. An ancestor of iconic singing cowboy Gene Autry, Amber honed her comedic skills at Chicago’s renowned Second City before transitioning to stand-up. Tickets are $27-$32 and can be purchased at dayton.funnybone.com.
LAUGH RIOT GIRL
Laugh Riot Girl is a column by comedian and writer Jessica Graue that explores the local comedy scene and issues surrounding it. Reach her by email at jessica.graue@coxinc.com.
Credit: Chris West
Credit: Chris West
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