Brookfield native and actor Matthew Felker will be in town this weekend to promote his new comedy, Balls to the Wall. Think The Hangover meets Bridesmaids, with a slight Chippendales twist. And if you if can remember the Swayze/Farley Chippendales skit from SNL, Felker plays Swayze and Ben, the main character in the film, is a skinnier Farley.
In the movie, Ben (Joe Hursley) is engaged and forced by his future father-in-law (Christopher McDonald) to moonlight as an exotic dancer to help pay for the expensive wedding. Through all of the hilarious antics, Ben struggles to balance his newfound career with his relationship to his fiancée Rachel (Jenna Dewan).
Loosely based on a true story, Jason Nutt wrote the film. A year after the completion of the screenplay, renowned director Penelope Spheeris (Wayne’s World) attached herself to direct and produce the film, along with producers Patrick Rizzotti and Brett Forbes of Fortress Features. Felker is also an executive producer on the project.
The film premiered at Newport Beach Film Festival and got such an amazing response that it convinced them to collectively purchase the domestic rights (prior, there had only been an international release) and are now hoping to do a national release.
Spheeris and Felker wanted to do a test screening of the film here in Milwaukee because both of them have family here. “It was the Midwest audiences that made my comedies Little Rascals, Black Sheep and Beverly Hillbillies so successful,” says Spheeris. “We wanted to recognize our Midwest audiences and start in Milwaukee this time.”
This R-rated comedy will begin a one-week engagement at the Hillside Cinema in Delafield, Menomonee Falls Cinema, Ridge Cinema in New Berlin, Sheboygan Cinema and the South Shore Cinema in Oak Creek beginning this Friday, October 21.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Matthew Felker, who is in town to promote the film and can I just say, I love Midwest folk. Untainted by the glamorous lifestyles of Hollywood, Felker was as warm and obliging as you’d expect a Milwaukeean to be.
JK: So in this movie, you play a male stripper. What’s your character’s name and how does he meet Ben?
MF: My character’s name is Chad Goldstein. If you saw Zoolander, it’s very much the relationship between Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson – I am Ben’s nemesis.
Ben is the ‘every guy’s guy’ and gets tricked into becoming a male stripper by his father-in-law who squandered away a bunch of money gambling. But then he steals my thunder and there is this rivalry between the two of us.
Joe (who plays Ben) did a really good job. He’s in a band in real life so he already has really good stage presence. He starts out a bit awkward and then he evolves into this rock star – in underwear – by the end of the movie.
JK: This is your first full-length film. How did you make the transition from being a model to an actor?
MF: I don’t think anyone ever wants to be a model. It’s quite the embarrassing profession to be a guy walking around with a book of pictures of himself. People just use it as a stepping-stone. It’s not as easy as people think it is – I’ve been in New York, Miami and L.A. for about 10 years. I didn’t begin any professional stage training until I was an adult in New York. I thought it wasn’t cool to be in the plays in high school so I played soccer.
JK: How did you get hooked up with Penelope?
MF: We were working together on a totally different project and this movie came across, fully financed, and she called me and said, “I got this movie, it’s a little bizarre. There’s this role you’d be perfect for. I don’t view you as a male stripper, but think you are going to be really good.”
We have an interesting working relationship – we fight like an old married couple, but it’s fantastic. Ironically, she has given a lot of people their first shot in movies like Chris Farley, Charlie Sheen and Robin Wright Penn.
JK: Do you prefer acting or producing?
MF: Producing sucks. It’s a thankless job and the amount of work in never-ending. The good thing about it is that it’s a way to control your own career, that’s why you see a lot of bigger actors doing it now. You have the ability to seek out your project and can see it from the ground up.
JK: Seems like there have been a lot of comedies like this lately – why do think audiences find this type of humor so funny?
MF: Society is in a place where escapism is great. Bathroom humor never gets old. There are certain people that just don’t find it funny, but eight out of 10 people really like juvenile humor. But the story here is really about the wedding and there is an underlying theme that most people can identify with. It’s kind of like a musical. There are full on dance routines, it’s like watching a circus!
Check out the trailer for Balls to the Wall here. Tickets can be purchased in advance at marcustheatres.com or at the theatres’ box office.
As reported in “The Mil” this month, Felker did confirm he’s romantically linked to actress Minnie Driver. They visited Milwaukee several times this summer, but Felker says most people didn’t recognize her. Just one more reason to love Milwaukeeans.
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