Review Fix Tribeca Film Festival Exclusive: Ryan Harvie and John Paul Horstmann Talk ‘BodySlam: Revenge of the Banana’

Review Fix chats with Ryan Harvie and John Paul Horstmann, directors of the Tribeca Film Festival documentary “BodySlam: Revenge of the Banana.”

Breaking down the inspiration for the film, as well as their love of pro wrestling and the strenuous editing process behind the film, Harvie and Horseman give us an inside look at one of the coolest documentaries of the festival.

Review Fix: Why do you think Pro Wrestling has endured for so long?

Ryan Harvie: It’s theater at the heart of it. It’s good guys vs bad guys. You can cheer for your heroes and boo the villains. And that’s always cathartic.

John Paul Horstmann: It’s a soap opera, it just goes on and on like a soap opera.  As Andy Kaufman said, “There’s no drama like wrestling.”

Review Fix: How did you find out about these guys?

Harvie: We went to college with one of the characters, the Second Banana. He told me he joined a wrestling troupe and were having issues with a banana who was seeking revenge. I thought that would make a great film! Learning more about the guys involved is when I knew that there was more to their story than just wrestling.

Horstmann: Once we met Paul (The Banana) and spent some time with him, I was hooked.  For me he was just the most compelling character, completely open to us, but also completely shut off from us and the rest of the world.

Review Fix: How do you want this film to affect people?

Harvie: We didn’t want take sides, we wanted to the audience to identify with the characters, but also not know what side to take.  Because ultimately that’s what makes good scenes, when two characters have opposing but equally convincing points of view, and then they clash.   We wanted each character to have a strong argument, to really see their point of view, no matter how ridiculous.  To have a connection with each character and be arguing in the coffee shop all night after the film..

Review Fix: How difficult was it to edit the film?

Harvie: It was very difficult. We both worked full-time jobs and were editing nights and weekends. It was a lot of work and sacrifice but when you believe in a project and know it will pay off, then all the pain is worth it.

Horstmann: We both made a lot of sacrifices, but yeah, that’s what you have to do when you set out to make something.  This is no victory parade, you just fail and fail over and over until finally you get one thing right, then you go on from there.  As many filmmakers know, it’s not just like you film something and splice it together and that’s it.  It’s a long process, and very much like the craft of screenwriting.  We worked hard to shape the hundreds of hours we shot into a cohesive story, with its own internal logic and emotional arcs.

Review Fix: How would you describe the world of wrestling to people that have never been exposed to it?

Harvie: It’s a lot of fun!. There are crazy costumes and characters doing incredibly acrobatic moves.  The wrestling in this movie is more theater based like a vaudeville show with clowns, strippers and other assorted crazy characters!

Horstmann: These guys do more of a send up of classic ‘80s Pro-Wrestling.    This is not MMA or Fight Club…  They have a sense of humor about themselves and that goes a long way.

Review Fix: Was there anything you had to cut that you were upset about?

Harvie: There are so many interesting characters involved with the troupe and we weren’t able to fit all of them into the film.

Horstmann: A few jokes were just too raunchy to include, unfortunately.  Apparently some subjects are taboo, who knew…  But yeah we axed a ton of things that on their own were clever or interesting scenes but didn’t fit into the narrative.  Even characters we loved.  We had to for the good of the overall structure.

Review Fix: Anything cool you would have liked to share?

Harvie: More interactions between these performers. It was like having a cast of twenty brothers who all joke and treat each other like family. There’s plenty we wish would could have used but then the movie would have been 10 hours long,

Horstmann: One hilarious turn of events was that Ronald McFondle decided to become like this horror-core rapper.  So he’s up on stage with this amazing performer Billy the Fridge, who’s like 300 pounds, doing this raunchy, drunken routine at strip clubs across the Northwest.  But it didn’t fit in with where his character goes, or where the rest of the story going on at that point.  So we had to sacrifice that.  Also Eddie Van Glam set out to become this professional “Boylesque” dancer, and his dream was to make it to the Boylesque Championships in New York.  That had to go too, unfortunately.  We managed to save a bit of that as you’ll see…

Review Fix: How do you want this film to be remembered?

Horstmann: Hopefully a film that surprises you.  Something to make people argue.  I like when people argue.

Harvie: As a film that on the surface is about wrestling but beneath is a character study that will stick with them long after they see the movie. It’s a balanced movie that doesn’t take sides and shows the subjects as they are.

Review Fix: Anything else you want to say about the film?

Harvie: This film is not what you would expect. Yes, there is wrestling but at the heart of  the film, it is about Ronald Mcfondle, Eddie Van Glam, the  Banana and all the other guys in the troupe. Dealing with betrayal, family, being accepted, and loneliness while performing on stage trying to put on a good show for the audience. The Characters are what make the film and I think the audience will really be inspired by all of them.

Horstmann: I’d like to thank the contributions of our amazing cinematographer Shea William Vanderpoort and our camera op Matthew Pew.  We were always trying out new cameras in an effort to shoot without lights to get more realistic reactions.  When someone sees a light they freeze up.  Shea and Matthew were great at stalking people in the dark.  Also our composers Duncan Thum and Steven Gernes, who did a wonderful and unique score with very little time!  And we both like to thank our incredibly supportive producers  Kerri Borsuk, Glen Zipper, and Ross Dinerstein.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Harvie: I have a couple of scripts in the works and in various stages of pre-production on three documentaries.

Horstmann: I discovered from this I really love writing so going to do more of that I hope.  Always on the trail of interesting projects…  hope to just make a ton of cool stuff.  That’s the goal, right?