This Kelowna-made dad bod movie is wowing crowds

A locally made short feature comedy is capturing a lot of attention… almost as much as the svelte body of its lead actor. Well, not quite! But his already grown and over-the-top mustache sure came in handy.

The mocumentary, Dad Bod Dale, captured the People's Choice accolade at the recent Okanagan Society of Independent Filmmakers Awards.

The plot follows plumber Dale who auditions for a Movember calendar, not surprisingly is rejected, but then gets picked up by a crazy L.A. producer type (played by Hannah Krostwitz) who makes him her muse. Things get really wild and ridiculous after that.

Part of the secret behind the movie’s success is it took just two days to shoot and there were less than three weeks of pre-production, which co-creator and director Carly Fawcett said was the whole point behind the improv style comedy.

“It was a very makeshift production which actually worked very well for the style of the show, “she told Kelowna10.”

Fawcett credits director of photography and editor Jamie Patterson for most of the key production values because otherwise it was a skeleton crew. Fawcett, who is also an acting coach had some of her students on set and there was no professional sound crew. But they think they’re onto a winning formula.

“It was a 20-minute short. We’re calling it a pilot because we do plan on making more.”

Cam Woodman, who is certainly not your stereotypical calendar model body shape, plays the lead role and also wrote the script.

“I like the improv and the ridiculous storylines, so having me as this guy who tries to audition for a stripping company is ridiculous,” he explained, as Fawcett pointed out his shovel-ready moustache.

“It’s permanent, it’s not a stick-on,” Woodman said. “This is me, and with Movember [as part of the plot] it was really fun to mix that in.”

Apart from having fun on the production and getting the appreciation at the awards night, Fawcett said there’s a serious element to showing how far the Okanagan film industry has come and that it can deliver offerings beyond the staple of Hallmark and Lifetime movies.

“Kelowna as a film industry wants to get other types of productions here and a way to do that is we need to show we have good crew and also we’re capable and talented in doing other types of projects.”

You can check out various premiere showings of Dad Bod Dale April 1 and April 2 at Burke Hair Lounge (Lounge on Lawrence) at 515 Lawrence Avenue.

Tickets can be bought here.