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Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas
Directed by Charles Roxburgh
Released: 2009
Starring Marie Dellicker, Matt Farley, Sharon Scalzo, Kevin McGee, Kyle
Kochan, Tom Scalzo, Elizabeth Peterson
Running Time: 80 minutes
DVD Studio: Motern Media
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All is not well in the
seemingly idyllic town of Manchvegas. A knife-wielding murderer has been
stalking its lovely ladies and there are monsters –gospercaps, actually-
all over the woods. But fear not for M.O.S. is on the case. That’s the
Manchvegas Outlaw Society, in case you didn’t know, and their leader is
Marshall (played by Matt Farley), a plucky young man with the gumption to
get the town back on its feet again. With him as always is Jenny (Marie
Dellicker) and All-Star Pete (Tom Scalzo). But solving crimes and fighting
monsters is not all that M.O.S. has on its plate. When Jenny’s burgeoning
feelings for Marshall go unrequited, she starts going on dates with some
of the eligible men of Manchvegas. Marshall and All-Star Pete go about
sabotaging her good times with some wild pranks.
The creators of
Freaky Farley, my favorite indie horror film of 2007
(possibly my favorite of the millennium), are back with
Monsters, Marriage
and Murder in Manchvegas. Once again, director/co-writer Charles Roxburgh,
co-writer/actor Matt Farley, and their dedicated crew drop the viewer
headfirst into a delightfully strange and freakishly innocent world. The
obvious care put into every line of dialogue in this movie really shows as
this film behaves the way it wants to behave, not in the way you think it
should. The intersecting love stories are convoluted yet undeniably sweet
and essential to moving the plot along.
A key factor to this film’s success is due to the fact that Roxburgh
filmed this movie with actual film!
MMMManchvegas is lovingly shot on 16mm
with excellent attention to color and detail. Of course, the writing is
immensely important to what makes these guys’ movies so special. Even the
songs by Moes Haven scattered throughout the film are custom made to keep
the audience hip to what’s going on. My favorite of these catchy tunes is
‘Basketball Fun’.
The cast is ready, willing and able to bring this weird film to life. Matt
Farley is great as the single-minded Marshall. He won’t let anything stand
in the way of M.O.S., even if it means denying his feelings for Jenny. And
speaking of Jenny, Marie Dellicker practically steals the show with her
fine portrayal of a girl who wants to grow up just a little bit but knows
that it might mean losing her best friends. Some familiar faces from
Freaky Farley pop up when another love story blooms in Manchvegas. The
irrepressibly plucky Sharon Scalzo plays Melinda, a young woman in love
with the easy going and somewhat clueless Vince (played by Kyle Kochan),
even though her overbearing father (Kevin McGee) doesn’t approve.
Though it has monsters and a couple of dead bodies,
Monsters, Marriage and
Murder in Manchvegas is not a horror film. And don’t expect an ounce of
gore from this one as the film is practically bloodless and hell, there
isn’t a scare to be found. This whole offbeat cinema production revels in
its gloriously cheesy vibe and driest of dry senses of humor while
remaining very, very watchable throughout. I can’t stress enough how badly
I want to live in their alternate universe. Finally, I know where
“everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.”
Quotes
“Gosh dang, it’s monster central, man!”
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DVD Stuff
Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas looks great. It was filmed
with 16mm and there are some scratches but it thrashes most indie films
shot on DV just with its aesthetic value alone. Audio is a little more
problematic with some levels going up and down. Dialogue is easily
understandable but you might want to keep the remote handy while you’re
watching this one.
This DVD has a mountain of excellent extras. First up is audio commentary
by actor/writer Matt Farley who, in a somewhat surreal moment, calls up
director Charles Roxburgh to talk about the film. They end up criticizing
the film and discuss how they would have done things differently. Despite
this odd approach, the audio track is quite informative and entertaining.
Next we have extensive behind the scenes footage, outtakes, a brief piece
about the hurricane that interrupted the shoot, some discussion about the
production team’s many influences while writing
MMMManchvegas, and a whole lot
more. I usually have to be lashed to my couch before I sit through this
much content but the crew for this movie seem like cool folks. Plus, if
you’re an aspiring indie filmmaker, there is a plethora of material here
that should interest you.
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Links
ShockMarathons
Moes Haven
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