Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas (2009)
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 (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.”
“Gosh dang, it’s monster central, man!”
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