BEFORE: Well, I really wanted to bookend last week with the two films about serial killers, but my work schedule kind of got in the way - I got called in for extra shifts at the movie theater, which is a good thing, because after today, I've got the holiday week off. So, I've got to get those shifts in when I can, pretty much if somebody gets sick, I'll take their shift, or somebody has a family emergency, ditto, or if there's a screening arranged at the last minute, they know to give me a call. I'm a married guy with zero social life, so I'll probably be available. Yesterday it was a school screening, computer animation from the last two years of alumni, and today, well, it was a guild screening so I can't really talk about it. (film is not yet released, but the audience had a Ball, hint hint)
Jay Duplass carries over from "Horse Girl".
THE PLOT: Two brothers tour Charles Manson murder sites. One is a devoted family man. One is devoted to The Family.
AFTER: I get the feeling with this one that some writer started off with the title, and then maybe worked backwards from there. They could have riffed off of any phrase, like "Manson Family Planning" or "Manson Family Affair" or "Manson Family-Owned Business". I guess the Addams Family movies wrecked any possibility of making "Manson Family Values", but other answers were of course possible.
Of course, it's everything you imagine a film like this would be, since it's about a trip taken to tour all the famous sites in Los Angeles, like the Tate Mansion, the Lobianco house, and that Mexican cafe where Sharon Tate ate her last meal. And it's a whole lot less, too, because the movie doesn't really take things as far as it could take them, honestly it's a bit of a half-hearted attempt to showcase people who've got an unhealthy obsession with serial killers and the places that they, umm, you know.
Yes, there are people out there fascinated with this sort of thing - but do we need a film that gives them a name and a voice? There must be literally hundreds of better ways for people to spend their time rather than go on murder-cations to tour these places, even if it brings them closer to the people they need to drive them there. Me, I'd suggest taking a tour of all the places they filmed scenes for "Return of the Jedi", the Star Wars fan magazine just printed a handy list, and you don't even have to go to Tunisia because they mostly filmed in California and Arizona, you could probably see all the exteriors used for Endor and Tatooine within a week. But that's just my preference, I know some people would prefer to go to New Zealand and take the "Lord of the Rings" tour - that's fine, you do you.
But unless you're Quentin Tarantino, I don't know what could possibly be gained by visiting the Manson Family murder sites, but that's what Conrad here keeps suckering his brother Nick into. And Nick keeps falling for it, again and again, because he realizes that's the only way to satisfy Conrad, who's sold all his earthly possessions and moved out to California to work for some kind of "environmental group". It's also a bit hard to believe that there are still Manson followers out there, because Manson was locked up in prison for SO LONG, his trial took place in 1970, and you'd think that in the 50 years that followed, most of his acolytes would have had to find something better to do. Right?
It's worth noting that when this film was released in 2015, Charles Manson was still alive - but he died on November 19 in 2017 (DAMN, I missed the anniversary by just TWO DAYS!). The month of November seems to play a number of important roles in his story - he was born on November 12, 1934, his first parole hearing was on November 16, 1978, and of course, the Beatles released their "White Album" on November 22, 1968. Yep, that's the album with the song "Helter Skelter" on it.
It's also worth noting that Charles Manson did champion ecological causes, and a belief system known as ATWA (Air, Trees, Water, Animals) - and those things are important, as we're all sort of re-finding out now that climate change is out of control. And some of Manson's followers engaged in eco-terrorism against those that would pollute the planet - so it kind of pains me to say this, but maybe Charles Manson made a few good points. However, remembering the man for his pro-ecology philosophies is a bit like admiring Hitler as an artist - you're kind of ignoring a lot of important stuff if that's what you choose to focus on.
This is the second film I've watched this year that mentioned the Sharon Tate murders, the other film was "Zeroville". And it was last year that I watched "Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood". I've got one more Manson-related film on my list, "Charlie Says", but I haven't been able to work it in. I suppose there's always next year - but it would have been great to watch these films a bit closer together, of course.
Also starring Linas Phillips (last seen in "Lucky Them"), Leonora Pitts, Adam Chernick (last seen in "The Angriest Man in Brooklyn"), Tobin Bell (last seen in "The Quick and the Dead"), Davie-Blue, Suzanne Ford (last seen in "You, Me and Dupree"), Ray Laska, Brent Alan Henry, Matt Bennett (last seen in "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot"), Justin M. Rasch, Jonathan Brooks, Isaac Reardon Berger, Orson Chaplin, Amy Adair, Larry Duplass, with archive footage of Charles Manson (last seen in "Zappa").
RATING: 4 out of 10 Polaroids (was this set before they invented camera phones?)
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