Manson Family Vacation

What starts out as a tour of the murder sites becomes a much deeper story of identity and belonging, surprisingly a good watch.

This had so much potential. I spent the first 45 minutes really interested. Was thinking it was going to turn out pretty wild. The next half hour I was thinking man, feel like I've been watching this for quite a while, but nothing's really happened. 9 minutes later, it was over.

I don't know who gave this the OK once they finished, but that person needs to be fired.

'MANSON FAMILY VACATION': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A comedy-drama flick; about two brothers, touring all of the Charles Manson murder sites together. The film stars Jay Duplas and Linas Phillips, as the brothers. Jay and Mark Duplas, also executive produced the low budget movie; which was funded (with $40,000) by a Kickstarter campaign. The movie was written and directed by (first time filmmaker) J. Davis; Davis and Jay Duplas previously co-wrote the 2011 documentary flick 'KEVIN' (which Duplas directed). The movie is interesting, funny and involving; it's a pretty well made little indie flick.

Duplas plays Nick; a devoted family man, with a wife (Leonora Pitts) and a young son (Adam Chernick). Nick's adopted brother, Conrad (Phillips), recently quit his job, and he's traveling through town; so he decides to pay Nick a visit. While staying with Nick, and his family, Conrad asks Nick to tour all of the Charles Manson murder sites with him (which he's obsessively fascinated by). Despite the fact that Nick is repulsed by the idea, he reluctantly agrees.

The movie is quirky, and awkward; two great things in any film (for me). It's funny, in places, but it's also a great character study. Duplas and Phillips both give good performances, and they're both able to really flesh out their characters. The concept, for the film, is bizarre; but oddly fascinating too. It's actually a really interesting way to get to know the two lead characters. The filmmakers did a remarkable job, for such a low-budgeted movie! I'm always impressed with anything either Duplas brother does, though.

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Don't watch it if you expect it to be a thriller like it is categorized in because it's absolutely not a thriller. Not even a little bit. I wonder why they put it in the thriller category, must be a mistake or maybe we don't have the same definition when it comes down to thrillers. Nor is it a real comedy even though Linas Phillips made me laugh more then a couple times. His laugh is just funny and I could not stop myself laughing when he was. It's a drama with some funny moments. It deserves more then it's actual ratings on IMDb. For me a movie always deserves at least a seven when I don't get bored for a second. And with Manson Family Vacation it was the case. It's an easy to watch movie, much better then some crap that are higher rated on here.

I felt compelled to inform interested watchers that the 5.8 IMDb score for this movie is way wrong. This is my first review and after watching this heartfelt movie, I decided that writer and director J. Davis does not deserve this movie to be poorly rated.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the story, characters and acting. The dialogue felt real and kept us interested throughout. Linas Phillips was a joy to watch and Jay Duplass adds his touch of realism to it as he did in Transparent.

Do yourself the favor of watching this film. I am sure I am not alone in how I rate this movie.