Written and directed by Machete Bang Bang and Erin Granat
Starring James Carrozo, Debra Wilson, Lou Taylor Pucci, Richard Riehle
Unrated
Runtime 1 hour 43 minutes
Available Theatrically and On Demand March 11

by Whitley Albury, Staff Writer

Any time you know someone is going to die in a story, it makes you pay attention to the little details. It takes the pressure off of “will he live, will he change his mind?” And honestly, I feel like it makes the story a little richer.

Moon Manor is James Carrozo’s funeral for himself, in a way. The film is based on actual events from his life, from meeting the love of his life, Ricky Granat, to starting companies until he got bored of them. He has planned this “going out” party for himself, with a death doula, Fritti (Debra Wilson), to ease the transition and a journalist, Andrew (Lou Taylor Pucci), to cover the event. Jimmy gives insight into his life, and in a way, teaches those closest to him how to live, as well. And, since he’s having an assisted suicide, of course a church shows up to protest. And by church, I mean a pastor, Gordon (Richard Riehle) and one congregant, Terry (Galen Howard).

While the entire premise itself is morbid, the film doesn’t ever feel overly dark. Jimmy hallucinates what looks like a disco version of the Witch King of Angmar, and it communicates with him telepathically to let him know he’s making the right choice. Despite living a full life, Jimmy is ready to check out, as his Alzheimer’s is getting worse. He loses words, he forgets that he just told a story. He knows it’s time for him to go on, whether others agree with him or not.

The soundtrack is incredible, and features a good chunk of Jimmy’s own music he recorded with Ricky. And the cinematography is top notch. Everything looks so rich, especially Jimmy’s backyard is lush with plants. There are so many succulents, and it almost feels like a metaphor for how they can live through just about anything, but even they can give up sometimes. There’s one scene where Jimmy’s friend Slick (Cullen G. Chambers) asks Andrew if it’s not depressing covering obituaries. “How a person died, that’s just a sentence. How a person lived, well that’s all the rest.” And it’s lines like that that just hit in a very specific way. This isn’t a story about death, this is about how to celebrate a life before the end.

There’s glitter and drag queens and Ricki Lake, all for this FUNeral (yes, Jimmy’s invitations say that). He invites the bodega owner, all his neighbors, including the young daughter of one neighbor. “Her fish just died, so we’ve been trying to figure out a way to explain it to her!” There are moments of dark humor, but it’s never overly done. It’s all the right touches. If you want a film that reminds you to live while you’re alive, and to have one hell of a story when you’re done, this is that film.