Marvelous Mandy (2016) Review

Down-on-his-luck single dad Harvey Fowler (Jonathan Stottmann) gets a much needed boost when he meets children's author Mandy Simpkins (Paula Marcenaro Solinger), author of the Marvelous Mandy storybooks that his daughter loves. Their beautifully vivacious relationship seems like it couldn't get any more perfect, until Harvey gains some disturbing insights into her fractured mental state. When cracks start to show through her dreamlike personality, Harvey learns who she really is- and just how vicious she'll become to maintain the illusion of her perfect life.

Director: Chase Dudley; Writer: Brentt Slabchuck; Stars: Paula Marcenaro Solinger, Ryley Nicole

Chase Dudley is relatively new to the director scene despite his humble beginings with Last Breath in 2008, another film that delves into the search for a serial killer. Per the IMDB trivia Marvelous Mandy was originally intended to be a remake of Chase Dudley's First feature film Past Due that was shot in 2011. But it became its own original Movie. Which explains the use of the bookstore and Dudley himself appearing as the store manager.

Sadly, there are a lot of Audio/overdubbing issues in the rough cut we were provided fot this review. We're definitely hoping these were fixed before release for it is our fear the film won't get the recognition it deserves. So lets point out immediately that this is indeed a low budget horror. $15,000 is the estimated budget for Marvelous Mandy, filmed in and around Louisville, KY. The acting is oft times subdued or over the top, which in some strange way also fits the slapstickiness of much of the humor. Which leads us to the reason why this is not a bad film. It just needs some polish.

Marvelous Mandy is, at its heart, a quirky love story. Harvey is a doating father just looking for a mother for his daughter. That's when he meets Many. Mandy seems innocently impetious and spontaneous. This brings some much needed levity and excitement to Harvey's life. Everything is, of course, marvelous, like the character in Mandy's books. Admittedly, I love Mandy's internal narrative, like she is the author of her own story, not just Harvey's daughters favorite books. I kind of wish there was more of it. Also, it makes one pause to wonder, is this stranger than fiction or does her life appear in the books? Paula Marcenaro Solinger's Many is definitely marvelous from one snap to the next. As the film progresses the thicken plots, and the twist gets twisted. Proving that as far as stories go, Marvelous Mandy has what it takes to be an identity disassotion film.

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