Mangus! (2011)

Director:

Ash Christian

Writer:

Ash Christian (written by)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Mangus Spedgwick has had one dream his whole life... He wants to be Jesus - in his high schools annual production of "Jesus Christ Spectacular"...

Plot Keywords:

High School | Trailer Park | Accident | Trailer | Freak Accident

Cast

Jennifer Coolidge	...	Cookie Richardson
Heather Matarazzo	...	Jessica Simpson
John Waters	...	Jesus Christ
Leslie Jordan	...	Bruce
Laura Spencer	...	Kimmy
Deborah Theaker	...	Raquel Spedgewick
Kasey James	...	Apostle / Wise Man
Lloyd Guerrero	...	Auditioner
Brett Donowho	...	Army Man #1
Kimberly Lynn Campbell	...	Bus Station Patron
Nicole Tompkins	...	Snow Cone Customer
Charles Solomon Jr.	...	Mangus Sr.
Shelli Fox	...	Parent
Peter S. Williams	...	Buddy
Greyson Moore	...	Parade Waver
Coleman Lannum	...	School Board Member
Annette Denise Bass	...	Clay Aiken Fan
Jesse Joel Crist	...	Teen Apprentice
Leticia Magaña	...	Patricia Williamson
Steven Jeffers	...	Diner Patron / Townsperson / Parade Watcher
Greg Vestal	...	Redneck in Strip Joint
Joshua D. Moody	...	Bus Passenger
Reid Shapiro	...	Sno Cone patron
Melissa Nassauer	...	Audition Hopeful
Kerry McCormick	...	Bus Station Patron
Richard D. Curtin	...	Jesus Christ
John D. Montoya	...	Farrell
Rex Cumming	...	Randy Jenkins
Billy Leo	...	Bus Passenger
Jed Fox	...	Parent
Jamie Buckley	...	Audience Member
Samantha Yonack	...	Greyhound Girl
Mary Winchester	...	Parent
Sherri Marie Squires Toon	...	Passenger in truck - parade (as Sherri Marie Squires)
Morgan Mishelle Boutilier	...	Band Member
Rock Williams	...	Town Hall Concerned Parent
scarlette Herndon martin	...	Woman in Car
Alexandra Sutherland	...	Musical actress / dancer
Maureen Boutilier	...	Parade dog walker
Ryan Boggus	...	Mangus
Stefanie Grant Cassel	...	Roxanne (as Stefanie Darrah)
Alyssa Joy Cook	...	Stunned Teen
Carson Nitschke	...	Student at audition
Mike Hudspeth	...	Redneck In Strip Joint
Mario Jimenez	...	Parade Waver
Jessica Goldfield	...	Pastel Neighbor / townsparent
Chloe Mondesir	...	Clay Aiken Fan
Larkin Lindner	...	Redeneck in strip bar
Sharon Price	...	Woman on bike
Jamie Lowry	...	Clay Aiken Fan (as Jamie Caver)
Patrick Mezeul	...	Apostle / Wise Man / Roman Soldier
Ashley LoBue	...	Mary Magdeline
Ariana Vail	...	Parade Watcher
Adam Thomasson	...	Bus Passenger
Kendyl Robbins	...	Auditioner
Carley Carpenter	...	High Schooler
Ashleigh Alldredge	...	High School Student
Joseph DiGennaro	...	Bus Station Smuggler
Angela Stidham	...	Parade Twirler / Board Member / Bus Passenger / Audience Member
Gayle Massey	...	School Board Member
Deidre Hartfield	...	Parade Beauty
Saundra Johnson	...	Audience Member
Bob DeRobio	...	Driver of truck - parade
Reta Hume	...	Florida Lady / Audience Member
Vic Case	...	Parade Waver
Eric Boggs	...	Neighbor
Nathan Hawks	...	Apostle
Lindsay Woodmansee	...	Theater Student
Corey Terrell	...	Apostle
Brandon Hartgraves	...	Apostle
Thomas Dye	...	Apostle
April Bell	...	Auditioner
Michelle Toche	...	Audience Member - Concerned Parent
Hayden Flynn Johnson	...	Boy in parade
Trica Weaver	...	Clay Aiken Fan
Kimberly Zwick	...	Clay Aiken Fan
Sherry Konzelman	...	Audience Member / Resurant Patron / Towns Person
Kristen Konzelman	...	Audience Member / Resurant Patron / Towns Person
Mary Grace Stocker	...	Acting Hopeful
Kaitlen Cerney	...	Parade Waver / Townsperson
Brittany Webber	...	Play Dancer
Amber Hatley	...	Audition Hopeful
Christy McDonald	...	High School Student
Irene Blackburn	...	Audience Member / Parade Attendee
Madison Fountain	...	Play Dancer
Robert A. Reed	...	Apostle / Band Member
Billie Hume	...	Florida Lady #2 / Audience Member
Jason Defriese	...	Audition hopeful
Tim Dye Sr.	...	Audience Member
Joe Lozano	...	Auditioner / high school student
Robert ' Bob' Crary	...	Parade War Hero / Featured Diner Patron / Townsperson
Darron Mason	...	High School Student / Quarterback
Nicole Jennings	...	HS student auditioning for play
Aaron Green	...	Parade War Hero
Grant Patrick Moore	...	Parade Waver
Maddie Hernandez	...	Diner Waitress - Parade Band Member - Audience Member
Danielle Johnson	...	Woman in parade
Melissa Vasilie	...	Audience Member / Clay Aiken Fan / Diner Patron
Maya Ramirez	...	Snow Cone Customer
Sarah Davis	...	Theatre Student / Dancer
Julia Vivian	...	Audition Hopeful
Jared Whittenberg	...	Parade War Hero
Gianni Marquez	...	Bus station smuggler
Brittany Romanchik	...	Band member / High school student
Gabrielle Dickson	...	Jesus Christ Spectacular Chorus
Peyton L. Reed	...	High School Student / Flag Pole Prayer
Scott Goodwin	...	Timmy
Carol Jeffers	...	Parade War Hero / Diner Patron / Townsperson
Ansley Speares	...	Play dancer
James DeWitt III	...	Theater Student (uncredited)
Ashleigh C. Nichols	...	Child in parade (uncredited)

Directed by
Ash Christian

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ash Christian		written by

Produced by
Lisa Black	....	executive producer
Raymond Carter Cantrell	....	co-producer
Ash Christian	....	producer
Anne Clements	....	executive producer
Rex Cumming	....	executive producer
Tom D'Angora	....	co-executive producer
Melissa Doyle	....	associate producer
Ronen Gevint	....	co-executive producer
Coleman Lannum	....	co-executive producer
Jordan Yale Levine	....	co-executive producer
Michele Levy	....	executive producer
Heather Matarazzo	....	producer
Charles Merson	....	co-executive producer
Simon Millar	....	producer
Ruth Mutch	....	executive producer
Rachel Shepherd	....	line producer
Charles Solomon Jr.	....	executive producer
Nick Sweet	....	co-executive producer
Patsy Wesson	....	co-executive producer
Sean Wheelan	....	co-producer
Tom Whelan	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Lyn Moncrief

Film Editing by
Scott Martin

Casting by
Sally Allen
Toni Cobb Brock
Jason L. Wood

Production Design by
Ryan M. Smith

Set Decoration by
Melody Beth
Meghan Cole

Costume Design by
Ryan M. Smith

Makeup Department
Gina Elkins	....	key hair stylist & makeup artist
Corey Haese	....	key hair stylist
Gabriel Torres	....	key makeup artist
Tiffany Vollmer	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Jenna Burris	....	assistant unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brent Duncan	....	first assistant director
Mikel Elliott	....	second second assistant director
Geoff Ingram	....	second second assistant director
Rachel Shepherd	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Jeff Hillary	....	leadman
Winona Yu	....	property master

Sound Department
John Gage	....	sound mixer
Karlo Montano	....	production sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Andreas Hylander	....	visual effects artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Beau Banning	....	grip
Nathan James	....	still photographer
Hollin Lange	....	first assistant camera
Chad Lear Plunkett	....	key grip
Dan Siegelstein	....	electrician
Brandon Torres	....	gaffer
Erik Untersee	....	best boy grip

Casting Department
Alyssa Joy Cook	....	extras casting assistant
Katrina Cook	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jason Brightman	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Shaun Cvar	....	assistant editor
Kim Fishman	....	assistant editor
Kim Fishman	....	post-production supervisor
Ben Garchar	....	assistant editor
Samuel Lee	....	post-production assistant
Nikolai Waldman	....	colorist

Music Department
Kurt Gellersted	....	songs by
Suzanne Hilleary	....	music consultant

Transportation Department
Bob DeRobio	....	transportation captain
Omaka Omegah	....	limo coordinator

Other crew
Raymond Carter Cantrell	....	location manager
Gary Collins	....	production assistant
Josh Gilmore	....	key set production assistant
Geoff Ingram	....	production assistant
Elsa Ramo	....	production attorney
Sherri Marie Squires Toon	....	production assistant (as Sherri Marie Squires)
Matthew Stocks	....	production assistant
Adam Thomasson	....	production assistant
Laura Lilia Trevino	....	script supervisor (as Laura Trevino)

Thanks
Onstage in Bedford	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Cranium Entertainment
• Film i Väst (in co-production with)
• Filmgate Films (in co-production with)

Distributors

• Logo Television Network (2011) (USA) (TV)
• Wolfe Releasing (2011) (USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• Ramo Law PC  production legal services (as Law Offices of Elsa Ramo)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Waxahachie, Texas, USA

Company:

Cranium Entertainment

Wacky, offbeat but ultimately unsatisfying comedy

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Mangus! is an interesting early work by Ash Christian, but shows that he is a better director than writer. The offbeat comedy about a kid who just wants to follow in his father's footsteps has a few hilarious moments, and a lot of untapped potential.

Stellar performances by Leslie Jordan, Jennifer Coolidge and Deborah Theaker make this movie worth seeing. They manage to bring cartoonish characters to life in a wholly believable way. But fully half the lines of dialogue are pointless -- they are not funny and do not advance the plot. Often, they merely restate something that's already been said, or that could be conveyed better non-verbally.

The dramatic potential of several plot points (like ending up in Hollywood, Florida rather than Hollywood, California) is underutilized. It's almost as if Christian didn't want to put in the time to polish a good script, or -- more likely -- that writing is not his forte.