14/04/2012: Leslie, My Name Is Evil [2009]

There is nothing quite as confusing as a movie that couldn't decide on its own name, even changing its title in the opening sequence and the end credits. So, perhaps you've seen Leslie, My Name Is Evil, or Manson Girl, My Name is Evil, or even Manson My Name Is Evil, and if you have, let me assure you they are all the same movie.





Now that the most confusing part of this movie is out of the way lets get on with what it is about. My Name is Evil is about a good little Christian boy who is selected to be a jury member for the trial of Charles Manson's cult. It is in during the trial that Perry falls in love with one of the Manson girls. Now after describing what appears like it will be a dark and taboo love story and drama I will tell you that My Name Is Evil is every inch a comedy, and not a great one at that.

My Name Is Evil is a comedy that deals with a insane number of vary important issues impacting the United States during the Manson trials. It reflects on Vietnam, Christianity, and the crime sprees of Manson and his cult. However this movie is a Canadian one. So, from what I read of the reviews, are friends to the south were not to happy with are tasteless mockery of them, and this leads to one of the biggest factor deciding whether or not you will enjoy the movie.

Like the movie, I'm sure this screenshot will offend quite a few audience groups.

I think the biggest factor on whether or not you will like this movie is how much you know about the subject matter and whether or not mockery of it will offend you. I will confess I only now so little about the Manson family, how American feel about Vietnam, and I'm rather ignorant of religion. As such I have no problems finding humour in the mockery of stereotypes or the movies subject matter.

I think that this movie should not be targeted at the majority of the the market, which is the U.S.. Made in Canada this movie while I'm sure was enjoyed by some Americans, was vastly disliked by the majority and I would be extremely curious as to how it fared in other audiences.

Oh, the 60's. Hippies on one side, these guys on the other.

The actual movie itself, regardless of its subject matter is also pretty questionable. The acting is decent, and Kristen Hager is very pleasing to look at, but it is the set and cinematography that falls apart. While the movie does use a significant amount of real footage from the 60's, and it does make for an interesting affect, the filmed footage has some wholes. Most notably was a scene where Perry and his girlfriend are sitting in a car with a bright sunset in front, and when the camera switches to the opposite direction viewpoint, the background is black. There are a few other loopholes but I won't dig to much.

So all in all, while I enjoyed the movie, I won't likely be watching it again, nor recommending it to anyone. I think that as a comedy this one is extremely hit or miss, and probably offended quite a few people. If you've read this and don't see it as a problem and you find the movie intriguing, by all means check it out however. Also if you can tell me the name of the song that plays as the credits roll, tell me, I couldn't figure it out.

Link:
Leslie, My Name is Evil IMDb