Rating: 2/4
My, my, my where do I start? Pottersville is a “Christmas” film set in a small town, centered around Maynard (Michael Shannon), a general goods owner, with a heart of gold. It stars Shannon, Ron Pearlman, and Christina Hendricks. Sounds amazing right? Oh, it only gets better.
Pottersville is a town that’s dying. The mill has closed, everything is for sale, and most of the citizens are unemployed. Maynard, a general goods owner, is in the Jimmy Stewart mold. A man who’s never left his hometown, and is charitable to a fault. His whole life is thrown for a loop when he finds his wife (Hendricks), dressed as a rabbit, with Sheriff Jack (Perlman), dressed as a wolf. They’re part of the Furry Club, a group of residents who dress as animals for sexual pleasure. That’s the first 8 minutes. Ron Perlman and Christina Hendricks in a furry club together, with Michael Shannon as the third wheel. It’s a Christmas miracle!
To win back his wife, Maynard decides to dress as a gorilla, who gets mistaken as Bigfoot. Guys, we got furries and Bigfoot. All we need is a Monster Hunters “Australian” tv host who dedicates acoustic songs to Nelson Mandela. Lucky, the writers of Pottersville are geniuses like me, and we get a Monster Hunters “Australian” tv host who dedicates acoustic songs to Nelson Mandela named Brock Masterson (Thomas Lennon).
The second half of the film centers around the hunt, as Sheriff Jack and Bock Masterson look for Bigfoot, with the assistance of Bart (Ian McShane). If you’re pissed that you haven’t read about a Robert Shaw/Quint Jaws reference, may your heart be still! McShane is a Quint copy. He even runs his fingernails across the chalkboard, offering to hunt Bigfoot.
Pottersville is tonally deaf, with multiple inconsistencies. Shannon owns a store called Grieger’s that was established 1928, though we get no backstory on him. In fact, we get no backstory on his assistant, Parker (Judy Greer), either. She’s so much of an afterthought, I’ve only just now thought of mentioning her. The furry community is supposed to be secret, but during the Bigfoot reveal, there are people dressed in their furry costumes. Oh yea, there’s Jaws-like hunter, who’s addicted to moonshine, named Bart. Bart? What makes it odder is that this is a Christmas movie. A Christmas movie filled with Furries, Monster Hunters, Jaws references, Bigfoot, Michael Shannon (who lives in an overly opulent house for no reason), Ron Perlman, and Christina Hendricks.
Pottersville is one of two things, the worst Christmas movie ever or the best movie ever. Alright, maybe not the best movie ever, but damn sure entertaining. And you know what? I actually think Pottersville is pretty good. Is it Christmacy….ehhhhh. Is it well acted…ehhhhh. Does it even make sense…ehhhhhh. Whatever the case, how many Christmas movies are the same tired Hallmark b.s.? Pottersville may not be the best, but it won’t be accused of not taking chances. Give me a hundred Pottersvilles! Alright, maybe not a hundred, but I’ll take a soft 10. Because if Pottersville gets one thing right, it gets the heart right.
You can watch Pottersville for free on Netflix.
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Photo Credit: ScreenCrush
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