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Parents' Guide to

Pottersville

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Dull, nonsensical holiday comedy has cursing, drinking.

Movie PG-13 2017 84 minutes
Pottersville Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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What's the Story?

POTTERSVILLE is an economically-strapped town, declining since its biggest employer, the mill, closed and locals have lost their jobs and their dignity. Maynard (Michael Shannon) still runs the general store as his family has done for generations. He keeps an accounting ledger, and extends credit without question or judgment to many residents struggling to feed their families. Closing the shop early one day, he goes home early to surprise his wife, Connie (Christina Hendricks), with a romantic dinner. He finds her in the bedroom dressed as a large bunny, cavorting with Jack, the town's sheriff (Ron Perlman), who is dressed as a wolf (although Maynard insists as a running joke that Jack looks more like a squirrel). The costumed pair explain that their secret club, The Furries, just dress up and rub, no sex allowed, but Maynard goes off to sulk and get drunk. In that condition, he returns to his store and dons a gorilla suit, then for no good reason heads for the woods. In the morning, he awakens on the floor of his store, discovering that his inebriated wanderings as a gorilla were reported the night before by neighbors to the police as Bigfoot sightings. This arouses the interest of the whole town and a reality TV show starring a fraudulent Aussie Sasquatch "expert." Brock (Thomas Lennon) is really American but he hopes to ride the Squatch hunt into a network show. He teams up with the sheriff and the local hunter and woodsman, Bart (Ian McShane), who vows to catch Bigfoot. Armed with guns, both tranquilizer and bullet varieties, and a large tent, the three head into the night to catch the non-existent creature. Maynard has tried to tell the sheriff about his drunken outing but the sheriff is too busy, thrusting the plot ever forward into unlikely situations. Maynard-as-Bigfoot feels obligated to continue the charade for the sake of the town's well-being and gets tranquilized and exposed. He's immediately ostracized for the deception until the townspeople realize how kind and decent he has always been to them.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is a strained comedy featuring a whimsical plot that is unaccompanied by any supportive whimsical writing or acting. Formula rules over creativity. Maynard's unassuming but supportive employee, played by Judy Greer, is a stock character -- the "good woman" -- no more than a device to bring the movie around to its goal of getting Maynard what he deserves. Much of the comedy depends on lame ribbing of a cowardly TV "monster hunter" who thinks more about hair and makeup than the content of his show. Shannon is likable enough as a doormat to his oblivious and selfish wife, but it's utterly unfathomable that anyone would continue to run around at night in the woods dressed as Bigfoot while people with guns were also running around out there looking to shoot him.

The movie certainly has to overcome that unreality and since it fails to do so, everything that follows becomes equally difficult to swallow, or even sit through. At one point, Maynard types a letter before he goes off for his last appearance as Bigfoot, but we never find out what he wrote. The ending returns to the believable. The town recognizes the way it has taken dear, sweet, generous Maynard for granted, realizing how much more he's given them than the presence of a mythical creature ever could.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the movie veers from its original point, which seems to be that Maynard is a really nice guy. Why do you think he does what he does?

  • Maynard's wife is painted as a cartoonish and selfish person. Do you believe that character seems realistic or do you think her extreme character was created just to bolster the comedy?

  • Does the effort to make this story funny seem strained? What about this movie works as a comedy and what doesn't? Would it have been better as a drama?

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