Did you ever wonder what the Christmas version of Jaws and with furries would look like? Wonder no more, because it exists! And it is a really fun Christmas movie and a pretty good alternative to classics like Home Alone and Die Hard.
Disclaimer: This is not a review in the sense that I will give a comprehensive and objective opinion, but rather what I felt about particular decisions by the filmmakers, written in a stream of consciousness style. There will be SPOILERS. I also apologize for my English, it needs improvement and I always like to hear how I can improve my writing.
The story is very straightforward. Maynard Greiner (Michael Shannon), the owner of the local general store in the forgotten town of Pottersville, finds out that his wife is a Furry and she breaks up with him because he is too boring and he gets drunk and dresses up as a gorilla. When he wakes up the next morning everyone thinks Bigfoot has been sighted and the good-hearted Maynard wants to keep up the appearance since it makes the town folk happier. After some time a TV-crew comes into town to film an Australian “monster finder” catch Bigfoot.
The biggest strength of Pottersville is its incredible cast. Michael Shannon is brilliant as Maynard, the only sane character in this weird ensemble of characters like Sheriff Jack (Ron Perlman) and the monster hunter Brock Masterson (Thomas Lennon). Especially Ian McShane’s character Bart is a great spin on Quint (Robert Shaw) from Jaws.
The majority of the second half of the movie is plotwise directly lifted from Spielberg’s masterpiece. It is surprising that a movie with the setup of a horror film works as a heartwarming Christmas movie with an uplifting message about charity and working together as a community.
If you haven’t decided on what to watch on Christmas, do yourself a favor and don’t watch a movie you’ve already seen a thousand times and consider watching this great little Christmas miracle of a movie.
Catching Up on Movies 