Pottersville

GenerationofSwine

Jan 14, 2023 · via TMDB

★ 10.0

heart warming and satisfying. The kind of movie that promises you from the onset that the guy is going to get the girl and everyone is going to live happily ever after. You have that promise walking in to it...so giving the film a negative review because it makes good on the promise is sort of....jaded. The movie makes promises that it keeps, and the promises fits within the genre.... ...but there are parts of it that are so far out of the genre that it really catches you by surprise, and that is the brilliance of the film. You know exactly what the movie is going to give you walking in...and then it throws a curve here and there that makes it stand out completely from all the other films in the genre... And I don't want to have to throw up the spoiler shade on this, so you take my word for it...when you think you know what's about to happen...you do, it's exactly that kind of movie, but there's enough of a twist to it to catch you off guard. And those little things, the humor, all makes Pottersville stand out above the rest of the feel good Christmas movies. It's heartwarming and delightfully different, even if it does fit nicely into a mold.

A down on its luck mining town finds a new life when locals begin seeing a bigfoot. Before long, there are tourists in town, cash registers ringing, and a nationally syndicated television show scouring the woods for a sasquatch. It's a Christmas miracle - or is it? My rating for Pottersville seems at odds with conventional wisdom. It’s obvious that I enjoy this one much, much more than most people. For many reason, the film worked for me. The cast is brilliant - from Michael Shannon playing against character to the always enjoyable Judy Greer to the gruff but funny Ian McShane, I had a blast with the cast. The plot is a another plus for me. It's just quirky enough to keep me entertained throughout. The bits about the furries, the bigfoot sightings, and the "unique" townspeople are all interesting touches. I've read several complaints about the lack of real comedy and, while I can agree to a point, there are enough moments that made me at least smile that I didn't need to laugh out loud to find the comedy enjoyable. Overall, I had a good time with Pottersville and have no problems rating it higher than most others. My biggest complaint with Pottersville and the thing that keeps me from rating it higher is Tom Lennon. A little Lennon goes a long way. He's given way, way too much screentime. I admit that some of his interactions with Ian McShane and the Nelson Mandela song dedicaiton were quite funny, but overall, he's annoying. Less Lennon and I might have rated Pottersville even higher.