Review of Pottersville (2017) by Ricky D — 18 Dec 2017

A Christmas movie without the Christmas spirit, Pottersville, directed by Seth Henrikson never delivers on the quirky holiday shenanigans its premise promises. Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals) plays Maynard Greiger, the owner of a corner general store in Pottersville, a small rural town hit with some hard times. Maynard is a gentle, well-intentioned man who never hesitates to help those who need a hand. After finding his wife (Christina Hendricks, Bad Santa 2) fooling around with the local sheriff (Ron Perlman, Sons of Anarchy) dressed up as animals, Maynard, in a moonshine-fueled stupor, decides to dawn a makeshift gorilla costume and head out on the town. The next morning, Maynard awakes to find his store filled with townspeople watching a news broadcast proclaiming there had been several Bigfoot sightings in and around Pottersville the night prior. Knowing people must have mistaken him for Bigfoot, he's ready to turn himself in. However, he sees how much excitement and prosperity his hijinks have brought to the town and decides to keep things going with more sighting until his antics attract the attention of a popular monster hunting show and he realizes that he's in danger of being discovered and ruining the towns chances of continuing to thrive. With a premise like this, there's so much potential for hilarity and sentimentality that's perfect for the Christmas backdrop. Unfortunately, the story moves at a tepid pace which never allows it takes flight.

When I read the synopsis for Pottersville I thought, "that sounds like it could be cute and fun." The problem is, the filmmakers forgot to include any of that in the actual film. We only get to see flashes of Maynard's sasquatch adventures, which completely removes the quirk of the story. I would've loved to spend a large potion of the movie watching Maynard get himself into some hilarious situations while wearing a gorilla costume. But we're ultimately left with fleeting images of only one or two instances in favor of a bogged down mess of mass hysteria and way too many uncomfortable references of furries (look it up if you don't know what a furry is.) Everything in this movie just feels muffled and dull; the performances in particular.

With the exception of Christina Hendricks (whom I could not stand), the rest of the cast was serviceable, but bland; Michael Shannon most of all. Shannon is typically known as an unhinged ball of frenetic personality in the league of Joaquin Phoenix and Jake Gyllenhaal. With credits like his Oscar-nominated role in Nocturnal Animals or his bizarre turn as the King Elvis Presley in Elvis & Nixon, Shannon always brings a nutty intensity to his roles, but Pottersvile's script completely neuters him. He has absolutely zero personality in this film, which is so disappointing, because I usually love everything Shannon does. Perlman as the town sheriff is forgettable, and Ian McShane as a skilled backwoods tracker is fine. The only bright spots of this movie are Judy Greer and Thomas Lennon.

I've always thought Greer is an underappreciated actress. In Pottersville she plays Parker, Maynard's employee. She's as sweet, warm, and soothing as a nice cup of hot chocolate. She represents everything you hope to see in a Christmas movie by giving the right touch of heart and innocence that Pottersville desperately needed more of. Where Greer provides the sweetness, Lennon lends the movie a shot of energy that it lacks everywhere else. Lennon gives a fun satirical take on the bonehead host of one of those phony monster hunting shows, complete with a thick faux-Australian accent. If I was laughing during this movie (and there were times), it was because of Lennon.

Pottersville is like a field after a good snowfall; completely blank. There's very few qualities present to give it any identity. I'd barely even call it a Christmas movie. With the exception of some well placed garland and a winter setting, the movie itself doesn't give you any of the yuletide spirit you come to expect and want from a holiday film. The title of this movie is a direct reference to the ficional town of It's A Wonderful Life. In the world where George was never born, Mr. Potter becomes so powerful and wealthy, he renames Bedford Falls after himself. I really like Potterville's allusion to this Christmas classic, drawing the parallels between two towns that are both missing some form of life, but if you're going to evoke one of the most well known Christmas movies of all time in your title, you better deliver on it, and Pottersville does not. I mean the tagline of Pottersville is, "it's a magical life." How much more direct can you be?! It's like writer Daniel Meyer forgot he set this movie during Christmas until the very end with one moment. This one sweet moment at the end of this movie finally gave me those Christmas feels I was looking for, but the slog it was getting there was hardly worth it. Ultimately, Pottersville, like its main protagonist, is well-intentioned and inoffensive, but lacks any captivating personality at all.