POTTERSVILLE (2017) **

I was so enamored by Michael Shannon’s performance in The Shape of Water that I went out looking for another Shannon film in hopes of seeing him once again chew the scenery like a madman.  Now The Shape of Water of course was all about a fish man finding love with a mute woman.  Incredibly enough, the plot to Pottersville is just as weird.

Shannon plays a meek nice guy who owns the general store in his small snowy hometown.  One day, he decides to leave work early and surprise his wife (Christina Hendricks) and is dismayed to find her dressed in a bunny costume and having “furry sex” with Ron Perlman (who likes to dress in a wolf costume).  I try not to be too judgmental when it comes to folks’ sexual eccentricities, but these two make the fish man sex in The Shape of Water look downright conventional by comparison.

Anyway, Shannon does what anyone would do in that situation:  Go out and get drunk on Ian McShane’s moonshine.  Feeling despondent, Shannon dresses up in a gorilla costume in hopes of winning back his wife.  His drunken costumed escapades in the town makes everyone think Bigfoot is on the loose and soon, the place becomes a booming tourist trap.  A reality show host (Thomas Lennon) even shows up with a camera crew looking to capture the beast.  Shannon continues the charade and runs around like Sasquatch to keep the town’s morale up, but predictably everyone turns their back on him when he’s ultimately unmasked.

On the surface, Pottersville looks like your typical Hallmark Hall of Fame Christmas movie, but the slightly warped plot pretty much guarantees little white-haired old ladies will not be amused.  The fact that the plot hinges on kinky animal costume sex (even though no skin is ever shown) is probably enough to make sure it’ll never be shown on the channel.  While it’s just a tad weirder than your average Christmas flick, it’s not nearly weird enough to be consistently entertaining.

Even though I really like the guy, I’ll be the first to admit that Shannon is badly miscast.  They really needed someone bland in the lead.  When he tries to act “normal” and be “nice”, he just comes off looking like a serial killer.  Imagine if Rondo Hatton replaced Jimmy Stewart as the star of It’s a Wonderful Life with a furry sex subplot and that might give you an idea of what we’re talking about here.

Some will want to watch it just for the fact that Hendricks plays a sex-starved woman with a furry fetish.  You’ve got to wonder about her character though.  I mean she leaves Shannon for Perlman.  It’s almost enough to make me think I have a shot with her.

All of this might’ve been worth a damn if it was actually funny.  Although I got a kick out of seeing Ian McShane as a crusty hunter doing a good imitation of Robert Shaw’s big scene in Jaws, for the most part, the gags fall flat.  Even the usually reliable Lennon fails to generate any laughs.

If you’re a Bigfoot fanatic with a furry sex fetish in need of a Christmas movie, look no further.  Pottersville has got you covered.  Everyone else will probably be left scratching their head.