This movie sneaks up on you. You aren't getting the recent rash of over the top brash and crass movies of the current era. You are getting a cute and in the end a heart-warming comedy.
To begin, this movie comes at us from a small, down on its luck town who's main employer "The Mill" has recently closed. Maynard is one of the few remaining business owners, and his corner store is the focal point of the town. This is much like many small towns across America, so many viewers can relate.
The movie portrays a few pretty typical characters you might also find in those small towns and exaggerates their personalities just enough to make them quite amusing, but not overdone like an SNL skit.
One character that IS over the top is the "Monster Hunter" that comes into the town searching for bigfoot. (In a not so veiled spoof of Bear Grilles or similar reality star.) He is ridiculously funny, but it somehow fits.
To Me, this is a great movie to watch with the whole family. Three are a few scenes with minor sexual overtones, but PG is how I would rate it. And I can only recall a few occasions of foul language.
I mention these things because I feel the shocking nature of many films today is borne of laziness. Writers and directors who are out of ideas and fall back on foul language and shock value as an answer to comedy. This movie breaks that mold and still generates the laughs.
So the bottom line is, if you are looking for a caustic f-bomb fest, this isn't the movie for you. Go watch The Hangover or something else. Those are funny movies for sure, but his movie takes a different route.
This movie has great acting, a great story and surprisingly funny scenes. A great way to spend an hour and a half with the family!
