This weekend I made the wife sit down and experience just a tiny portion of today’s selection, Patch Town. After the scene was over, I explained the plot of the film to add context to which she replied, “How do you find THESE movies?” Netflix recommended it because, let’s face it, they know I like it weird and so theys keep it coming.
The jovial Jon (Rob Ramsay) spends his days at the factory in Patch Town. He comes home to his loving wife Mary (Stephanie Pitsiladis) and their newly acquired infant Daisy. Daisy was stolen from the factory with the help of Boris (Alan C. Peterson) because it is strictly forbidden by the big boss Yuri (Julian Richings) for workers to adopt children. That’s because the children, born from cabbages, are placed in suspended animation and sold as dolls all over the world. Boris reveals to Jon that, before Jon worked the lines, he was such a lucky child. Armed with this knowledge, and with the help of Sly (Suresh John), Jon escapes Patch Town with Mary and Daisy hoping to reconnect with his long lost, and now adult, mother Bethany (Zoie Palmer).
I know you’re thinking, a cabbage patch kids movie! For serious?! That’s right, writer-director-producer Craig Goodwill conjured up this clever little concept, first as a short which he then expanded upon in this feature length film. You may think you’d have no interest in watching a film about kids born from a patch of cabbages, but you’d be depriving yourself of a unique viewing experience.
Now, I’m not saying Patch Town is a film of epic proportions. It has its problems, but the ingenuity of Goodwill’s story drives one to stay with our protagonist Jon until the end of his endeavor. It’s a well-worn path of tried, true, and overused plot devices, so don’t be surprised if your interest wanes down the stretch.
That’s assuming you make it that far. Not only is Patch Town and ingenious look at life after doll-dom for a child of the cabbage patch, but it’s also a musical! Knowing musicals are not every viewers’ friend, however, so it’s understandable if you turn it off once Jon starts belting out his first tune. Not to say Jon’s bad. In fact, Jon’s Ramsay and Mary’s Pitsiladis are exceptional singers and make the smattering of songs much more palatable.
Odd is certainly one word to describe Patch Town. It’s not for everyone, but those who can get down with it’s far out concepts are going to enjoy Jillian Richings and Ken Hall ham it up as the evil Yuri and his henchman Kenny. Ramsay is the king of hero you find yourself rooting for and his buddy Sly is the kind of rapscallion you want on your side when things start going south.
Patch Town is fun in its own way, but I don’t expect the masses to be queuing it up en masse following this review. If it draws just a few more into the folds of the cabbage leaf, I’ll consider my job done.
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