Patch Town

Jon, an overweight factory worker, alongside his timid yet strong-willed wife Mary, reside in a structured housing bloc known as Patch Town, a workers’ village positioned just outside the toy manufacturing giant Patch Enterprises. In this peculiar environment, none of the employees have children, nor do they possess any memories of their own childhoods. One fateful night, while preparing a baby doll for shipment—a task that involves extracting sentient, living dolls from magical cabbages cultivated on the factory grounds—Jon witnesses a fellow employee being violently punished by guards for attempting to steal one of the cabbages. Observing the scene from a distance is Yuri, the dubious factory owner.

Hastily returning home, Jon confesses to Mary that he managed to successfully pilfer one of the cabbages, which has gifted them with a living baby they have affectionately named “Daisy.” From their vantage point across the street, they watch in horror as another couple, having also seized a cabbage baby, is confronted by Yuri and his dwarf henchman Kenny. The couple’s plight ends tragically as they are forcibly taken away while their baby is discarded into a dumpster.

Determined to escape the grim confines of Patch Town with Mary and Daisy, Jon seeks the help of Darryl, a black-market smuggler. Darryl presents Jon with a file containing details about his “mother,” Bethany, the young girl who had once purchased him from a mall in the 1980s. This revelation hits Jon hard as he realizes that he, Mary, and all the other inhabitants of Patch Town are essentially adult versions of their former doll selves. Darryl recounts a haunting tale about Yuri’s father, an elderly immigrant who stumbled upon magical cabbages and inadvertently brought the cabbage dolls to life. After the death of his father, Yuri inherited the cabbages, but instead of nurturing the dolls, he turned them into toys and ruthlessly controlled their lives.

In hopes of finding Bethany, Jon takes Mary and Daisy to the outskirts of Patch Town, where they are smuggled out by Sly, a former employee maligned as a doll model. Disguised as a food delivery truck, Sly’s hippie van quietly transports them to Toronto, offering them a modest abode and promising to provide them with furnishings to create a semblance of home.

Meanwhile, Yuri employs ruthless interrogation methods on Darryl and a female bar worker, using electroshock therapy to erase their memories after seeking information about Bethany. While Kenny succeeds in kidnapping Avery, Bethany’s preteen daughter, he leaves Bethany behind, much to Yuri’s annoyance. Undeterred, Yuri plans to use Avery’s likeness for a cutting-edge line of interactive dolls—a sign that Patch Enterprises must evolve to stay relevant.

In the bustling shopping mall where Jon begins working as Santa Claus to earn money, he spots Bethany on a TV screen desperately asking for Avery’s safe return. Upon receiving directions to Bethany’s residence from a helpful gay couple, Jon and Sly inadvertently find themselves arrested by RCMP officers who mistakenly identify them as Avery’s kidnappers. Struck by desperation, Bethany devises a plan to extract Jon and Sly from jail in exchange for their assistance in retrieving Avery.

Tensions rise as Mary expresses her anger towards Jon, while Sly remains hesitant, but the group eventually unites with the intent of liberating not only themselves but also the other employees of Patch Town and little Daisy.

As the plot unfolds, Bethany finds herself under the clutches of Kenny and another of Yuri’s henchmen upon learning about the horrific fate awaiting Avery. She cleverly pretends to be romantically interested in Yuri, buying time for Jon and Mary to infiltrate the factory. Once inside, they rally their fellow employees and plot to overthrow Yuri’s reign.

When confronted by Jon, Yuri reveals his vulnerability, confessing his longing for a family of his own. Jon, filled with compassion, reminds Yuri that he already possesses a family among his employees. In an act of rebellion, they utilize the electroshock therapy machine on Yuri, aiming to erase his memories and render him docile. Gratefully, Bethany thanks Jon, reclaiming her daughter and returning to Toronto with Sly’s help, while Jon makes the poignant decision to remain in Patch Town to cultivate a newfound life with Mary and Daisy.

In the end, Yuri is depicted in a darkly comedic light, singing a jingle for Patch Enterprises in a slurred voice, while Kenny embarks on a budding romance with a career counselor in their new journey to Toronto.

Last Updated: November 08, 2024 at 16:38