Pottersville

It's Christmastime in the small town of Pottersville. Maynard Grieger runs a struggling general store while his wife Connie and Sheriff Jack provide a sense of community around him. Connie reveals that she needs more excitement in life and wants some time apart, setting the emotional stakes for the film's events.

Maynard returns home to surprise Connie and discovers she is in a furry costume with Jack the sheriff. Connie says she needs more excitement in life and wants some time apart. The moment forces Maynard to reconsider his life and choices.

That night, a drunken Maynard tells his clerk Parker about his misadventure. He then dresses in a gorilla costume and roams the town, startling residents and drawing crowds. The spectacle sows the seeds of a larger, unintended opportunity that Maynard begins to cultivate.

The next morning Maynard wakes to find himself widely misidentified as Bigfoot. He contemplates confessing, but the prospect of tourism profits convinces him to keep the disguise going. The town's curiosity and appetite for spectacle start to grow.

Brock Masterson, host of a monster-hunting reality show, arrives to investigate the supposed Bigfoot phenomenon. He pretends to find evidence for his cameras but privately remains skeptical about the creature's existence. His presence adds tension and uncertainty to the town's plans.

After meeting Maynard in costume, Brock is genuinely frightened and decides he wants to leave town. He chooses to retreat rather than publicly expose a hoax, signaling a dangerous turn for the spectacle economy. The town is left with a cliffhanger about the truth.

Brock decides to continue the search for Bigfoot, enlisting Jack and Bart, a local hunter, to bolster his investigation. The hunt keeps the myth alive and drives more intrigue into the town's economy. Meanwhile, Maynard's secret begins to weigh on him.

Parker discovers that Maynard has been dressing as Bigfoot and warns him about the danger from Bart. Maynard persists with the ruse, hoping the town will benefit from the legend. Brock captures the 'creature' during a staged return, setting up a dramatic reveal, and the deception edges closer to exposure.

Brock brings the supposed Bigfoot back to town, and Parker reveals that Maynard was the man in the gorilla suit all along. Brock threatens to sue the town, and the angry townspeople force him to close the shop. The ledger Maynard kept to track purchases is revealed to be blank, underscoring his motive of helping the town rather than collecting debt.

The townspeople forgive Maynard and come to his store to apologize and settle their accounts. Connie forgives him but Maynard refuses to take her back. Brock's public fraud is exposed and he loses his show, ending his television scheme.

Realizing the global interest in Bigfoot, Maynard and Parker reopen the Pottersville Mill as a museum dedicated to the legend. The town rallies around the project, and the relationship between Maynard and Parker deepens as they work together. The moment hints at a hopeful, if bittersweet, future.

Maynard and Parker share a kiss, marking a new chapter for Pottersville. As they celebrate, an ominous howl in the distance suggests the legend of Bigfoot may endure beyond the town’s boundaries. The movie closes on a note of mystery and possibility.