Movie Review....Rabbit Hash, the Center of the Universe

Situated on a little bend in the road next to the Ohio river in the forests of Kentucky, lies the little town of Rabbit Hash. Rabbit Hash has 5 residents who live within the city limits and a variety of other folks who live near enough to claim it as their home town. This little town became famous in the 1990s for electing a non-human as mayor. Initially, the documentary crew went to Rabbit Hash to tell the story of that election. What they found was a magical little place populated by an odd assortment of eccentric and unforgettable people. it's pure joy just watching and listening to these folks telling the stories of their remarkable little town and their beloved mayor, Goofy, a black and tan mixed breed dog.

The election itself was a bit unconventional, even beyond the candidates (a pig, two dogs, the town crazy, and a few other folks). Votes were bought at the price of one dollar per vote. You could vote as often as you wanted as long as you had the money. And you didn't need to be a resident to vote, so it brought in folks from all over the county. The money from the election was used to rebuild a historic church badly in need of repairs. Goofy was a good mayor, by all accounts. He especially took an interest in traffic control, often walking slowly down the middle of the street, slowing traffic to a snails pace.

If pushed, the residents will admit that they once had a crime problem. Once. It seems someone stole a pack of cigarettes from the general store, but the culprit was chased into the river and nearly drowned trying to swim away. That's not likely to happen again, now that the Rabbit Hash Fire Department, String Band and SWAT Team is on the job.

As you can tell, the people of Rabbit Hash don't take life all that seriously. They just sit there in the center of the universe and watch the world around them as it spins crazily out of control. They're happy with their log cabins, their outhouses, their general store and they were all quite please with their mayor, Goofy.

Alas, Goofy's gone to that great dog park in the sky, but Rabbit Hash remains. I'd love to visit there some day. I hope it never changes