Fatman

• Written and Directed by Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms
• November 13, 2020

A disillusioned Santa struggles with listlessness, government interference, and an angry assassin sent by a kid on his naughty list.

The non-traditional Santa Christmas movie subgenre has been a part of cinema since at the minimum the original (and controversial) Silent Night, Deadly Night. If not exactly then, that movie certainly solidified it as a Christmas movie subgenre. Numerous twists on the concept of the unconventional Santa have come and gone since with results varying.

Into this comes Fatman starring Mel Gibson as Chris Cringle (though Gibson is not really fat) and featuring Walton Goggins as a hitman. In this film Santa appears to be something at least in part supported by the American government to stimulate the economy but from the looks of it he has existed before the US though that is not solidly confirmed. How he came to be connected with the US government or if Santa was actually a creation of the US government or whatever is not explained but you don’t need to really concern yourself too much with that. And much like Fred Claus the narrative waffles between people knowing Santa is real and people not believing in his existence. Pick one!

Long story short, Santa can no longer afford to do Santa things with the government subsidies so he is forced to take on a subcontract with the military where for two or three months out of the year his elves make control panels for some kind of aircraft. Interesting idea but as a whole it just really provides a few bodies for the finale. Not complaining though.

What really sells Fatman is the weird and odd nature of the film. Walton Goggins’ assassin has an axe to grind and he collects Santa toys. These have a little placard on them that says ‘Made by Santa’ which is a bit of a knock on those country-of-origin stickers we find on many things. His regular employer Billy (Chance Hurstfield) is embezzling money from his grandmother (Deborah Grover) to pay the assassin to kill, torture, or intimidate others. It makes things almost surreal. There are some really good laughs in this, but the film is more quirky than it is humorous.

Mel Gibson is great as a cynical and weary Santa Claus who is just beaten down by the increasing bad behavior of children and the general loss of Christmas spirit in the world. Grizzled and cynical is well within Gibson’s skillset. Even in his better days he could pull it off and still make the character likeable. Mel Gibson, for all of his flaws and shortcomings, is still a good actor and makes his Santa something more than a bitter cynic. He is disappointed in humanity AND himself for not doing better.

Our Santa is not dressed in more recognizable Santa garb but rather in clothing that hints at his identity. It allows him to go out in the real world and I guess helps explain the doubt that some have. Then again the latter is more head canon than anything. Not everything in a film needs a clear answer but hints pointing in a direction ARE necessary.

Like many Santa movies they do some silly Christmas elements like the elves eating sugar and sweets to the point of ridiculousness or Santa powers to know things that could not otherwise be known, but most of the story is just setting up the situation for the finale. Flaws aside, the film lays out much of its world without rubbing your face in it-and that includes the ending of how Santa survives.

There’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment which completely explains the ending. They’re discussing the long life of elves as opposed to what keeps Santa going which here is the act of giving. Not a very long moment but it is a very important statement which explains why this is all an act of futility on the part of Billy and the assassin but is not so overt that the significance is immediately apparent. And it leads to one of the to the best moments of the film where Gibson becomes one of the more threatening good guy Santa Clauses.

This is certainly not aimed at generating the Christmas spirit and uses Santa Claus for weird action scenes. And Fatman pokes at the more fanciful elements of Christmas. There is also the commentary about modern culture and you could even say Santa spending two or three months out of the year working for the US Army is a bit of a dig at the US industrial complex. But it is all mostly superficial.

I thought Fatman would be an entertaining novelty that I would most likely put back on the shelf until some vague point in the future, but I can certainly see myself re-watching this again soon. This is a bit of a surprise. Having seen some of Gibson’s more recent stuff I was doubtful. While the man gave us Lethal Weapon and the Mad Max series, his more recent work like Force of Nature have been a far cry from the heights of his career. While not a highpoint, it certainly is something that should be regarded as one of his better efforts.

Will Fatman ever rank as a Christmas or even an action classic? No but it is a very entertaining Christmas oddity that will add something different to your holiday season. If you’re looking for something fun and just straight up enjoyable, this is definitely a wise choice!