A rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12-year-old, hires a hitman to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.
“Fatman” takes place in a universe where Santa really exists. Santa, otherwise known as Chris Cringle, is played by Mel Gibson, and his wife Ruth is played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste. They live and work in a small Alaskan town called North Peak, along with their elves and reindeer but over the past few years, more and more children have been behaving badly, forcing Santa’s income to decline. When the US Military offers them a contract, asking for their elves to help with components for one of their new jet fighters, they reluctantly agree and accept the offer in order to keep Christmas, and their payroll alive. When Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield), a spoiled rich brat, gets a lump of coal on Christmas night because he has been naughty all year round, he hires Jonathan Miller (Walton Goggins), a hitman, to kill Santa.
Jonathan is only too happy to oblige because as a kid, after his parents died, he wrote to Santa for years, asking him for help to bring his parents back but obviously, Santa couldn’t help him with this matter and Jonathan took it personally. He packs everything up in his car and heads for North Peak but once he reaches his destination, he notices the military is guarding Santa’s place of residence as that is where the elves are working on the US Military contract. He loads up with rifles, handguns, and hand grenades and as much ammunition as he can carry and makes his way to Santa’s home with the intent of killing him, and anybody who gets in his way.
When I first saw the trailer for “Fatman,” I honestly didn’t know what to make of it. Mel Gibson as Santa I had no problem with but a thriller where Santa is being hunted by a vengeful hitman? I was intrigued, to say the very least, but am happy to say that it actually works. Everyone involved, from the cast and two directors, Eshom and Ian Nelms, take the subject matter seriously, and because of this, the overall narrative works. Gibson as an aging Santa, who is fed up with today’s youth and their lack of respect for their elders and authority, is totally relatable and he pulls off this emotion flawlessly. Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Mrs. Claus and she is the backbone Gibson desperately needs in these ambiguous and uncertain times. Walton Goggins as the hitman chews up as much scenery as he possibly can, that is until he and Gibson finally come face to face, and watching Santa pull out an arsenal of guns is a thing of beauty. Both he and Goggins play wonderfully off each other and because the movie is executed with a straight face, with no campy elements, it concludes triumphantly and while it does not set up a sequel, all the elements are in place for a follow-up, should they want to go down that road. “Fatman” is enjoyable and entertaining and puts a whole new spin on the meaning of Christmas.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD January 26th
