Movie Review: 'Fatman' is Unfunny Dark Christmas Comedy

Whoever thought it was a good idea to have Mel Gibson play a gritty and violent version of Santa Claus probably needs their head examined. It’s bad enough that Gibson has cultivated a reputation as an abuser and generally vile human being, casting him as a dyspeptic version of Kris Kringle is more than merely misguided. Add to that Gibson’s declining charisma and general air of disinterest and you have Fatman, an ugly, unfunny bit of nasty holiday business.

Fatman stars Mel Gibson as Kris as for reasons not explained, no one is allowed to say Santa Claus. Instead, he’s referred to as Kris or by the derogatory term, Fatman, by his apparently long list of enemies. In the universe of the movie Fatman, Christmas spirit is drying up and with it goes Kris’ funding for his workshop in North Peal, in Canada. For years, the United States government has supported Kris and his magical work because Christmas feeds the American economy.

Now, however, with Christmas spirit in decline and fewer kids even worthy of Christmas presents, Kris’ government subsidy is waning. A good example of the decline in the popularity of Christmas comes in the form of young Billy, a privileged little snot who uses intimidation tactics to make sure he gets what he wants. In one sequence we see him hire a hit man, (Walton Goggins) to kidnap a rival in the school science fair so that Billy can torture the girl into saying she cheated and help award him first place.

Naturally, because Kris knows when you are naughty and when you're nice, he’s aware of Billy’s actions and when Christmas arrives, Billy gets a box of coal. This leads Billy into a murderous rage in which he once again hires the hitman but this time, it’s to kill the fatman. Meanwhile, things are tough in North Peal and Kris has been forced to take a government military contract. The elves have returned to work early in order to fill orders for needed military tech instead of toys.

These two plots never really meet in any meaningful way over the course of Fatman. Co-directors and writers, Eshom and Ian Nelms, present these plots together as if they needed one of them to fill time for the other as neither plot appears weighty enough to make it to feature length. There is certainly evidence to suggest that the filmmakers were more interested in their gritty hitman plot than they are in Santa’s economic troubles but it’s clear they don’t have enough material to prolong either plot.

For his part, Mel Gibson looks tired. At times, Gibson appears so haggard you start to worry for the actor more than the character. I’m sure it’s just that he’s still quite a good actor but I was convinced that Gibson was physically struggling to make it through some scenes, even scenes where he’s just walking from one place to another. He’s creaky and groaning and even when the action picks up, he makes every effort look like a chore.

Walton Goggins, meanwhile, appears lost throughout the proceedings of Fatman. Don’t get me wrong, the character has a purpose but the actor just doesn’t seem to know what tone to play. At times he’s channeling Anton Chigurh, other times he’s Buscemi in Fargo and when he’s asked to play for dark humor, he’s just flat, monotone, and fails to make anything remotely funny happen. I don’t blame Goggins however, as what is supposed to be dark comedy in Fatman is bogged down by an approach that appears to take the premise of Santa versus a deadly hitman way too seriously.

Fatman will be available on Video on Demand Services on November 17th.