FATMAN (2020)
Sincerity Leads To Genius In The Nelms Brothers’ FATMAN
More times than not, I watch genre films that take themselves too seriously which ultimately leads to their downfall. I keep thinking, “if they just camped it up a bit, this movie would be great.” It’s pretty rare that the opposite is the case. Personally, I prefer the absurd served up extra cheesy. These titles walk a very thin line to pull off an over-the-top concept yet play it completely straight.
Somehow, brothers Ian and Eshom Nelms manage this feat seamlessly in the thrilling Christmas-themed action movie FATMAN (2020). I remember when I first saw the trailer on YouTube I thought it had to be a joke. I’m so glad it wasn’t. FATMAN turned out to be one of my favorite movies of last year, its subversive nature was pure brilliance.
As the audience is introduced to the characters of FATMAN it becomes evident that this isn’t going to be like any other Christmas movie we’ve seen before. A gruff and unorthodox Santa Claus, a.k.a. Chris (Mel Gibson), struggles to find where he fits in modern life while trying to keep his business as a toymaker from going under. His wife, Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), does her best to keep his spirits up.
We also meet our antagonists in the form of an unlikely duo. There’s Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield), a twelve-year-old sociopath with access to what seems like limitless funds.
This of course makes him very dangerous. With said money, Billy has his own personal hitman—known only as “Skinny Man” (Walton Goggins)—at his beck and call.
When rotten brat Billy gets a big piece of coal for Christmas, he orders Skinny Man to take out Santa Claus. Seeing as the assassin has a vendetta with Santa himself, as “Chris” never brought him anything he wanted for Christmas as a kid, this is a job Skinny Man is more than happy to take. What Skinny Man doesn’t realize is that Santa is so down on his luck, he’s signed a contract with the U.S. government to have his elves build parts for fighter jets.
Santa’s workshop is now fortified and guarded by heavily armed military personnel.
Violence, gunfire, and bloodshed reign supreme as Chris, his elves, and the U.S. military face off against the Skinny Man—and it’s not as one-sided a fight as that may sound.
FATMAN comes across as being current and topical by having the angle of money woes for jolly ole St. Nick, and I dig that. It’s a really smart way to help the audience empathize with what he’s going through. I don’t think anybody, that isn’t a millionaire, hasn’t hit hard times and had to make tough decisions on how to take care of themselves and their loved ones.
As sympathetic as we are towards Chris, Ruth, and his elves, that’s the farthest thing we feel for Billy. Chance Hurstfield masterfully plays this despicable cretin. This creates a wonderful juxtaposition between the main characters. A hero can only be as good as the villain is evil. In all honesty, the entire cast of FATMAN plays their roles so well that the audience’s suspension of disbelief is easily carried through this holiday romp.
It would be misleading to compare FATMAN to a holiday action movie like DIE HARD (1988), because as serious as it takes itself, the film still maintains a sense of whimsy.
The elves, and reindeer help ground this movie in a fantasy world. It’s almost as if the trailer for “The Night the Reindeer Died” at the beginning of SCROOGED was made into a real movie, and I love it.
Between the nods to THE KILLER (1989) and the 1966 spaghetti western classic DJANGO, it’s hard not to love the wild ride that is FATMAN. Its serious tone and sense of eccentricity is what puts this movie head and shoulders above most other Christmas genre films.
If you are a fan of RARE EXPORTS (2010) and DEADLY GAMES (1989) then you will love FATMAN.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
