Well once more Christmas time is here and the regular slew of holiday films are on TV. Rudolph is glowing, Santa is coming to town and the Grinch is stealing Christmas. Adults that remember these shows are watching them with their children and grandchildren now. But what about a Christmas film that the adults can enjoy? Something a little more inclined to be viewed when the kids go to bed? Enter FATMAN.
Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield) is a spoiled rich kid whose
father is incommunicado and is being raised by his grandmother. Billy has a
deep Napoleonic complex (witness a portrait of the ruler on his wall) and feels
the need to win at all costs. For example when he loses the school science fair
he brings in hitman Jonathan Miller (Walton Goggins) to capture the winner and
threaten her with returning the prize to stay alive. Needless to say this puts
him on the naughty list and he gets a lump of coal for Christmas.
Meanwhile Mel Gibson stars in the title role as Chris Cringle, who lives with his wife Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) in North Point, Alaska. Chris is down because his business is waning. It seems children are not behaving as nice as they should. News reports of some dropping bowling balls off of freeway bridges and setting houses on fire have dampened his spirits and it shows.
In an effort to keep his factory running and Christmas
alive, Chris has been contracting work with the US government. But this year’s
check is half of what it once was. In an effort to keep the work he does going
he agrees to a 2 month contract with the government. In return for more funds
he and his elves will be working to build items for the military. He’s not
happy about it but he has to do so if Christmas is going to keep going.
After Billy gets his lump of coal he is angry with Santa. So much so that he contacts Miller and puts out a contract on Santa. This is a contract Miller is keen to take as he has his own issues with Santa from his childhood. To this day he finds people willing to sell items from their childhood that Santa presented them and buy them from them. Now he has the chance to get his own revenge against Santa.
While Miller tracks down clues to discover where to find
Santa, Chris and his elves begin working on the contracted government project.
Happy with the work they’ve done they want to extend the contract but Chris
tells them this is a one time project. In the meantime Captain Jacobs (Robert
Bockstael), the Army liaison in charge of the guards enjoys his time with Chris
and the elves working for him.
Eventually the confrontation between Chris and Miller will take place. After all that’s where the plot is going here in the film. Along the way there is plenty of dark humor involved that will have you snickering or outright laughing as the film rolls forward. Plenty of language is on hand to get this film an R rating and if that wasn’t enough some blood is shed. No, this is not a Christmas carol for the kids.
The film hits the right notes when discussing Christmas
because there does seem to be a lack of cheer these days. Cynicism runs rampant
with young people these days and the talk of being honest with kids and not
letting them believe in Santa seems to be a growing trend. But why not let them
have some fun before they have to face being adults? That may not be the main
concept here but it does play into the story.
Gibson is aging well and does a great job here as Chris. If you didn’t catch it already, yes he is THAT Chris Cringle. From knowing the names of everyone he comes into contact with to knowing if they were bad or good. Jean-Baptiste is a delight as the cookie baking Mrs. Cringle. Goggins is superb as the hitman Miller, allowing us to see the cold hearted killer that he is as well as the grown child disappointed in a gift he requested of Santa that there was no possible way of delivering. Watch to find out what that is.
Dark comedies are hard to pull off. Some go over the top while others seem afraid to tread on items the comedy is based on. FATMAN doesn’t pull punches and delivers some truly funny moments. Perhaps not knee slappers but funny none the less. So if you’re looking for a movie to watch while the kids are sleeping and you’re busy wrapping presents, this might be just the movie you’re looking for.
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