Benefitted enormously by a talented ensemble committed wholly to playing this goofy premise straight, without too many cutesy or winking moments, this darkly amusing lark from Eshom and Ian Nelms is a peculiar delight, one that’s refreshingly refrained in its approach.
If you’re asking, say, logistical questions, you might want to hold off on these crudely entertaining festivities.
Mel Gibson as a weathered, R-rated Santa Claus protecting his life and livelihood from a vengeful mercenary (Walton Goggins) hired by a rich, not-at-all-nice 12-year-old boy (Chance Hurstfield) who wants him dead.
About as dry and bitter as an off-brand seasonal IPA, Fatman may be an acquired taste.