A rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.... (Full plot summary below)
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A rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.
Leave your thoughts about Fatman.
| San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussIn the humor department, Fatman’s is a scattershot but often clever affair thanks to the film’s director brothers, Ian and Eshom Nelms. Their last feature, the eccentric desert noir “Small Town Crime,” worked positive human connections into a dark, violent framework, so that seems to be a theme dear to the Tulare County-raised siblings. |
| Film ThreatHunter LanierIf you’re hoping Fatman is an explosive, hog wild bullet storm of Christmas camp, dial back your expectations. There’s always next year. If you’re good, that is. |
| Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAs far as revisionist takes on the Santa story go, Fatman is a long way from the whimsical charm of last year's Oscar-nominated Klaus. Yet for all its bizarre Spaghetti Western nihilism, sporadically going full Franco Nero Django bloodfest, Fatman has an oddly warm heart under its brutal exterior. |
| We Got This CoveredScott CampbellThe end product is a hugely satisfying and wholly original Christmas pic that will no doubt become required viewing on an annual basis for those who prefer their holiday favorites to be a little less traditional. |
| TheWrapAlonso DuraldeThe goals of Fatman exceed its grasp; it wants to be funny but also grim but also realistic but also about Santa Claus. Had the film moved a few degrees in either direction, upping the dark humor or concentrating more on minimalist despair and brutal action, the Nelms brothers might have been onto something. |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFatman skids and slides and careens between genres and never finds solid footing in any one place, and ultimately winds up as an interesting failed experiment. |
| The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeAs it moves toward a climax that will require Santa to connect with his inner action hero, the film works better than it should without being as enjoyable as its predecessor, the brothers' much less ambitious Small Town Crime. |
| Screen DailyTim GriersonFatman has its wicked charms, but ultimately this cheeky action-comedy is a lot of buildup without sufficient payoff. |
| The PlaylistAndrew CrumpAs it stands, Gibson and Goggins carry the show and the Nelms stick to their stern tone without wavering. Whatever other marks the film misses, at least it has conviction. |
| New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottThere’s more than enough deranged originality there — and Christmas spirit, when all is said and done — that it gets the job done, in a cheap thrills, guilty pleasure kind of way. |
