Fatman

Mel Gibson and the final 25 minutes are the reasons to watch. It is not wacky enough to be attention grabbing and not clever or good enough to even come close to being Christmas classic. Some odd plot holes too. Strange movie overall, mean spirited without the comedy or levity. The low budget is used well I will admit.

This is a pleasant little surprise. It presents an interesting modern-interpretation of the Santa Claus myth. There is a lot more depth to the characters then you would expect on the surface, and the actors are 100% committed. Mel Gibson, Walter Goggins and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in particular give great performances and obviously saw great value in this script. I think my favourite part is what a great, fleshed-out relationship we see between Chris and Ruth. I did NOT expect that going in! If you like a story that has some originality to it this one will probably intrigue.

Bad actors playing bad roles in a bad movie. There's absolutely nothing redeeming in this film at all. It's depressing with loathsome characters and NO fun at all. To call this a comedy is really just a big fat lie.