The only thing that sucks about Fatman is the trailer because it gives you the impression that this movie, is some type of internet joke. The trailer falsely portrays Fatman as a movie that mashes up Die Hard with Santa. Well, that’s 1000% wrong.
Santa isn’t trying to be John McClane.
Santa is not hunting down bad kids with guns.
He’s also not hunting down terrorists.
Fatman is excellent. It’s well written, well-acted, well-directed, and if you have the budget, you should check out. It’s available on Amazon for around $7 and worth every penny.
This is a movie for adults, by the way. Not for kids. It’s violent, bloody, and I think we should keep this version of Christmas tucked away till they get older.
From here on out, there are spoilers. So turn back now if you want to see this great movie.
DIRECTING, WRITING, AND ACTING
I’m going to group this all into one topic because the entire creative team did a great job. The premise of Fatman is unrealistic and silly; let’s be honest. But not once, during this movie, did I question the argument the director, actors, and writers were trying to make. I couldn’t find any holes during the movie, and if there were any, I didn’t notice. This is how it’s done.
That’s skill.
Eshom and Ian Nelms, bothers who both directed and wrote Fatman, are highly skilled storytellers.
GRADE: A+
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
It’s important to create characters that mirror real-life personalities, so the audience can be drawn into the story quicker. By paralleling characters to people they can relate to, BELIEVABLY, the longer you can keep that audience entrapped in that fictional world.
But once you give the audience the opportunity to whisper to their friends, “This is so fake,” you’re on the way to a bad review.
The premise of Fatman is laughable. The characters are not canon to the folklore of Christmas. But, because the personality types are extremely accurate, Fatman doesn’t give the audience the chance to check out.
BILLY WENAN: Unhealthy Type Three “Achiever”
Bill Wenan is a spoiled rich kid who is obsessed with his image, success, accolades, and will do anything to win. He can turn on the charm when he wants to, but it’s all a facade, his agenda is clear. And once he puts his mind to something, nothing will stop him from achieving it. You could actually make the argument that Billy Wenan is also a Type Eight “Challenger” because rules don’t mean much to him. But “Challengers” are not obsessed with winning, as much as having power. And “Challengers” are the least charming people out there. They are blunt, horrible liars (which is why they are not likable), and extremely intimidating. Not to mention, they are natural-born leaders, something Billy is not. If Billy were written as a type Eight, he would have treated everyone from his bodyguards, to his grandmother, like dirt. He would have told his grandmother he was stealing from her, planned to kill her, and there was nothing they could do about it.
There are many ways to write a personality Type Threes. In the case of Billy, the director chose to tell the full character of Billy, to show his unhealthy and cunning side to the audience. The director could have chosen to hide his true agenda, and have Billy fool the audience, as well.
The Type Three “Achiever”, by the way, is the most common personality type used for a villain – the rich, handsome man, who puts their obsession for wealth, ahead of everything else.
SANTA CLAUSE: Unhealthy Type One “Reformer.”
In Fatman, Santa Clause gives because he wants to push kids in the right direction. He doesn’t just grant wishes to kids, his gift-giving has a purpose. He’s not here to help kids, he’s here to reform them. Even when he’s not playing Santa, he nudges strangers in the right direction.
Coal giving, in a way, is to tell a kid, he’s on the wrong path.
In the case of any unhealthy Type One’s, when they hit the wall, or are triggered, they start questioning their purpose in life, kinda like a Type Four. They can become very argumentive, but the audience is shielded from this side of Santa.
In the end, Santa decides that gift-giving isn’t working and decides he needs to take a hands-on approach to fixing troubled souls – and he starts with Bill Wenan.
SKINNY MAN: Unhealthy Type Eight “Challenger”
Unfortunately, Skinny Man is a rather thin character to slap a true personality label on him. He’s a hitman who has a pet hamster that he loves. Why he loves that hamster, is not explained. Not much thought has been put into this character, and I can tell this from the name of his character – Skinny Man.
When creating characters, a lot of thought must be taken into a character’s name. Who named them? Their parents, an Uncle? Does that character like his or her name? Do they feel they are living up to their name? When parents name their child, a lot of thought goes into it. That same level of thoughtfulness must be applied to every character that appears in a story.
I only labeled the Skinny Man as a Type Eight is because he is a guy who doesn’t play by the rules, but that’s really it. He is not the true antagonist of this movie, Billy Wenan is. The Skinny Man, apparently has a vendetta out against Santa because the Fatman couldn’t replace his parents. Santa wanted the Skinny Man to become a cop, but apparently, that didn’t happen. It would have been nice to know why that didn’t happen.
OVERALL
Despite Skinny Man being a thin character, make no mistake, it’s still well-written. The downfall to any movie is that directors don’t have the opportunity to tell the story they want to. A lot of story ends up on the cutting room floor, for one reason or another. It could be that you have lawyers who will say, “You can’t do that!” or you may just be limited on time. The movie is still incredible.
Apparently, professional movie critics who don’t understand the genius behind this film, share a different opinion. But who the hell trusts movie critics anyway.
GRADE: A+
Steve Young
