‘Fatman’ assessment: Mel Gibson, with complete hobby, performs Santa

“You think I got this job because I’m fat and jolly?!?” — Santa Claus roaring at an adversary in “Fatman.” You BETTER be careful, you BETTER now not cry, you BETTER now not pout, I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is having none of that. Santa Claus is in a temper. Santa Claus is a hard-drinking, world-weary, financially strapped and deeply cynical S.O.B. who laments to his spouse, “We should have charged royalties for my image” and describes his worldview thusly: “All I have is a loathing for a world that’s forgotten.” ‘Fatman’: 2.five out of four