Fatman | 2020 | R | – 3.6.5

Why is “Fatman” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “bloody violence, and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes an implied sex scene, and a scene with partial nudity, several gunfire exchanges leaving several people dead with bloody wounds, hired assassinations with bloody gunshot wounds inflicted, references to “killing Santa” and anyone keeping a boy from getting what he wants, and at least 9 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Financial troubles force Chris Cringle (Mel Gibson) and Mrs. Cringle (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) into a partnership with the US military, tasking their industrious elves with making circuit boards for warplanes. Complicating matters further, a rotten and rich 12-year-old boy, upset over receiving a lump of coal for Christmas, hires a ruthless assassin (Walton Goggins) to kill Santa. Also with Chance Hurstfield, Shaun Benson and Paulino Nunes. Directed by Eshom & Ian Nelms. A line of dialogue is spoken in a Chinese language without translation. [Running Time: 1:40]

Fatman SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A husband and his wife lie in bed (sex is implied) and the man is shirtless (we see his bare chest and partial abdomen) and the woman’s bare shoulders and upper back are seen.
► A husband flirts with his wife and tries to seduce her; she holds up a rolling pin and tells him to go shower. A husband and his wife lie in bed together and he places his arm across her. A bartender in a bar flirts with a man at the counter and implies that she would like to leave with him; another man reminds the man that he is married and has children and should go home to them instead.
► A man’s bare back and buttocks are shown.

Fatman VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – Two men shoot at each other, they both take cover and continue to shoot with one being struck in the leg and the other in the shoulder (we see blood); one man hits the other in the face with a log and straddles him on the ground and punches him in the face, and the other man stabs him twice and shoots him in the head (we see blood in the snow). A man shoots several armed soldiers and we see blood splatter as they fall dead. A man is shot in the neck (blood sprays from the wound and pools on the floor under him). A man is shot in the back several times and blood sprays. A woman shoots a man and he shoots her in the back as she runs away; he follows her into a house (we see blood trickles on the floor) and she then shoots him (he falls dead on the floor).
► A man approaches a mail carrier and shoots him (off-screen but we see blood spray on the shooter’s shirt) and then takes his clothes and his truck. A man holds a gun to another man’s face and we hear two gunshots off-screen. A man breaks into a house at night and shoots two people sleeping in bed. A man shoots at armed soldiers and they shoot back at him. A man shoots at a man after he disarms an explosive. A man spars in a martial arts club and we hear a crack as he breaks another man’s arm. Explosives blow up a building and an underground bunker.
► A dead man lies on a floor and we see blood smear as another man drags the body away. A man has a bloody gunshot wound on his abdomen and he grimaces as he pours alcohol on it.
► A man takes a girl to a basement in a house where a boy threatens her with electric shocks if she doesn’t denounce her science fair prize; the girl whimpers and concedes. A boy screams when he finds a piece of coal wrapped as a gift under a Christmas tree. A boy becomes upset when he receives a stuffed bear for Christmas from his father; the boy then throws the bear. A boy paints a picture of Santa being killed with an axe (there is blood on the wounds).
► An armed man runs through woods and chases a man in a truck after aiming a high-powered rifle at him from a distance. A man shoots cans for target practice in a couple of scenes. A man punches a heavy bag and grunts and moans.
► A boy hires a man to “kill Santa.” A man tells another man, “I’ve come for your head, fat man.” A man threatens a girl’s family and her dog if she tells anyone about being threatened. A boy becomes upset that he did not win a school science contest. A man negotiates a contract with government officials and seems upset about it. A man tells another man, “I couldn’t replace your parents.” A man remarks about a reindeer and that it would, “Tear your package right off.” We hear a news report about children burning a house down, and other children dropping a bowling ball on a highway from a bridge causing a 30-car pile-up. A man says, “I blew my ACL out.” A man talks about the “decline of America.” A man says, “I failed.” A man says, “Christmas is a farce.” A man talks to his elf staff about working on a military contract and that they will be making control panels for fighter jets. A character talks about his mother and says, “She wasn’t a good listener.” A comment is made about elves eating an “inadequate diet,” and we see that they eat all sugary foods.
► A man pours out a bottle of urine onto a street (we see the liquid). A man urinates in the snow (we do not see this). A man’s eye is badly scarred and he wears a patch over it. A man is shown with burn marks on his wrist and he says, “You never forget the smell of burning flesh.” We see scars on a man’s bare chest.

Fatman LANGUAGE 5

 – About 9 F-words and its derivatives, 8 scatological terms, 7 anatomical terms, 7 mild obscenities, name-calling (fat butt, jinx, humdinger, bully, silly fat man, stupid, little fella, not practical, rat, wicked soul, twisted child), exclamations (hey, take it easy), 2 religious profanities (GD), 2 religious exclamations (e.g. Holy Christ, Holy [mild obscenity deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Fatman SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man lifts a heavy box and makes a comment about “steroids,” and a boy puts a deadly drug into a glass of milk that a man drinks. People drink in a couple of bar scenes, a man drinks from a flask. A man smokes a cigar in several scenes, a man smokes cigarettes in several scenes, and we see cigars in an ashtray.

Fatman DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Santa Claus, the ultra-rich, the spirit of Christmas, icons, economic stimulus, greed, altruism, disappointment, pride, perspective, quitting, morals, narcissism, sociopathy, winning, consequences.

Fatman MESSAGE

 – Santa is not just a fat guy; over the centuries, he has acquired a special set of skills.