I did a lot of back and forth internally about this next suggestion, due to the star’s erratic and disturbing behavior over the past few years, but as one of the things about Christmas is good will I decided to look past Mel Gibson’s recent problems and go back to remember when he only played a crazy person instead of actually being one.
Lethal Weapon is the film that took Gibson from a popular leading man to superstar. The film is set during Christmas in LA, Gibson is introduced pulling a drug sting at a Christmas tree lot. Gibson is suicidal stemming from the death of his beloved wife, and takes insane chances when working on his cases. With everyone afraid to work with him and the Department shrink wanting him watched they team him with veteran homicide detective Danny Glover, who is only days away from retirement.
Working on a case involving an old friend of Glover’s, the two mismatched soon to be buddies uncover a major drug smuggling operation run by ex-military special ops leader Ryan Mitchell and is psycho right hand man Gary Busey. After several attempts on their lives, things come to a head when they get captured and brutally interrogated over a piece of evidence Glover supposedly has.
The whole thing ends with Glover blowing Mitchell away and then Gibson and Busey have a knock down drag out kung fu fight on Glover’s front line, that started with Busey driving a car through the house’s front window, destroying their Christmas tree. In the end, Glover decides not to retire and Gibson decides to live, becoming part of Glover’s family and spending Christmas with them.
