Bad Santa

He drinks and smokes and pukes and wets his pants and has sex in public places. He has a horrible attitude, a trash mouth, is mean to little kids, hates himself, and robs department stores. Ok, so he's not all bad, but he is without a doubt the worst department store Santa ever. There's not a lot of stretching required of Thornton to get into character in this flick which capitalizes on the grosser than gross sense of comedy/humor as it wends its way through a simple tale about a scamming Santa and his dwarf/elf sidekick who rip off a department store a year to avoid honest toil. A mildly creative love it or hate it flick which tries as hard to be disgusting as funny, "Bad Santa" has, for obvious reasons, received mixed reviews. Only for the thick skinned who aren't easily offended by bad language, bad attitudes, or bad, bad Santas. (B)

Willie, a grumpy drunk, and Marcus, a dwarf, work together as Santa and his Christmas elf in shopping malls. This is not for the love of the Christmas season but because they plan to rob the mall when the safe is full of Christmas takings. Each year they change names and cities. This year they are in Phoenix. Willie is drinking more than ever, swearing in front of the children and having sex in the changing rooms... Marcus thinks all of this is unprofessional as it nearly gets them fired before they can rob the mall. The manager asks the head of security to investigate. While on duty Willie is visited by a child named Thurman who seems to actually think he is Santa... which proves handy when Willie needs a place to stay! Before the day of the robbery Willie gets together with Sue, an attractive barmaid with a Santa fetish and helps Thurman deal with some bullies.

If you are after a Christmas movie for all of the family this is most definitely not it! Our protagonist is not only a criminal but also a total degenerate whose behaviour is almost always inappropriate. If you are not easily offended there are laughs to be had from start to finish. Most of these come from Billy Bob Thornton's eponymous 'Bad Santa'; he does a fantastic job making the character sleazy but without making him unlikeable. Tony Cox is solid as Marcus; Brett Kelly is great as Thurman, a character I initially feared would be annoying, and Lauren Graham was likeable as Sue. The story moves at a good pace with none of the scenes being dragged on too long. There are one or two surprises before the end but nothing that felt unlikely. Overall I'd definitely recommend this as an antidote to all those saccharine Christmas moves.

Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is a drunk who plays store Santa for Christmas. He and his partner-in-crime Marcus (Tony Cox) case out the department store where they work and rob it on Christmas Eve every year. Willie befriends a chubby loner boy (Brett Kelly), and bartender Sue (Lauren Graham) who has Santa issues. Then store manager Gin (Bernie Mac) muscles in on their action.

Bad Santa is demented and destructive. Billy Bob Thornton goes over the edge, and Tony Cox goes right along with him. This is no Christmas special. And I love the kid Brett Kelly. He isn't your average adorable little kid. He's your average loser kid. That makes their friendship so much better. This is a great black Christmas.

An extreme end to christmas comedy genre. It's so vulgar it makes you puke. It's so dark and makes you laugh to things you never wants to laugh but you'll still laugh anyway.

It's innovative cinematic style that embeds Tarantino, Ritchie and many darkly comic film makers makes this a unique gem of a film.

Characters are amazing. Style and film making is exceptional. Still it's a cinematic experience. And a fresh one at that.

Overall - 3.5/5

Typically, around Christmas you will find yourself watching a generic, feel-good, moralistic "Christmas movie", Bad Santa is the "reversed" version of the Christmas genre. For those of you who are fed-up with clichéd Christmas films, Bad Santa is the perfect film for you, as it is an entirely altered perception of a now-consumerist holiday. No, Bad Santa is not It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street and nor is it Home Alone, yet it still incorporates features from all of those films and that is what makes it such a special take on the Winter holiday.

Willie (played by Billy Bob Thornton) is a perverted, alcoholic, part-time conman, who during the Christmas season indolently works in shopping malls with his fellow criminal in disguise, Marcus (Tony Cox). Willie dresses as Santa, while Marcus (the more professional of the pair) acts the elf, due to his height. Throughout the tedious Christmas period, the pair use their job at the mall to exploit the opportunity to rob the store overnight. While working at a mall in Arizona, Willie meets a child who teaches him the meaning of Christmas, whilst falling in love with an attractive waitress and having law-enforcement hot on his trail.

When a film starts off with a guy in a Santa outfit, sitting at a bar, drinking his life away you know you are not watching your average tale of "good tidings". From the crude opening narration, to the wonderfully inflated finale, Bad Santa is a taste of comedic genius. Billy Bob Thornton performs as a crude, dishonest cynic who hates everyone and everything. Bringing comedic energy and offensive characteristics to his character he impeccably balances the grumpy scrooge of Christmas with heart. I honestly believe that Billy Bob Thornton's performance in Bad Santa was worthy of an Oscar nomination.

It is not a case of whether you are a lover of Christmas or not –although, it would come as an advantage when viewing the film- as Bad Santa is continually entertaining and at times, even charming. Through its witty script, fuelled by grumpy, drunken humour it is almost impossible not to become entranced by the inconsiderate lines of raucous profanity. Director, Terry Zwigoff proves his quirky talent once again, after the success of 2000's Ghost World. Bad Santa is comedic bliss and a highly recommended comedy for fans of something a little more extreme than the average, feel-good Hollywood extravaganza.