Babbo bastardo 2

Some good comedy moments and moving scenes at the end, pretty similar to first film but that's good. BBT is great as always. Funny how critics never seem to understand what makes a film appealing, obviously once one critic has slated it the rest just fall in line to avoid ridicule, it's not shawshank it's an adult Christmas comedy. Go see it and ignore the pretentious critiques.

Ah yes 2016, last golden years of comedy. Little did we know in a few years, political agenda would tell us what's funny, what can be made fun of and what can not. BS2 is awesome, it's more of BS1, which isn't a bad thing. It's a solid 7/10 movie!

First of all let me say I loved the first Bad Santa, which is to me probably the best Christmas movie ever, equal with Le Père Noël Est Une Ordure. So I was really looking forward to Bad Santa 2. And I can't say I'm disappointed, on the contrary, I just loved it again. The addition of Kathy Bates to the story was brilliant. Billy Bob Thornton is still the worst Santa ever, but his mother (Kathy Bates) is of the same level. Foul language all over, wich probably reflects in the very low ratings this brilliant movie gets. Humorless people just can't take this kind of stuff when it's about their pretty fancy Christmas spirit movies. Bad Santa is for people that don't take this annual event that serious. Brett Kelly is a bit older now and still the same nerd but it worked better in the first movie, still a delight to watch though. I will have now three Christmas movies to watch next year. Three comedies that will make this period easier to swallow.

"Bad Santa 2" is frequently hilarious, if one enjoys raunchy no-holds-barred humor. In a world of oppressive mandates for politically correct action, speech and thought, it is a breath of fresh air, mercilessly lampooning every liberal sacred cow imaginable.

It is not a great film. "Bad Santa" was amusing, but not particularly memorable and the sequel will undoubtedly also quickly fade from memory. The plot is largely familiar. The characters don't grow emotionally and are roughly as misanthropic, misogynistic, cynical, self-destructive, abrasive, etc., at the conclusion as they were at the start. It succeeds in creating humor by placing ridiculous characters in improbable circumstances. The humor is bawdy, uninhibited and confrontational. The jokes would make Lenny Bruce blush.

The film fails to rise above its station in its use of alcohol and nudity. Alcohol can be used for burlesque effect by turning a normally staid individual into a stumbling clown, or it can be used to strip away the character's inhibitions, exposing raw anger, resentment, fear and other emotions for all to see, as in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Nudity can be used for titillation, or make the character seem vulnerable, primal or honest, as in "Teachers."

BS2 uses uninhibited, unrestrained, brutally honest language to convey the frustrations, anger and other emotions of the characters. It is at times shocking or amusing, but consistently honest. But alcohol does not strip away any emotions or public façades, as these characters have no inhibitions to strip away. The brief nudity seems immature and puerile compared with the dialogue. One character has on-camera sex in half a dozen scenes with several different partners, with both partners fully dressed (at least from the camera's POV). This is an actor known for a highly erotic scene in a 2001 film. What little nudity is presented in the film seems cheesy and dishonest compared with the brutally honest dialogue.

The film delivers more laughs than many comedies. Production values are adequate. Performances are uniformly excellent. The script is underdeveloped with several major plot holes. It isn't destined to become a classic, but succeeds admirably as a raunchy celebration of political incorrectness.

As far as unnecessary sequels go, Bad Santa 2 isn't awful even if those moments are present. It lacks the heart of the original and despite its willingness to provoke, still feels like the edges have been sanded off. However, thanks to an opening front loaded with the best jokes and the very smart choice to keep it around the 90 minute mark, it remains passable.

Billy Bob Thornton's jaded cynicism still works for this character even if it's probably just him doing it for the paycheck this time round. Kathy Bates as his mum is a fun casting choice she clearly has some fun with and it's so nice to see Brett Kelly as Thurman Merman again. He's the closest thing this film has to a heart and it's worth watching just for his cute performance.

Mark Waters was a very strange choice to direct this since he's somehow both over and under qualified for the material and yet he does an okay job. It's shot like a sitcom in an inoffensive fashion and it's more than happy to let the writing do basically all the heavy lifting for the comedy rather than utilising any clever visual gags.

First of all, I loved the first one. My absolute favorite Christmas movie of all time. Most other Christmas movies are about magic and all that. How about some realism, dosed with cynicism, sarcasm, curses and other insults? Now that's what Christmas deserves and that's what we all deserve for Christmas.

Some of the comments referred to the first movie as *the original*. Not quite accurate, because this is no remake.

Two reasons I liked this one too:

• Billy Bob & Tony Cox .. a dream combo .. foul mouthed and screwed up to the bone. I'd watch these guys just sit opposite each other and talk trash to each other for days.

And one more thing: Of course this movie can't beat the first one. Also, it doesn't need to. It's fun. That's what any holiday should be about. I had fun watching it. Merry Christmas!

6.4/10