Bad Santa
The Plot:
This is the story of two criminals who disguise themselves as Santa Claus (Thornton) and his elf, traveling across the country to major malls, using the good will people have towards Santa to rob the stores blind. The plan is going great until the two baddies meet an introverted 8-year-old boy who reminds them of the true meaning of Christmas. (From Yahoo Movies)
My Thoughts: (Reviewed by Big Pun)
With the opening credits alone, you get the sense that your not about to watch your typical holiday movie…no, no…not this Santa Claus…Scene opens in a bar…obviously Christmas time…party going on, lots of fun…pan the room…sitting by himself at the end of the bar is this sad looking sap throwing them back dressed in a Santa costume…you see right away this guy is a down on his luck, down on life loser who flirts with disaster on a daily basis…cut to an alley where we see our Santa using the wall to hold himself up as he pukes his guts out as the snow gently falls around him….a title appears…BAD SANTA…
Maybe bad isn’t the best way to describe this guy…more like ugly…or mean…or evil…yeah, that would do it….Bad Santa is as black a comedy as you will find and it holds through from opening title to closing credits….Distributed during the Christmas season, Bad Santa has finally come to DVD in a version titled, Badder Santa…and its hard to imagine this guy any worse to be honest with you…
The movie has a fine cast led by Billy Bob Thornton, who plays the title role of Willy, the bastard Santa…his co-star and partner in crime in the film is Tony Cox…a very well know dwarf actor…these two have an ingenious scam going…see, for seven straight years the duo pose as Santa and an elf and go find work in one of America’s fine shopping establishments…but the gig is that Willy is a master at cracking safes…and Marcus (Cox) is the brains behind the operation with his mail order wife Lois…the deal is the three scope out the place and on Christmas eve, rob the store blind leaving with enough money to get by until next Christmas….
The only problem with this plan is year by year, Willy falls deeper into depression and alcoholism and frankly, becomes more of a scumbag…his sloppiness shows as he shows up to work drunk when he’s supposed to be playing the lovable Santa for the kids…the guy is a disaster area…he swears at the kids, he reeks of booze…and he continues to push his partner’s patience….
But all is not lost for our Willy….sure, he is scraping the bottom of the barrel…but in doing so he hooks ups with Sue, a smoking hot bartender who has what can only be called a Santa fetish…played deliciously by Lauren Graham…and then enter the Kid…a fatty with really bad hair who befriends Willy…and provides some hilarious scenes…..not to mention the best loser name of all-time…Thurman Merman….
This movie is crude, rude and in your face…it never pretends to be something its not…sure the roles of Sue and the Kid are meant to soften Willy’s character and give us some emotion….but frankly its done in such a subtle way that it doesn’t detract from the disgusting nature of his character…it just offers us a glimpse of emotion…a glimpse of heart…but that’s it…
That’s what I liked about this movie…it
was dirty and rude and never sold out for the cheap “Awwww” moment
at the end…it stayed true to what it was…and that made the jokes
and dialogue all the more funny…this isn’t a feel good holiday
treat at all…nor should it have been…it’s a black comedy
that works cause it sticks to the formula.
As for the remaining cast, Bernie Mac takes on the role of mall security guard
and does a great job…despite the lack of material for him to work with…John
Ritter plays manager Bob Chipeska in one of his last roles before his untimely
death…and reminds us all why he was such a cherished actor…it’s
the way he delivers his lines… the facial expressions….what a
great actor and a terrible loss…his scene with Bernie Mac where he is
telling him how he caught the new store Santa, lets say having his way with
a plus size woman in a rather uncomfortable place, is priceless…again,
all delivery.
The extras on the Badder DVD aren’t anything to really write home about…there are three deleted scenes and some gag reel and outtake stuff that’s ok…there is also a quick 15 minute behind the scenes piece that’s kind of interesting, focusing mostly on director Terry Zwigoff, who for those that don’t know did the brilliant films Ghost World and Crumb….it also gives you some back story into the idea for the film, which was developed by the Coen Brothers…which explains a lot.
Overall, Bad Santa is a good, old fashioned dirty comedy…I would definitely say a “Guy” flick…very funny dialogue…and a good nasty alternative to most holiday classics.
Starring:
Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, John Ritter, Brett Kelly
Directed by: Terry Zwigoff
Rated R