2003 Directed by Terry Zwigoff
A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid, and the security boss discovers the plot.
Bad Santa is probably the funniest Christmas movie I've seen. It completely subverts the traditional holiday themes in favor of total irreverent anarchy perfectly coupled with an elegant classical soundtrack. Billy Bob's character arc is pleasantly palpable for a comedy of this caliber as well, especially for having such a condensed runtime. I've never felt so invested in such a short fused comedy. Hopefully, I'll be making this one a new annual Christmas tradition.
Bad Santa may be vile, crass, and misanthropic, but thanks to Glenn Ficarra & John Requa's sharp script, Terry Zwigoff's noirish direction, and fantastic performances from a superb cast, it has a genuine wit and real edge to it as well as a surprising amount of heart that's twisted yet very much organic, and for that, it's one of my favorite Christmas films of all time.
Review In A Nutshell:
It was Ghost World that introduced me to the works of Terry Zwigoff, and sadly that experience was not a particularly joyous one, as I found it to be difficult to identify deeply with its themes and did find the appeal in the way they were executed through the story. Bad Santa feels like the film Zwigoff wanted to create in order to catch those that were not satisfied with his previous film, and wouldn't you know it, I was satisfied with what he has brought here.
Bad Santa is not your traditional Christmas story, instead of focusing on the values and ideas behind the holiday, the film places its focus on its protagonist, and highlights…
A dark comedy that is neither dark enough nor funny enough to make things really work, Terry Zwigoff's "Bad Santa" is a stocking full of cinematic coal. Following a mall Santa who drinks, steals, and womanizes, the film offers a healthy dose of holiday cynicism but is not satisfyingly committed to its own bleak wrinkles. It is all very colorful, but it is never very engaging.
Starring Billy Bob Thornton as the bad Santa, Zwigoff's cast is the film's strongest element. Thornton drinks and curses his way through the film and provides the occasional belly laugh. The late John Ritter and the late Bernie Mac offer crackling foils to the yuletide scoundrel, and Lauren Graham, Tony Cox, and Brett Kelly…
Film #98 of The December Project
I don't know why this film knocks me on my ass from laughing so hard every time I watch it, but there you have it. Bad Santa is unapologetically crass and somehow manages to keep your attention with a bewilderingly bizarre and underdeveloped plot. Billy Bob Thornton was born to play this character, so that helps. I feel a little ashamed of myself for watching this in place of some other Christmas classics, but sometimes I just want to turn my brain off and enjoy some stupid comedy.
i didn't actually watch this i just want to say that i'm in my Comedy in Media class and the professor just pulled out the script, claimed it was written by the coen brothers (??! no??), and is now reading it out loud to the class ,, please ,,., save me , i beg
A lot of the jokes haven't aged well, mostly Billy Bob Thorton's treatment of The Kid. There's other jokes in the same vein that are almost better in our current climate, like the defense of the crime partner against getting fired. But it honestly feels weirdly paced, EXTREMELY 90's, in that way. A little too long to the central concept but meandering in a not terrible way.
Not sure why I own it, tho..
Before I watched this I thought it would be crap bus was actually one of the best christmas films I've seen
A truly bizarre film. That said, it was funny in spots, although I am not sure if the humour came just from the juxtaposition of Santa Claus and a potty mouthed slob playing him.
Thornton was superb though.
If all the Christmas cheer is making you feel a bit sick, then Bad Santa is the perfect medicine. Billy Bob-Thornton stars as the immoral, alcoholic safe cracker who works as a Christmas store Santa to steal money from shops on Christmas Eve. Crude humour throughout, a razor-sharp script and a brilliant dead-pan performance from BBT, makes this a holiday treat. This film is not for everyone and certainly pulls no punches, but if you want something a little different this Christmas look no further.
I never got around to seeing Bad Santa - it just seemed like a film that was trying too hard to offend and never piqued my interest. After deciding to finally give it a go, it ended up being way more enjoyable than I had initially thought.
Bad Santa goes out of its way to establish Billy Bob Thornton as an antihero in the film and the film spends an absurd amount of time setting up his atrocious character. It isn’t until he begins interacting with “The Kid” that the film begins to pick up momentum. The relationship between these two characters helps establish the film as more than a crass holiday film and gives way to a lot more…
Billy Bob Thornton nails the subtleties of protagonist with a dogshit soul in this uncompromisingly depraved comedy of epic proportions. - ▲▲
It's fine, it's a thin movie with a one-note joke that stretches for the entirety of the run-time. But they do get some mileage out of the joke, and once you get past the joke it's kind of warm story, and plays off of and skewers the usual Christmas tropes. It also skewers a lot of them just for the sake of it but it's funny so it gets a pass.
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