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.

88

Consider the first encounter between Billy Bob and the kid, as an irreverent homage to the nightmarish Santa encounter in A Christmas Story. The whole film is a celebration of yuletide flippance, basking in its glorious vulgarity with absolutely zero apologies.

Director's cut is preferred- the unrated version only adds a subplot that I've already forgotten about- but this is still more of a modern Christmas classic than Elf and The Polar Express.

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

It's a magic trick. Step one: create the most profane, deplorable, fucked up person imaginable. Step two: distract the audience with his profane, deplorable, fucked upedness. Step three: redeem him. It rewards every time I watch it. It's a great ride, and the dialogue is lit. Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox absolutely crush it. My favorite moment is always different, but this time it was:

"Who the fuck is Thurman? Is that you? Is your name Thurman?"
"Yeah."
"Thurman Merman?"
"Yeah."
"..... Jesus."

Santa, fakt je, úchyl.

8/10

So am I wrong to say that Billy Bob Thornton nearly got raped in this movie? Like, not in a comedy way, like an argument with some guy that nearly led to him getting genuinely raped?

Bernie Mac and John Ritter are without a doubt the best part of this movie, with Cloris Leachman and Thurman Merman coming in a close second. Zwigoff’s direction is serviceable, but it really feels like a step down from his work on Ghost World. The script is also pretty messy, and relies far too much on Billy Bob just being a cursing Santa. Lauren Graham deserved so much better.

Rude, crude & hilarious 

A Santa Clause that's a alcoholic, steals, swears a lot & Fucks random woman can't be any worst then the Santa Clause that kills

Crass is not bad. But, this isn't funny. Why on earth was Lauren Graham in this?

Always holds up.

if you want to watch some christmas film with your family bad santa is perfect go ahead

I envision this is how Billy Bob Thornton is in his very day life honestly. 

66/100

Hmm. Well, I ended up googling terry zwigoff’s directorial ambitions and general vibe here and there for two days afterward, to maybe understand or see this from another angle. Sad. But still keeping in reserve for a future Christmas movie years that need shaking up.