Bad Santa (2003)

Bad Santa (2003)

Ah nothing like a movie about a down on his luck criminal/department store Santa to truly get you in the spirit of the holidays. Our next holiday flick is one most assuredly a LOT of people have seen. It was marketed as slapstick comedy and I am sure many people were surprised at the final result. I for one loved this flick because it was so unabashedly honest in the story it wanted to tell.

For those not in the know, Billy Bob Thornton plays the absolute most vulgar, disgusting, pathetic Santa rendition this side of a B-Horror movie. Billy Bob's Santa is something everyone has feared to experience either as kids or as parents with kids, but thankfully one can assume there are many measures in place to prevent someone of his caliber ever getting close to your young 'uns. But as with most holiday flicks, we have at the heart of the story, a tale about redemption. This is a man so far gone that he only really has two options, kill himself or die in his own vomit. But the real exploration of the film lies in the hidden but obvious 3rd choice, that perhaps maybe, just MAYBE, this man can find some semblance of humanity before he is completely lost.

Billy Bob is also a small time crook, that we are to believe is capable enough that despite one brief stint in the clink pulls off heists with his little person partner that keeps him fed, sheltered and more importantly liquored until the next Christmas. At the time of the film, Billy Bob is pretty far gone and probably won't make it another year if he continues his ways. Cue the rest of the cast ala the possibly mentally challenged boy, the attractive and impossibly patient bartender, and the senile grandma. 

Joining Billy Bob is a cast that includes but is not limited the late great John Ritter, Lauren Graham, and the dearly departed Bernie Mac (who I have never really appreciated as an actor/comedian before, but I enjoy his role in this film). The bulk of the film is meant to have similar effect as a cheap horror film in that it tries to shock you at every turn with it's unrelenting filth, but in this day and age it is surprisingly (for good or for bad) tolerable compared to a lot of stuff television and film audiences get inundated with on a near daily basis. It gets points for trying though and the film is still charming enough that the desired effect is achieved, if only because we want to play along.


The good: The cast. Billy Bob takes top billing, but this film wouldn't be the same if it rested solely on his shoulders. The no-holds-barred (mostly) approach was also appreciated but...

The bad: ... I am not convinced that it is truly no holds barred. I think they stayed "safe" with a lot of content, and the true magic of the film is tricking the audience into thinking that it is the most foul thing that could EVER be a holiday flick. I am rarely ever a fan of slapstick, so when the film resorts to it in a couple of isolated spots it felt like it was a different movie (maybe one starring Chris Kattan?) The pacing is also a little clunky at times, the plot is straight forward but a couple of times it felt like they were just throwing scenes in for the sake of filler.

Final Thoughts: This film is ultimately a heart warming feel good holiday flick despite all the smoke and mirrors trying to convince you otherwise. Nothing witnessed on screen is truly terrible or outright evil, just bad. In that sense it more than sufficiently lives up to its name. In a good way of course.  Maybe don't watch it with the kidlings but keep it on the high shelf for you and your friends if you ever pull a Christmas flick marathon to get you in the festive spirit.


Add to the vault? I will say yes. I am going to add this title to the vault. There is enough in this film to forget and re-appreciate every year, which is about how often I feel I can enjoy this film. So as bad as this Santa is, it is in my good books.

Oy! Don't leave yet without enjoying the surprisingly relatively safe for work trailer for Bad Santa.