rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States, Germany; 2003
Directed by Terry Zwigoff; produced by Sarah Aubrey, John Cameron, Bob Weinstein; written by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Lauren Graham, Lauren Tom, Bernie Mac, John Ritter
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
You could call 'Bad Santa' the anti-Christmas film. Its main character is so
unlovable, always drunk and rude, that it is hard to imagine you can like
him; you will. The film is like this character; unpredictable and
uncompromising. Billy Bob Thornton plays the title character, also known as
Willie, and he is accompanied by Tony Cox, who plays his elf named Marcus, a
black midget. They team up every Christmas as Santa and his elf, looking for
a department store that wants to hire a cheap Santa for children sitting on
his lap. On Christmas Eve they hide in the building to empty the safe, only
to disappear for a year. That Willie is always drunk is something Marcus
does not really like, neither do the children on his lap, but since he is
the one who knows how to open a safe he is needed.
This year things turn out to be a little different. Willie meets a fat kid
on his lap one day. The kid (Brett Kelly) sort of stalks Willie and when he
finds out the kid is living with his not-so-bright-anymore grandmother he
decides he will move in. Things are getting a little more complicated. Even
more so when Willie meets a nice girl named Sue (Lauren Graham from 'The
Gilmore Girls'). In the meanwhile he also has to play for Santa, always
drunk and yelling to the children. When he and his helper are about to get
fired Marcus stands up. You can not fire someone because he is a black
midget, can you?
Although the story has some brilliant touches it is not really about the
story. It is about Billy Bob Thornton and his perfectly portrayed character.
Like I said, he is rude, uncompromising, so when he calls a little kid names
at the beginning of a film he will still do that at the end. Of course this
is cruel, but also honest in a way, and considering this is a film, very
funny as well. I kept laughing and the more you should hate Willie, the more
I liked him. By the way, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham and especially Brett Kelly
as the kid give fine performances as well.
Director Terry Zwigoff showed with 'Ghost World' he is able to make a fine
film out of material that seems pretty well-known. That film was original,
funny without trying to be, uncompromising, and also with very fine
performances. With 'Bad Santa' it is the same. Billy Bob Thornton makes it
even a little better.