Review of Bad Santa 2 (2016) by Beth B — 13 Dec 2016

I'm not sure why this is getting panned so much by critics. I'm not saying it's a cinematic masterpiece, but it's at least as good as the first movie.

Billy Bob Thornton and his character Willy Soke are what make this movie. When he needs to be funny, he's funny. When he needs to be quiet and subtle; he is. He's entirely Willy Soke; an alcoholic pervert and thief who hates himself but is still worthy of being saved.

People have complained there's no heart to this, but I disagree. People raised by abusive parents are likely to feel a kick in the chest as Willy tries to remind himself of all the awful things his mother has done to him, but still finding himseld concerned about her because, she's his mother. He even begins to fall for her lies. Kathy Bayes is great at portraying a selfish narcissist who rejects blame for ruining her son's life but who still proclaims to Willy "you are who you are because of me". Chilling words.

Yes I could have done without the slurs in the beginning and the constant ableism against the little person character. But those engaging in it are shown to be terrible people and we can only expect them to behave this way. And it does get toned down as the movie approaches its emotional core.

Is the plot a little recycled? Sure. But no more than most Christmas movies, and besides this is the sort of message we want during the Holidays; hope. Even if its a little sacchrine.

So in my opinion, the movie is not a waste of time and if you liked the first, you'll probably like this one.