Review of Bad Santa 2 (2016) by Johnny T — 23 Feb 2017

Billy Bob Thornton's grouchy Santa is finally back, but his sequel is pretty ho-ho-horrible. A belated, gaseous sequel that slowly burns off its fumes of disappointment until all that's left is a flaming hull of misery. Loaded up with the same scatological and misanthropic humor as its predecessor but precious little of its heart or genuine wit, Bad Santa 2 presents a foulmouthed shadow of Christmas past. Bad Santa 2's never-nice act wears thin this time around, seeming more shruggingly sneering, scowling, and sweary as it trudges along in its re-boots. The original Bad Santa found just the right tone for its dark, vulgar humor -- but this sequel feels like a too-little, too-late attempt to recapture faded glory. At its best, Bad Santa 2 feels like an echo of its predecessor. At its worst, it's unfunny, crass, and uncomfortable (not in a good way). Billy Bob Thornton proves once again that he is the only actor capable of bringing Willie T. Stokes to life, but not even he can help jolt life into a sequel that never had any chance of being anything other than dead on arrival. A fall-off in writing is part of the problem, but I think a more important issue is the replacement of Terry Zwigoff as director. Zwigoff's humor is razor-sharp and incisive, qualities missing from Bad Santa 2. This lazy sequel is a lump of coal in a dirty stocking. The original is still a classic, and we can just pretend that this one never happened.

VERDICT: "Not So Hot" - [Negative Reaction] These films are truly terrible films. They are not the worst things ever made, but they are definitely awful and should not be seen by anyone. (Films that are rated 1.5 or 2 stars).