Review of Bad Santa (2003) by Chris W — 22 Aug 2010

This is one of my favorite holiday films. It's a lot more crude and mean spirited than basically all of them, but the performances are fucking brilliant, and the script is just great, This movie successfully balances out the vulgarity with lots of heart, genuine feelings, and nicely done character development.

Willie is the last guy you'd want as a Santa, and he's the most unlikely person to turn his life around, but leave it up to a goofy but well-meaning kid, his shifty vertically challenged companion, and an attractive woman with an interesting fetish to change all that.

Terry Zwigoff is awesome, and I respect this movie a great deal (for a lot fo reasons), but especially since the Coen Bros. produced it. This is definitely an adult CHristmas movie, but it has some actual substance, and you really grow to care about the characters, no matter how twisted things are.

Billy Bob Thornton has given some excellent performances in his career, and this ranks up there pretty high on that list. Lauren Graham is awesome, Brett Kelly is fun, Tony Cox is really good, and it's nice to see Bernie Mac and John Ritter put in some good work too, especially since this was Ritter's final film.

Give this one a chance if you haven't seen it yet. I may just surprise you with how good and touching it is.