Bad Santa

USA 2003, 95 minutes
Dir. Terry Zwigoff
Rating: [R16]
Genres: Comedy / Black Comedy, Christmas

Feat. Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham, Brett Kelly

Aroview: Gleefully soiling St. Nick's reputation, Billy Bob Thornton dons the red fat-suit as a department store Santa with a penchant for cigarettes, alcohol, profanity, kinky sex and burglary.

Helped along by a sinful dwarf in an elf-suit, the pair have eyes on all that retail booty, but their nefarious plans don't include finding sympathy for a bullied teenager and a local bar maid.

A big "Bah humbug!" from the dir. of CRUMB and GHOST WORLD, this is a perfect anti-Christmas amusement, though it never really gets beyond its broad central joke.

NZ International Film Festival 2004

Member Reviews

Average rating (Good Enough). Showing 1-3 of 3 member reviews.

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3 stars (Good Enough) Each year a couple of criminals pose as Santa & his Elf in a different department store, case the joint, then run off with the loot. But this year one bullied little kid throws a spanner in the works. It's Santa gone truly bad, occasionally very funny. ~GenXGirl
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2 stars (Good Try) OK, but too 'one-note' for me and I've seen Billy Bob's badass schtick once too often. Bernie Mac is intimidatingly hilarious, John Ritter is hilariously craven, but the film wastes Lauren Graham and that, I'm afraid, is unforgivable. ~HiFi
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3 stars (Good Enough) It is an antidote for the usual Christmas crap - if that is all it achieves then that is enough. ~Tubbs