The Gist:
Bad Santa is a Golden Globe-nominated 2003 comedy film directed by Terry Zwigoff, produced by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring Billy Bob Thornton as the title character and Tony Cox as his partner in crime. Late comic actors Bernie Mac and John Ritter (in his final live-action film) co-star. Lauren Graham, Lauren Tom, Ethan Phillips, Brett Kelly, and Cloris Leachman are also featured.
The Synopsis:
In short, it's the story of two guys who pose as Santa and his Elf. They go to various malls and rob the establishments. When they encouter an 8-year-old, he attempts to teach them the true meaning of Christmas... but really, neither 'Santa' or the 'Elf' learn a damn thing.
The Review
Let me be honest. Most Christmas films are awful.
The ones that work for me, personally, are incidental. A Die Hard... Gremlins - they have Christmas themes, but it's almost a subversion of what Christmas means by having such brutally violent and amoral films. When you get into real Christmas films, you often struggle as it seems they want to extol the values of the holiday. And it's admirable to a degree, because I think most of us want to believe that Christmas is a cure all - yet the honest truth is that people don't like being preached to.
And Bad Santa doesn't preach.
The lead character starts an asshole, becomes a bigger asshole, and ends an asshole. There's no real arc there, no pattern of redemption. If you were to ask the writers, they'd probably confirm that - if anything - he hates Christmas MORE when the story ends than when the story began.
No, instead we get a foul mouthed... alcoholic... anal sex advocating guy who hates everyone and everything, especially himself. The film attempts to lull us into a false sense of security at the start when we get a voiceover that goes into the characters past... but Billy Bob puts a world weary tone to the words, as if he can't believe that any of it's really excusing him for being a complete scrooge. He seems to accept that he's no good, not really dwelling on it because he doesn't care.
In short, the film is a gigantic ode to how much Christmas sucks.
I don't personally think it does, but I think few could deny that the commercial aspects are enough to produce vomit. It's not even that the religious aspects should be played up, but it should be more than what people adhor it as.
But enough my rant...
The film is funny. Really funny. Billy Bob does a tremendous take on a guy who spends most the film drunk (urban myth has it that he was actually drunk during the film, and if anything the thought of him improvising some of his dialogue rises the film.) Not to mention how brilliantly he plays off of Tony Cox, an actor whose got a great schtick in the straight man in these comedies. The two guys spark off each other, leading to a relationship that seems out of bemused convenience rather than anything meaningful.
Sadly, the film is quite memorable for performances from the late John Ritter and Bernie Mac. Both are excellent in the film. They deadpan their deliveries, doing solid and unassuming character work. Neither plays their roles up, choosing to deliver the amusingly erratic dialogue. The same can't quite be said for Lauren Graham who gets nothing to work with... except looking attractive and being decidedly un-Lorerlai Gilmore.
There is a lot of gross out humour, an incredible amount of swearing and some decidedly adult situations.
I'd recommend this film as an anthesis for dreck like 'Fred Clause' because this film is trying to represent a different take on Christmas, pointing out how ridiculous the cheer is considering that for a lot of people it's just another day. And luckily, in Thurman Merman (greatest character name ever) it has a trump card in showing a kid who ACTUALLY looks unconventionally weird, rather than another of these Village of The Damned looking brats.
Verdict
3.5 shots of whisky out of 5.
Bad Santa is a Golden Globe-nominated 2003 comedy film directed by Terry Zwigoff, produced by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring Billy Bob Thornton as the title character and Tony Cox as his partner in crime. Late comic actors Bernie Mac and John Ritter (in his final live-action film) co-star. Lauren Graham, Lauren Tom, Ethan Phillips, Brett Kelly, and Cloris Leachman are also featured.
The Synopsis:
In short, it's the story of two guys who pose as Santa and his Elf. They go to various malls and rob the establishments. When they encouter an 8-year-old, he attempts to teach them the true meaning of Christmas... but really, neither 'Santa' or the 'Elf' learn a damn thing.
The Review
Let me be honest. Most Christmas films are awful.
The ones that work for me, personally, are incidental. A Die Hard... Gremlins - they have Christmas themes, but it's almost a subversion of what Christmas means by having such brutally violent and amoral films. When you get into real Christmas films, you often struggle as it seems they want to extol the values of the holiday. And it's admirable to a degree, because I think most of us want to believe that Christmas is a cure all - yet the honest truth is that people don't like being preached to.
And Bad Santa doesn't preach.
The lead character starts an asshole, becomes a bigger asshole, and ends an asshole. There's no real arc there, no pattern of redemption. If you were to ask the writers, they'd probably confirm that - if anything - he hates Christmas MORE when the story ends than when the story began.
No, instead we get a foul mouthed... alcoholic... anal sex advocating guy who hates everyone and everything, especially himself. The film attempts to lull us into a false sense of security at the start when we get a voiceover that goes into the characters past... but Billy Bob puts a world weary tone to the words, as if he can't believe that any of it's really excusing him for being a complete scrooge. He seems to accept that he's no good, not really dwelling on it because he doesn't care.
In short, the film is a gigantic ode to how much Christmas sucks.
I don't personally think it does, but I think few could deny that the commercial aspects are enough to produce vomit. It's not even that the religious aspects should be played up, but it should be more than what people adhor it as.
But enough my rant...
The film is funny. Really funny. Billy Bob does a tremendous take on a guy who spends most the film drunk (urban myth has it that he was actually drunk during the film, and if anything the thought of him improvising some of his dialogue rises the film.) Not to mention how brilliantly he plays off of Tony Cox, an actor whose got a great schtick in the straight man in these comedies. The two guys spark off each other, leading to a relationship that seems out of bemused convenience rather than anything meaningful.
Sadly, the film is quite memorable for performances from the late John Ritter and Bernie Mac. Both are excellent in the film. They deadpan their deliveries, doing solid and unassuming character work. Neither plays their roles up, choosing to deliver the amusingly erratic dialogue. The same can't quite be said for Lauren Graham who gets nothing to work with... except looking attractive and being decidedly un-Lorerlai Gilmore. There is a lot of gross out humour, an incredible amount of swearing and some decidedly adult situations.
I'd recommend this film as an anthesis for dreck like 'Fred Clause' because this film is trying to represent a different take on Christmas, pointing out how ridiculous the cheer is considering that for a lot of people it's just another day. And luckily, in Thurman Merman (greatest character name ever) it has a trump card in showing a kid who ACTUALLY looks unconventionally weird, rather than another of these Village of The Damned looking brats.
Verdict
3.5 shots of whisky out of 5.
