Review: Bad Santa (***)

BAD SANTA
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****):  ***


BAD SANTA, by GHOST WORLD's Terry Zwigoff, is an R-rated black comedy that's
definitely not for everyone, which is an understatement.  This hilarious
comedy is a pull-no-punches tale of a disgraceful department store Santa
Claus named Willie T. Soke.  As Willie, Billy Bob Thornton chews up the
scenery with some really wicked humor.  It's not a film for the kiddies, and
it's probably too strong for most adults.  If the mere idea of the movie
turns you off, you shouldn't even consider going.  But, if you've liked such
dark comedic movies as VERY BAD THINGS, you'll probably enjoy BAD SANTA's
dry, acerbic wit.



Willie is an alcoholic loser who only manages to survive due to one great,
long-term scam.  Every year at Christmas, he and his partner, Marcus (Tony
Cox), a dwarf, dress up as Santa and his elf and go to work for a different
department store in a different state.  On Christmas Eve, they rob the store
right after it closes.  The movie isn't about the robberies but about how
Willie copes in a job that he loathes with a burning passion.



Spending his entire life falling-down drunk, Willie gets in even worse shape
when he's on the job.  Hating kids, he likes them to hop on and off his knee
as fast as humanly possible.  "Watch the bladder, kid," he tells one of the
tikes.  "Santa's gotta pee."  When one doubtful boy asks Willie if he is the
real Santa, Willie answers with his signature sarcasm, "No, I'm an
accountant.  I just wear this thing as a fashion statement."



With bubbly Christmas cheer, such "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The
Year," piped into every place that Willie goes, he's like a bull being
tormented by a never-ending stream of flies.  There are some plusses and
minuses to his job as St. Nick, since both men and women harbor long
repressed desires to have sex with the man in the red suit.



If you dread the big, fake scene in which Willie finally realizes the error
of his ways, it basically doesn't happen, although he eventually shows some
remorse.  But for most of the movie, Thornton keeps his character firmly in
the gutter.  With downcast eyes and a despicable demeanor, Willie isn't
likely to make it on many people's list for Christmas gifts.  The movie,
however, is a real delight that provides a nicely caustic complement to the
typically saccharine holiday fare.  Think of it as the sour part of a
delicious sweet-and-sour sauce for the holidays.



BAD SANTA runs 1:33.  It is rated R for "pervasive language, strong sexual
content and some violence" and would be acceptable for older teenagers.



The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States.  In the
Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and
the Camera Cinemas.



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