Review: Bad Santa (2003)

"Bad Santa" - More Naughty than Nice
by Homer Yen
(c) 2003

Here's a film that features Santa Claus, but it
is decidedly not the family-oriented movie that
some might assume based on the title.  In fact,
so repugnant is the main character of this movie
that old Saint Nick would've filed an injunction
to prevent the use of his jolly namesake if he
could.  The tone is quickly established in its
first few minutes as the four-letter "F" word is
sprinkled generously and vigorously.  We watch a
derelict in a Santa costume launch into a
diatribe regarding his disdain for children.  He
then stumbles into the back alley and
subsequently vomits.  You can expect at least 45
minutes more of vulgarity mixed with character
development before the film starts paying off. 

If you can get used to the tone, you'll find that
this is not a bad film.  But it's certainly not a
film for everyone.  And with the "R" rating, it
should keep the uninitiated from mistakenly
wandering in to see it.  This film's personality
has an indie film kind of feel, which takes a
no-holds-barred approach that makes it slightly
edgier.  You have to give it credit for its
stance, which is uncompromising in its desire to
keep this film dark and twisted.  The bad-natured
character does not experience a major catharsis. 
There's a floozy that has a Santa fetish.  There
is a lot of bad behavior that would traumatize
any doe-eyed boy and girl hoping to sit on
Santa's lap.  The dialogue seems to be inspired
by an angry George Carlin.

"Bad Santa" is a dark story that focuses on the
tenuous and eroding partnership of Willie (Billy
Bob Thornton) and his sidekick, Marcus (Tony
Cox).  They have put together a great
Christmas-time scam over the years as seasonal
mall employees who dress up as Santa and one of
his helpers.  This allows our two thieves to be
inside the store practically all day without
raising any suspicions.  Presumably, they can use
the time constructively to scope out the security
personnel and equipment.  Then on Christmas eve,
when everyone has gone home, these two thieves
can disarm the security system, crack open the
safe, and loot the store.

Their plans are complicated by several factors. 
There's the nebbish mall manager (John Ritter)
who grows increasingly agitated by Willie's
various episodes.  The security chief (Bernie
Mac) starts to get wise to their plans.  And
Willie becomes distracted by his worsening
alcoholism while a lonely kid (Brett Kelly)
manages to put a dent in the usually-apathetic
and mean-spirited exterior.

The film starts to come together in the last 30
minutes as the big score starts to play out and
as Willie begins to rethink, in a very small way,
the meaning of his life.  In fact, when he blurts
out a simple "thank you," you sense that a
transformation has just taken place.  But, the
payoff is layered under so much cursing that it
becomes distracting.  After the 50th "F" word, we
say to ourselves, "ok, we get it...enough already!"
 Admittedly, it is relentless in how it tries to
establish its comedic tone that we actually start
laughing when people start hitting each other
below the belt.   Yet, if you're looking for
tidings and good cheer, then you're looking for a
film like "Love Actually."  This film, on other
hand, is more like Christmas in the world of
"South Park."

Grade: B-

S:      2 out of 3
L:      3 out of 3
V:      2 out of 3

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X-RAMR-ID: 36414
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1223607
X-RT-TitleID: 1127300
X-RT-AuthorID: 1370
X-RT-RatingText: B-