Genres

Visitors Review

alanking 2012-05-22 23:32:45

Great Irreverent film - An antidote to all that Christmas "stuff"

To those who don't like swearing DON'T WATCH THE FILM THEN read theback of the DVD box before you rent or buy it you idiots. As long asyou don't tell me what to watch. This is one of my all time favourites,and as far as I know John Ritter's (Store Manager) last live actionrole before his death. What a fitting final tribute. The whole cast aregreat, deadpan understatement one minute then over the top slapstickthe next. The characters are believable at the same time as beingstereotypes. That's a good trick and one that a lot of comedies can'tseam to pull off. There is also a plot! With twists and turns! In acomedy! I watch it every year just before I'm dragged round the shopsby someone being very enthusiastic about buying "stuff".

segacs 2012-05-22 06:51:32

Sophomoric but funny

I love the fact that this movie is totally, completely irreverent. It'sfunny because it's just so *wrong*. A warning, though: don't take yourkids to see it - especially if they still believe in Santa Claus. Thiswill warp them forever. Actually, it's not really appropriate for kidsat all, which is probably why it's so funny.Billy Bob Thornton is Willie, aka Bad Santa, a thief who works as adepartment store Santa to gain access. It's one of those types ofcrimes that seems needlessly complicated and invented mainly as a movieplot device, but here it works, mainly because Thornton throws himselfinto the role. That said, most of the humour is sophomoric, and the characters getannoying after a while. This movie really drags on a lot longer than itshould. I could see it working much better as a short film.6/10. Some funny material here.

2012-05-22 11:41:27

ABOUT AS FUNNY AS A RETARDED KID PLAYING WITH MATCHES & GASOLINE

Don't waste your time such as I did. You can never get that time back and after watching this film you have nothing to show for it. Lousy, stupid, horrible acting, ridiculous scripts, and the dumbest plot I've seen since "Ladykillers". This film is infected with the plague!!!!!!!!!

postmanwhoalwaysringstwice 2012-05-22 06:48:06

merry freakin' Christmas, indeed

Billy Bob Thorton stars as Willie T. Stokes, a foul-mouthed alcoholicand part-time criminal who annually fills the boots of the mall SantaClaus with his petty thief sidekick Marcus (Tony Cox) in the cynicalholiday comedy "Bad Santa". Every year they slip into a new town and anew mall undetected, leaving with a whole mess of cash. This yearWillie finds himself with his biggest set of hurdles yet with the headof mall security growing highly suspicious of him, a slow-witted kidhanging onto the assumption that Willie is really Santa Claus, and ahot bartender with a Santa fetish.Thornton comes fully armed with every repulsive trick in the book inhis portrayal of Willie. This may well be Thornton at his funniest.Lauren Graham shines with her role as the sexy love interest, Sue, a180 degree turn from her goodie-goodie character on TV's "GilmoreGirls". Bernie Mac as the vain, cowboy hat wearing, head of mallsecurity chews up every scene he's in.At long last there's a holiday film that doesn't condescend withtruckloads of false good cheer, and an unreal universe where one montha year everyone suddenly cares about everyone else. For those adultsbored with watching visual cotton candy every holiday "Bad Santa"delivers the kitty.

bas rutten 2012-05-21 11:50:15

Hollywood needs more comedies like this one!

I normally dislike comedies. First of all because they usually clock inat around 90 minutes, which means that they offer very little value foryour money. And secondly because most of them really aren't that funny.The typical comedy is predictable and plays it way too safe. I alsodislike Christmas movies because they're all basically telling the samesugary sweet story all over again.Enter "Bad Santa", a comedy and a Christmas movie that breaks justabout every written and unwritten convention for both genres. There'sno message, no cuteness, and no morals whatsoever. In this movie, Santais a womanizing, cursing and drinking bastard who "befriends" aseriously troubled little boy just so he can rob his parent's house,and robs department stores together with his calculating little Elfhelper. Just about every other character in the movie is severelyanti-social and/or disturbed as well. Good taste is nowhere to be foundand this is about as politically incorrect as movies get.Of course, all of this does not guarantee a good movie. I've seen moremovies that fit the above description ("Scary Movie" and its sequelcome to mind), but in this case I found everything to be hilarious. Ican't remember having laughed so much and so loud during a movie inquite a while. "Bad Santa" is rude and crude, but not just for the sakeof it.You can't pull of a brilliant movie like this without good actors, andthere are plenty of them in bad Santa. While just about every one ofthem plays a role that's fairly atypical for them, they all do a greatjob. Most notably, Billy Bob Thornton has the time of his life as thefoul-mouthed title character, but it's also great fun to see LaurenGraham from the very family-friendly "Gillmore Girls" series play acrazed bimbo for once.Of course, that's a highly subjective statement. I can understand thatthere are people who are disturbed by all the foul language andpolitically incorrect behaviour and will NOT find this funny. Thosepeople should IMHO take note that everything in "Bad Santa" is sodeliberately over the top that it's hard to take it seriously. There'sa lot of antisocial behaviour, but it's perfectly clear that everybodyinvolved in the movie KNOWS how "wrong" the movie is, and no attempt ismade to justify the behaviour whatsoever. I've seen movies thatappeared to be a lot more civilized, but contained far more disturbingthings.All in all, in daringly breaking with just about every convention ofthe comedy genre and Hollywood movies in general, the makers of "BadSanta" have created a very rude but equally funny movie.Recommended (but don't show it to your children).**** out of *****

Flagrant-Baronessa 2012-05-21 08:05:10

Coenesque 'blacker-than-black' comedy

Every year we are showered with an overdose of goody-goody saccharineChristmas tales with family morals, holiday miracles and heartfeltmessages. Coenesque dark comedy Bad Santa bluntly distinguishes itselffrom these hackneyed templates by being blacker than the night andfunnier than the bulk of all Christmas comedies (but a polite nod toHome Alone).'Bad Santa' is the story of two conmen who go on a road trip to mallsdressed as Santa and his elf. Rather than spreading good cheer, theduo's motive is to rob each establishment, a strategy that becomescomplicated when they encounter an 8-year-old who teaches them the truemeaning of Christmas. Billy Bob Thornton is at his best and mosthilarious as a booze-drenched, bitter, cursing, fu cking, shitting andperverted middle-aged nobody with an unapologetic lust for teenagegirls and alcohol – the aforementioned providing for a great deal oflaughs in the film. He is The Dude and Julian Noble (of The Matador)all rolled into one – a Santa so fundamentally 'wrong' that he becomesso right.In fact, the first scene of the film opens on a blunt, bitter and rawnote that sets the hilarious tone for what is to come; a tired, cynicaland drunken Thornton sits alone in a bar telling us what a loser he isand how he should have killed himself long ago. He then stumbles intoan alleyway and vomits in a trashcan. Brilliant. Honest. It came as nosurprise for me to learn that Thornton was in fact genuinelyintoxicated for large parts of the shooting and sure enough, it invests'Bad Santa' in that extra bad attitude quality.Yet for all its Coenesque humour (the brothers are executive producersfor the film), it does not quite reach the sheer level of absurditythat The Big Lebowski can boast of. The little kid is primarilyannoying and disgusting and although he arguably makes the story, hischaracter often feels redundant. Ultimately, it also lacks quite a bitof direction and focus. If anything that is its fatal flaw but 'BadSanta' undoubtedly remains afloat in spite of it. And hilariously so.7 out of 10

2012-05-20 06:14:01

Extremely bad movie. Worst than BAD!

I am sorry I wasted my life on this trash. This is absolutely one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Language is atrocious with senseless vulgarities. Almost every scene of this movie was filled with profanity which was totally overdone! Bad plot, bad acting, bad directing, bad script. I would absolutely not rent this movie again even if it is the last movie on the shelf or if offered to me for free. I have lost respect for Billy Bob. I cannot understand why he would ruin his career for a crappy movie like this.

2012-05-19 17:08:10

I must be awful ....

because this movie didn't seem so BAD to me. Sure they use the F-word every second, yeah there is some violence, incontinence, alcohol abuse, sex ... blah, blah, blah, but it isn't offensive in that wickedly funny way. In fact, it seems geared toward a young audience that finds those things shocking and funny. Here they do it beacause they seem to think it is funny, but it ain't! Not shocking, not funny - just there. And at it's core, it still has the redemption of the main character at Christmas through the eyes of a little boy. Whatever.

Win14Gipp 2012-05-18 22:36:05

My God, did this suck!

Run, don't walk, away from your local theater if it threatens to show thisfilm. There are two funny lines, and if you've seen any of the trailers,you've already heard them both. The rest of this movie is misogynist, crude,depressing, and about as unfunny as unfunny gets. It's the Seinfeld ofunfunny.Billy Bob Thornton plays a disgusting drunk who should not be allowed nearyour food, much less your children. The idea that any mall executive wouldbe stupid enough to hire this misanthrope to talk to children simply becausehis friend is a midget is ludicrous. (Is this the only midget inPhoenix?)Christmas is a great time to do good deeds for your fellow human beings. IfI convince just one of you to avoid this stinker and spend your money on eggnog instead, I've done my good deed for the Christmas season.And if you still feel an uncontrollable urge to see this movie, there'sprobably a 12-step program in your future.

2012-05-18 13:44:31

Bad(der) Santa-give this movie a piece of coal

This is a highly unfunny movie, with jokes that are tired after the first time you hear them, and aren't clever to begin with. Thorton's character is pretty one dimensional-he's a drunk with a bad childhood-and he stays drunk throughout the movie. This is not a commentary on the commercialism of Christmas (the director seems to think so), and really it has nothing to do with Christmas at all. Its a robber movie set in a mall at Christmas-that's it. Bad(der) Santa also expects us to be entertained by the fact that there's a "little person"-i.e. a "midget" in this movie. Why "little people" are supposed to be inherently funny is beyond me. Plenty of jokes related to height are to be expected, and they just fall flat. Bad(der) Santa is predictable, dull, and just plain unfunny. There is a slightly heartwarming ending, but not worth sitting through the rest of the movie to get to. Besides, if you want heartwarming endings, that's what your typical Christmas genre movies are for.

wgeddings 2012-05-11 21:59:04

Wow - big mistake to take my 8 yr old son to this..

Okay, so even I was not stupid enough to take an 8 year old to a movieentitled "Bad Santa". ;-) Just thought that subject line would let somepeople start venting on the tasteless thought of subjecting a minor to afilm this full of profanity. For the record, I agree that this movie is100% NOT for kids and is very appropriately rated. However, for adults,this is a pretty good film.There is ample humor and a decent story. The acting is terrific,especiallyfrom Billy Bob Thornton and the guy playing the elf. The kid who playedthemain child (I won't say the name because it is a joke in the movie) alsodidreally good.This is NOT an oscar movie or something that will be the classics list.ButI was not expecting that and actually had low expectations based on somecritic reviews I had read. They were wrong. The bottom line is that thiswas a movie that I don't feel was a waste of my time or money. Itentertained me and that is what really counts in my opinion. I rated it 8out of 10.

2012-05-11 18:00:13

Poor movie, weak story - waste of time.

I guess it is hard to come up with a good plot these days. So a story about bad Santa and a litle guy working every December just to rob a mall at the end looks like an original concept. Perhaps this could work out to be a nice comedy but the flood of cruelty and vulgarisms makes this a bad movie in my opinion. It is not saved by the performance of BB Thornton and Bernie Mac. The female character Lauren Graham seems nicest but is is not enough to spend 90 minutes watching this movie.

Corwin Orr 2012-05-09 21:38:04

Bad Santa's Got a Good Heart

This movie is way better than It's a Wonderful Life. I'd rather watchthis than Miracle on 34th Street. It would certainly beat any poorlyanimated Rankin-Bass production any day. This is a real story withinteresting characters and plenty of heart. Compared to other holidayfavorites, it is fairly crude. This is all vital to the film as awhole. Let me break things down.Willie and Marcus work as a mall Santa and elf during the holidayseason. Every year, they head to a new city. On Christmas Eve, theyrelieve the place of all its valuables and cash. They skip town andpart ways. This is how they make their money, and they have been doingit for years.The character of Willie is played to a "T" by Billy Bob Thornton.Willie is a vulgar, depressed, angry alcoholic with zero shame andself-respect. He has no qualms about yelling at the more difficultchildren that sit on his lap; right in front of the mothers, andeveryone else.He begins to soften once he meets the fat little curly-haired childnamed Thurman Merman. This adorable youngster (played by Canadianactor, Brett Kelly) is only watched over by his decrepit, senilegrandmother. His father's in prison and his mother's dead. Willieelects to move right in, quickly taking on the role of protector ofyoung Thurman.Willie's partner is Marcus (dwarf actor, Tony Cox). I don't thing hehad any major film roles before this. I remember him as a St. Patrick'sDay well-wisher in Leprechaun II. He was also a cuckolded husband inFriday (another film featuring both Cox and Bernie Mac). These wereonly bit parts that could very well have been filled by any littleperson. Tony was definitely perfect for the role of Marcus. Willie isthe safe-cracker, but Marcus is the real brains of the operation.Another fine character in this film is the mall's general manager, BobChipeska. This repressed, uncomfortable man is captured withpitch-perfect comedy by the late, great John Ritter. He enlists thehelp of the hard-nosed store detective, played by the also late andgreat, Bernie Mac.This film is all about redemption. Willie also meets a sweet girl witha Santa fetish played by TV's Lauren Graham. Caring about her andThurman are important aspects of Willie's atonement.There are plenty of genuinely heartwarming moments, especially betweenWillie and Thurman. The child's innocence and optimism is a starkcontrast from Willie's depression, guilt, and sleaze. Many movies claimto make you laugh and warm your heart. Most of these deliver on neitherof these claims. This film inspires plenty of both.It's a quirky picture, undoubtedly, but it's never cheesy or forced. Myfamily loves this film and we watch it every Christmas. If you want afilm with lots of authenticity and spirit, give Bad Santa a chance.

gately1996 2012-05-09 07:45:01

Exactly what you expect -- and hilarious

Sometimes Billy Bob is so bad as Bad Santa that you squirm in your seatforhow uncomfortable he makes you, but the trailers make it clear that thisain't no A Miracle on 34th Street. Billy Bob is perfect as the Bad Santa:avery, very, VERY bad person. His first line of the movie describes thedepth of his self-loathing, which certainly is impressivelydeep.But for all of its hatred and mean spirit (or maybe because of it), thisisone hell of a funny movie, if darker than most black comedies. Sure, manyof the situations are painfully contrived, but this is a heck of a funnymovie. A dark black comedy, but one with more laugh-out-loud situationsthan any in recent memory. Just make sure not to bring the kids to thisone, folks.

dkstarkey 2012-04-30 11:20:09

"Badder" was worse than I could have imagined

I can't believe someone told me that this movie was funny. Half hourinto it, I was in disbelief that someone "green lighted" the making ofthis movie. It wasn't funny. And there were more F-bombs and othercurse words than a George Carlin stand-up act. I can only guess thatthe writers of this film thought swearing = funny. Guess again.Frankly, I can't even believe that they were able to produce a movietrailer suitable for television with the immense volume of vulgarlanguage.Lauren Graham's character had no point, except to offer gratuitous sexscenes. And even then it was nudity free so what's the point.The movie summary states that an 8-year-old befriends Billy BobThornton's character and shows him the spirit of Christmas. Huh?Thornton's character split his time either swearing at the sad littleboy or ignoring him.Watching this movie was a huge disappointment and a waste of my time. Ihope you don't waste yours.

2012-04-29 17:56:27

Remember kids, Santa hates you. He really, really hates you.

If you were ever curious to find out how unapologetic and raw a movie can be, then you won't have to wonder much longer. Because, here comes "Bad Santa." No, this isn't your cute and cuddly Christmas movie that'll make you feel good inside. This is a movie that is so vulgar and relentless that you can't help but laugh all the way through it. There is not a single second where this movie is tamed or surrendering, and that alone is something to admire.Willie T. Stokes isn't your ordinary mall Santa. He's a foulmouthed alcoholic who loathes his own life more than anything else in the world. He's also a successful thief and uses the "Santa" guise in order to help him rip off the department stores, but all of the abuse of booze has taken its toll on him. Things are a little different this year, as a kid who absolutely believes that he is the real Santa takes a liking to him, giving Willie a great hide-out at his own house. Not to mention he meets a beautiful bartender who has a sick "Santa" fetish that's uncontrollable, but he doesn't mind that one bit. Yes, it is shaping up to be a year full of profanity, booze and depression for Willie, and isn't that what Christmas is all about?I don't think even Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino combined can match up to the usage of profanity in this pleasantly dark and off-the-wall comedy. Did it bother me? Of course not, but then again it never really bothers me. I knew exactly what to expect from this movie, so I was very well prepared for what I would witness. I have no problem telling you that I thought this movie was downright funny. Billy Bob Thornton is hilarious as a bitter and depressed Santa. Call me demented, but I thought it was pretty funny when he swears at all of the little kids. He never fails to dish out a few "colorful" words here and there. Bernie Mac and the late and very much missed John Ritter are also very entertaining in their roles. The script was very well written and accomplishes what it wanted--and that is to be funny, and nothing more.This is not a movie for those who easily get offended. If you hate profanity, then you will loathe this movie. That is a fact. Don't even attempt it if that's the case. This is one of the few movies where it never chickens out. It's raw and brutal from beginning to end. It's not a deep film, and it's not trying to be one. This is a movie that is completely character-driven, so don't expect a fabulous story or a complex plot. The movie's only goal is to be funny and entertaining, and I think it does just that.There are two versions of this movie you can get. I got the "Badder" version, which is said to have a little over five extra minutes in it that's "unrated." Now, I never saw this in the theatres so I can't tell you what was added. I really couldn't tell what was so "unrated" about it. Like I said, the movie is completely vulgar from beginning to end, so it was hard to notice anything that was "unrated" material. So, it's up to you which version you want to end up getting. There's not a lot of extras on the DVD, but there are a few goodies included such as a behind-the-scenes featurette, a gag-reel, outtakes, and deleted and alternate scenes."Bad Santa" is a vulgarly good time and it doesn't try to pretend to be something else. It is what it is. It's not for those who are offended by non-stop usage of profanity. While it's no cinematic masterpiece, I found it to be highly entertaining. If you're looking for a dark comedy that refuses to take itself seriously or make any apologies, then this is something worth looking into. A very funny and crude comedy with great performances from an extremely funny cast. -Michael Crane

Lurker63 2012-04-26 22:37:30

Must see xmas film!!

This is not a great film, that said it is hilarious. Unbelievably funny inareally sick way. Do not under any circumstances, take your kids...orgrandparents...or parents...or people you go to church with, to see thisfilm with you.Do NOT go to see this movie if you:---like character developmentwant a substantial plot---care about morality---like to seechildren/women/society at large treated well---are offended by profanity,unbelievable relentless profanity---desire a message of holiday redemptionat the end of the filmSee this film if you want to laugh so hard that you (fill in expletivehere).There is no redemption in this film, zero, zip, nada...bloodyfantastic!

drunken_critic 2012-04-26 08:45:59

Down and Out

The theme of this movie is "down and out". Billy Bob Thorton plays acriminal alcoholic named Willie whose life is pure crap. I like theidea of watching someone throw his life away. What confuses me is hisintentional self-destruction. His life is really not that bad. He isactually successful at what he does. Every Christmas he plays adepartment store Santa Claus, and on Christmas Eve he and his sidekickmidget rob the store. He picks the safe, and escapes with $100's ofthousands of dollars. He also has a hot groupie that has a Santafetish.Why is he on such a self-destructive path? He keeps mentioning hisfather's abuse, so I guess he is looking at the past. In reality hispresent is not that bad. Overall this was a good look at a personhaunted by his past that cannot live in the present because of hauntingmemories. I have known people like this in real life. They would keepdwelling on the past. Usually it was woe is me "my daddy didn't payattention to me". I could never comprehend how past memories can playsuch an impact on behavior. However, I came from a good household. Iwas not abused or neglected, so I will never know. Anyway, his behavioris the main root of his problems, and it causes an environmentalsurrounding and circumstance of his life. His surrounding andcircumstances do not cause problems. This is a very importantdistinction of self-destruction. The cause and effect relationshipusually is based on environmental surrounding altering behavior, but aself-destructive person's cause and effect is the opposite. Theself-destructive cause is the behavior and the effect is thesurrounding or circumstance.One of the best movies I have ever seen that deals withself-destruction is "Barfly". Barfly makes this movie seem like aweekend holiday. I think Barfly was better because it looked atself-destruction seriously. Bad Santa was more of a dark comedy, andthe movie kept showing a glimpse of escape. I kept thinking thatWillie's life is not that bad. I thought that Willie could at any timerealize this and change his outlook on life. I was waiting for thehappy ending, and I got it.I like the idea of movies exploring self-destruction. A good movietheme is what causes it and how can it be changed. This movie did notreally explore that topic. It presented it in a comedic fashion. Iguess if it were serious it would just have been another "Leaving LasVegas". 80/100

tomstrock 2012-04-23 10:45:02

perhaps the greatest anti-hero since Harry Lime

When I saw this in the movie house I laughed more than I had in a verylong time. I saw it again on DVD the other night and liked it even morealthough the shock value had lessened. Some comments on this film haveconfused me. First of all this movie grossed over 60 million at thedomestic box office alone. The budget was only 16 million; peanutscompared to most Hollywood movies. That wouldn't make it a bomb nowwould it? Lauren Graham's character has a santa fetish that why shegets it on with old Willie. Billy Bob Thorton's Willie is a tour de force. Like any good anti-herohe has his own set of rules. By the way this movie is a great litmustest for a relationship. Have a couple of grandad's sit back and enjoy.

PM 2012-04-23 03:09:04

Mediocre

Dissapointing film considering the talent involved. Billy Bob does his partand John Ritter and some of the others are good, but it's just the samething over and over....Santa cursing, Santa drinking, Santa being mean tokids in the department store...over and over. Santa should has died at the end of the film - after performing a selflessact - the ultimate redemption in the medium of film. Instead we get a patHollywood ending.*Spolier*The "**** me Santa" line isn't all that funny. Really, itisn't.