Customer Reviews

Badder Santa (Unrated Bad Santa)

5 star:		(191)
4 star:		(88)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(72)

 

 

If you are a fan of Bad Santa, DO NOT BUY THIS DVD. I bought it expecting extended and restored scenes, instead I got a totally different ending and hilarious scenes cut out.
This version ends with the little boy outside trying to clean up the blood on his front steps rather than giving the bully a swift kick in the nards.
One of the scenes cut out is the scene in the gym where Willie and Marcus are trying to teach the little boy how to defend himself. That was one of the funniest scenes in the movie.
The packaging is deceptive. If they had said, "new ending" on the notes, I would have left it alone. It didn't and I wasted my money. I thought I would come on here and post a warning.

For those of us who can't quite get into the Christmas spirit, "Bad Santa" is a massive preemptive strike against all of the insufferable sentimentality we're going to be subjected to a few months from now. This movie is every bit as entertaining and funny as "School Of Rock," but where "School Of Rock" succeeded through the overwhelming weight of its good intentions, "Bad Santa" (its moderately heartwarming ending notwithstanding) is all about bad intentions. This movie, especially in its powerhouse first half, displays such a commitment to mean-spiritedness that you can't help but love it.

Billy Bob Thornton's safe-cracking department-store Santa Willie is the epitome of ugliness, all the more so because he commits much of his mayhem in his work outfit. Early on we see him getting drunk and throwing up in an alley, and from there he remains in the gutter for much of the movie. He chain smokes, he wets himself in his chair, he fornicates in a dressing room, and above all, he swears. I don't find profanity inherently funny, but Thornton's acid tongue manages to turn four-letter words into weapons of unimaginable destructive power. More than anything I've seen since the "South Park" movie, "Bad Santa" manages to elevate nasty language into an art form.
Even in its moments of humanity, the movie doesn't aim too high. Willie does have a love interest, but not quite in the conventional sense: intead, it's a young bar waitress with a Santa fetish who demands that Willie wear his stocking cap during coupling. Willie also finds some meaning in his life by striking up an offbeat friendship with a fat, bullied kid named Thurman, a bond that manifests itself in one unforgettable scene when Willie beats the living hell out of the teen skateboarder who gave Thurman a black eye.

Even though it's Thornton's show, "Bad Santa" also benefits from a top-notch supporting cast. In his last film role, the late John Ritter is the picture of ineffectualism as the mall manager; Bernie Mac is admirably slimy as the self-interested security chief; and the three-foot-tall Tony Cox belies his small size with a scene-stealing performance as Willie's "elf" and partner in crime.

"Bad Santa" doesn't have an enormous level of plot development, but then it doesn't really need much. What's really important is the way the movie's cynicism slices and dices the sugary "cheer" (which is often cynical itself) that typically accompanies the holiday season. Christmas isn't all about irritating songs and people rioting in department stores over cheap presents, and we all owe a debt to "Bad Santa" for dumping a little snow on the parade.

If you are a bah-humbug individual, a Billy Bob Thornton fan, and/or have an appreciation for dark comedy....THIS is the Christmas film for you! Oh, yes, it requires an open mind and the ability to appreciate the unique, but finally here is a holiday film for those who like their seasonal entertainment with a little less 'sugar and spice'.

First, do not take your 11 year old to see this film, as did the gentleman sitting behind me in the theater. He elected to remain even though I advised him this was an adult film (seems the R-Rating didn't seem to do the trick). I stressed that was probably not suitable for his son - even if my answer to his inquiry: "Well, it's about Santa Claus isn't it?" was "YES". Because the entire answer was: "YES, but a very, very baaad Santa".

After the movie, the viewer told me that I was correct, that he should have left, and that he had in fact started to leave several times during the film, but didn't. He added that he himself did not like the film. This made be all the more curious as to exactly why he elected to watch until the credits were rolling.

All the other movie patrons must have checked the ratings (as they were all adults), read the reviews, watched the promos, and perhaps caught Billy Bob on every talk show on TV the previous week (where he spent an inordinate amount of time telling the public - 'This is NOT a family film'). They also must have enjoyed the film, because they all laughed, actually, they all laughed a lot.

Being an avid, devoted fan of Thornton, I understand and would be first to admit that I am more than a little biased when it comes to Billy Bob. I think he is incapable of making a film that is not entertaining. That being said, I would have enjoyed 'Bad Santa' if Santa had been portrayed by some other actor (except perhaps Jim Carey, but I digress). However, I don't know any other actor who bring the pathos, the heart, the lewdness, the earthiness, the seediness, and the overall great performance to this film that Billy Bob did.

Billy Bob Thornton continues to explore the depths of his talent and take fans along for the ride by always finding new and unique characters to portray. Generally he does this via the 'independent' film method, because indie films provide the greater opportunities for his enormous creativity.

This time his choice was not a 'new' character, rather actually a very, very recognizable character - recognizable at least by name - Santa, and this time in a film by commercial film makers. That is where our acquaintance with the character of Santa ends. Willie Stokes' Santa may resemble a lot of characters that we know really exist, as opposed to old Kris Kringle. We know this because many of us have met just such confused people in our real lives, though usually not wearing red velvet suits. The individuals we knew were known to us in the guise of losers, con men, hard-drinkers, and otherwise less-than-perfect people who are just a little bit mixed up about who they are, where they are going, and exactly how to get there.

The only disagreement I would have with many of the reviewing film critics about this film is their insistence that "Bad Santa' does not have a 'good hearted' ending. I would beg to differ. While I won't give it away, I would tell you it has what might be considered an ending that is totally 'appropriate' for a holiday film such as 'Bad Santa'. It isn't an 'It's A Wonderful Life' ending, but then again the film isn't 'Miracle on 34th Street'. But we already know that because the title reveals it from the git-go. I may be a bit of a softie when it comes to kids, but I must tell you some of the tears in my eyes at various moments in 'Bad Santa' were not tears of laughter.

Speaking of kids, Brett Kelly, the young actor who plays 'the kid' in "Bad Santa" is priceless in this film and perfectly cast. Brett is the Coronji Calhoun (Tyrell Musgrove - Monsters Ball) of this film. Thornton is excellent in acting in films with children, this film being no exception.

John Ritter, like Billy Bob, has played a variety of characters in a myriad of films during his career and is always 'absolutely on the mark' for the personality of each character. Rather than being 'sorry' for Ritter that his last film was 'Bad Santa'; I believe that making this film with his old friend (from 'Hearts Afire', the 80's TV series) Billy Bob Thornton, in their first film together since 'Sling Blade', was probably a tremendous source of fun and pleasure for Ritter. I am personally very glad that he and Billy Bob had the opportunity to co-star one last time before John's untimely death. While his on-screen time seemed short on this film, John Ritter, as usual, did an excellent job and was very funny, as was always his way.

Open your mind, prepare for laughter, and give yourself the gift of a different kind of holiday cheer this year - go see 'Bad Santa'. If what you want for Christmas is a little break from the often false cheerfulness of the traditional and instead a swig of dark humor for the delight of your soul, 'Bad Santa' can definitely make all your wishes come true - whether you have been bad or good.

Not since "There's something about Mary" have I laughed so hard in a movie theater! I got into one of the preview screenings of this last week in LA and I have to say 90% of the audience was laughing just as loud as me. Let the prudes stay home - this is a film for anyone who wants to laugh till it hurts!

Not only is this Santa bad, he is vulgar, crass, dirty, foulmouthed, loose-moraled - come to think of it, I can't imagine a worse Santa. In spite of this, Bad Santa is a brilliant dark comedy, full of huge laughs from beginning to end, as long as you can put up with all of the bad language, which has got to be close to setting a record.

Billy Bob Thornton plays Willie, an ex-con drunkard who gets a job every year at a different department store playing Santa, along with his own elf, Marcus (Tony Cox). The catch is that every Christmas Eve, Willie and Marcus rob the department store blind. Willie wants to get out of this game, but he's so irresponsible and undisciplined that every year he's in dire need of cash again and needs to pull another job. As Santa, he swears at kids, urinates on himself, and is generally the exact opposite of what you want your Santa to be.

This particular year, a young kid (Brett Kelly) who is oblivious to the fact that Willie is not, in fact, the real Santa, attaches himself to Santa. Lo and behold, the kid lives alone in a posh suburban house with only his catatonic granny, so Willie takes up residence with the kid. As Christmas Eve approaches, Marcus becomes increasingly concerned with Willie's condition, the kid becomes increasingly annoying, and Willie stays exactly the same - drunk, angry, and generally foul.

Bad Santa is exactly my kind of movie - unrelenting, unapologetic, inappropriate, completely distasteful, and utterly hilarious. It's essentially the anti-Christmas film. Billy Bob Thornton has an unbelievable knack for acting, and an almost poetic way of unleashing cuss after cuss. This movie gets a big thumbs up, but definitely is not suitable for kids or the easily offended.

Bad Santa, the new anti-holiday comedy from director Terry Zwigoff is one funny movie. It is just what you'd call hilarious and Billy Bob Thorton does make one very bad santa.
Thorton plays a lascivious, acoholic who works with an elf, (hilarious Tony Cox). They're both bad allright! They're business specializes in stealing, by working at different malls around the area and waiting for the right moments to take what they want. Soon a bartender (Lauren Graham) falls for Thorton. The story works out well, it's not amazing (obviously) but it does this movie just fine. As for humor, this movie receives a high rating on my scale. Note: If you find Christmas too sacrosant to joke about or if you don't like scenes using abusive language towards children, then you should skip this. Also Brett Kelly plays a kid, who think Thorton is a real Santa and won't leave him alone.
This is a dark comedy, no doubt. If you have a dark sense of humor, you should definetly look into it. Though the film is vulgar and some of the humor might be viewed as vile, it is entertaining all the way. Bad Santa is rated R for Pervasive Language, Strong Sexual Content and Some Violence. The language is consistent and seems to never end, the sexuality is fairly explicit, you mainly hear sounds, but some is shown. There are only about 3 sex scenes but none include nudity. The violence is reasonably mild, a shootout near the end, which surprisingly isn't bloody and some fistfights. Billy Bob Thorton has also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for his performance, he does make a great, bad santa, but I'm not sure if he deserves it. Other contenders include, Bill Murray for "Lost in Translation," and yet another nomination this year for Jack Nicholson for "Something's Gotta Give. All in all, a fine comedy, the one thing I might've changed was the constant profanity but I guess it helps make the movie even more funny. Worth seeing in theatres and not a bad pick for owning on Video or DVD.

This movie is DARK, DARK, DARK, but HILARIOUS!

It's sooo bad, leave the kiddies at home and just enjoy what is destined to become one of the greatest cult classics ever. I was rolling in the aisles with laughter and so was the rest of the audience. I have never been in a theatre where more people were laughing out loud. If you can enjoy REALLY dark humor, you'll love this. Be forewarned, nothing is off-limits in this one. So if you're politically correct in ANY way, you'll be offended. But if you can take a joke, PLEASE see this movie!

I can't help but think the negative reveiwers I've seen here just don't get it, lighten UP and just revel in the comedic value of how bad people can be!

This movie will instantly be added to my collection when it comes out on DVD.

If you're easily offended by swearing/bad language then this film's not for you. If you don't mind a bit of swearing and you want to escape reality for an hour or so, then this film's a must for adults.

It's the funniest film I've seen this year and certainly the most funny christmas film, however I wouldn't recommend children see it.

Ho-ho-hobo! Imagine if John Waters had directed "Miracle On 34th Street"-that's "Bad Santa" in a nutshell. Alcoholic Santa/department store safecracker Billy Bob Thornton stumbles, curses, and spews his way into your heart in this new holiday classic (for the truly demented). The formerly unknown Tony Cox steals all his scenes as Thornton's "elf"/fellow felon. As a former stand-up comic/comedy writer, it takes a lot to make me laugh so hard that I start to black out...but this film had me in that state for 100 minutes. I actually had to lean over and ask my friends if one of them knew CPR-just in case I suddenly collapsed. Beneath all the gut-busting black humor, however, I sensed a subtle message, which I suspect will become more apparent upon repeat viewings. Director Terry Zwigoff ("Crumb", "Ghostworld") again displays the obvious influence that 'underground' comics have had on his worldview. In his films, his protaganists have all been "outsiders" who are shunned and/or cruelly taunted by society (Comic book/music geeks, dwarves, alcoholics, fat kids, unconventional teenagers) but who are only seeking the same things in life as "normal" people-love and acceptance. In just three films to date, Zwigoff has shown us his ability to produce an insightful documentary, an entertaining adaptation of an underground comic and now a completely original black comedy. It will be interesting to see what he pulls out of his hat next!

After seeing The Matrix: The Sucking Return of Neo and his fake love affair with Trinity, I was on a quest to find something that didn't make me want to stick a pen in my eye. Unlike most of the crappola coming from the Hollywood Sewer these days, Bad Santa was worth $7. This is Oceans Eleven meets A Christmas Story meets Leaving Las Vegas meets The Wiz and is so ridiculously funny that your face may seize up from laughing so hard.

Leave your prudish Grandma at home with her doilies and knitting because she'll just complain about the cuss words, which is what makes the movie hillarious and will force you to say "Grandma, this isn't the Victorian era anymore. People cuss now. That's what's funny, not some stupid joke about chickens crossing the road."

Bad Santa has this incredible fat rich kid who wears 70s shorts and gets beat up by Mallrat skaters until he befriends Drunk Santa Billy Bob. The fat kid eats chocolates and invites Billy Santa to spend the night, Michael Jackson-style but without all the rubba rubba. Why? Because the fat kid is also pretty gullible and thinks that Drunk Billy is really Santa. The fat kid might have believed that because Billy is friends with this real life elf who he robs department stores with. This ragtag bunch of loveable misfits has some pretty madcapped adventures drenched in booze and deception. But the fat rich kid is trying to teach Drunk Billy Claus about the spirit of Christmas, which is kind of lame until the fat kid gives Billy a special present, a blood-soaked wooden pickle, which is so sweet it almost made me cry like a little girl baby with sticky fingers caked in melted chocolate and chewed up Dots and clad in a pink dress.