With his outrageously entertaining turn as a debauched department store Santa, Billy Bob Thornton has no doubt secured a spot atop the real Kris Kringle’s naughty list this year. “Bad Santa” is rude, lewd and impossibly crude, populated with an assortment of lowlifes that could make the seediest of Washington lobbyists cringe. But if you’re game for a little R-rated fun during this most wonderful time of the year, well, “Bad Santa” is a great holiday gift, all wrapped up in F-bombs and slaughtered sacred cows. Imagine “It’s a Wonderful Life,” had it been written and performed by the kids from “South Park.”
Willie T. Stokes (Thornton) is a drunk and a thief. Every year, he and his midget partner in crime, Marcus (Tony Cox) pose as Santa and an elf in order to case and eventually clean out a department store. In Phoenix, the degenerate duo find their annual heist jeopardized by a meddlesome manager (the late John Ritter in his final film role) and the store’s corrupt detective (Bernie Mac). Further complicating matters are Willie’s romance with a Santa-fetishist bartender (Lauren Graham) and the presence of a confused 8-year-old boy (Brett Kelly) who believes the foul-mouthed con-man is indeed the real Santa Claus.
Directed by Terry Zwigoff (“Crumb,” “Ghost World”) and written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (the guys who brought us the decidedly more wholesome “Cats & Dogs”), “Bad Santa” gleefully goes where no other Christmas movie has gone before — the bottom of the gutter. Thornton is flat-out brilliant, delivering an unflaggingly fearless performance as one of the most loathsome creatures imaginable. He’s a suicidal, felonious alcoholic who shags women in the store’s dressing rooms, chain-smokes, has a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush, and is prone to soiling his Santa suit while children sit on his lap. Yet somehow, in the end, we wind up liking — or at least, feeling for — Willie. He is a hopelessly tragic figure, but tragedy couldn’t be more funny. The supporting cast is fabulous as well, especially young Kelly, who never flinches while suffering all manner of indignities courtesy of his unholy houseguest. (Rated R for pervasive language, strong sexual content and some violence. Running time: 93 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 26, 2003. Read the original PDF.