Bad Santa

Review: This 2003 black comedy crime Christmas movie centers on a man named Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) who dresses as a mall Santa to rob the stores in the mall with his dwarf partner, Marcus (Tony Cox). This film has a different tone than your typical holiday flick, but is refreshing in a strange way due to its cynical tone. While many of aspects of the film haven’t aged super well for a modern world (e.g. jokes you couldn’t make today) I think it’s important to take it with a grain of salt, just like most things from a different era. Overall the film is pretty funny and features a memorable premise that helps set it apart from other Christmas films.

High: I think the character arc we see Willie go through is great. He’s not a good person by the end of the movie, in fact I would say he’s only a slightly less bad person. But he grows to care for ‘The Kid,’ Thurman (Brett Kelly) which softens him just a tad.

Low: I felt like some of the actors were under used. Mainly Lauren Graham, Bernie Mac, & John Ritter. I think all of their characters were intended to serve very specific purpose, which is a goal that was achieved, but the actors themselves were limited by their roles. I will say that Bernie Mac had great chemistry with everyone he was onscreen with, specifically Tony Cox. Also, I guess Octavia Spencer was under used since she was such a minor character, but she wasn’t quite the name she is now, so I’ll let that one slide

Rating: 7/10