“Bad Santa” (Miramax)
Billy Bob Thornton stars in the ultimate anti-Christmas movie, “Bad Santa.” This lewd, crude and rude story about a foul-mouthed, drunken, ne’er do well who plays Santa at Christmas is being sold as a laugh riot and a half. But the movie is a repetitious, downbeat, sad sack of a film that bases all of its comedy on foul language and never manages to have an original funny moment.
Willie (Thornton) and Marcus (Tony Cox) get seasonal employment as Santa and his elf at large department stores. Even though Willie stays drunk half the time and is abusive to the children who come to see him, he manages to stay employed. He also manages, with Marcus’ help, to rob these stores of money and products.
One Christmas Willie and Marcus are hired by a store in Phoenix. While there Willie also takes up with a barmaid named Sue (Lauren Graham). She seems to enjoy his wasteful ways and overlooks his foul mouth and alcoholism.
Willie also attracts the attention of a child he calls “the Kid” (Brett Kelly). The Kid is obsessed with Willie as Santa and eventually Willie moves into his home where his Grandmother (Cloris Leachman) is baby-sitting him while his father serves time in prison. The Kid’s mother is dead.
Willie slings obscenities at the Kid from sunup till sundown but the youngster remains faithful to him. Watching him trail after Willie is one of the more pathetic elements of the movie.
Thornton is certainly believable as the drunken, loutish Willie. He seems to have this role down pat. He is as disgusting as humanly possible, and as wretched as his character can stand to be. Opposite him, Graham is just a blip on his sexual radar.
Brett Kelly is sweetly innocent as “the Kid.” He is deserving of a better role in a better movie. Preferably it will be one in which he is not sworn at constantly. Putting a child in a role like this is a form of child abuse. What were his parents thinking!
Bernie Mac has a few good moments as the Store’s security officer, but John Ritter is ineffective as the store’s troubled manager. Cox is okay in his role as Marcus.
The movie is rated R for endless profanity.
Humor has to be more than just a massive amount of dirty words strung together, but director Terry Zwigoff (“Ghost World”) doesn’t know that. He thinks if he uses the worst terms over and over it will cause someone to laugh. And someone probably will, but hopefully not a lot of someone’s.
I scored “Bad Santa” a bad movie 2 out of 10.
