Bad Santa (2003)

Director:

Terry Zwigoff

Writers (WGA):

Glenn Ficarra (written by) &
John Requa (written by)

Release Date:

26 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

He's very naughty . . . and not very nice. [DVD]

Plot:

A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid, and the security boss discovers the plot.

Plot Keywords:

Changing Room | Wetting Pants | Checkers | Anal Sex | Vomit Scene

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton	...	Willie
Tony Cox	...	Marcus
Brett Kelly	...	The Kid
Lauren Graham	...	Sue
Lauren Tom	...	Lois
Bernie Mac	...	Gin
John Ritter	...	Bob Chipeska
Ajay Naidu	...	Hindustani Troublemaker
Lorna Scott	...	Milwaukee Mother
Harrison Bieker	...	Milwaukee Boy
Alex Borstein	...	Milwaukee Mom with Photo
Alexandra Korhan	...	Girl on Santa's Lap
Dylan Charles	...	Milwaukee Bratty Boy
Billy Gardell	...	Milwaukee Security Guard
Lisa Ross	...	Milwaukee Bartender

Also Known As:

Badder Santa (USA) (longer version)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language, strong sexual content and some violence. (also director's cut)

Runtime:

91 min | 98 min (unrated version) | 88 min (Director's cut)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Spain:18 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M (TV rating) | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Portugal:M/16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 (original rating) | Germany:16 (extended version) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15PG | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R (also director's cut) (certificate #40305) | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Chile:14

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

This was John Ritter's final acting appearance in a movie and it is dedicated to his memory.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Willie is in Bob Chipeska's office, Bob's Christmas motif necktie changes from one style and color to another.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Willie: Hey, can I get another drink down here?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fuck (2005)

Soundtrack:

Winter Wonderland

The Ultimate Inappropriate Christmas Movie

Forget Jimmy Stewart and that claymation crap! If you like Christmas movies with more of an edge and lots of comedy however, "Bad Santa" might just be your new favorite holiday movie. In my mind, usurping "A Christmas Story" and "Scrooged" as the funniest holiday movie yet, Bad Santa (or BS as I like to call it) pulls no punches as it delivers a raunchy, yet funny, and yes, even a little bit of a touching film.

Billy Bob Thorton is a drinking, fornicating, defecating thief who freeloads for the whole year, only to work 25 days in December while robbing a mall of all it's holiday proceeds. His partner in crime is Tony Cox, Santa's little person helper who keeps him sober and lucid enough through the season to not royally screw things up.

I won't go into details, because frankly the plot needs work. But the acting is superb, the script hysterical, and the unbelievable jokes and inappropriate situations are just so entertaining you won't care about anything else.

Bernie Mac and Lauren Graham deliver polished supporting roles, as does John Ritter in his final film role before his death. The kid doesn't have many lines (and I want to slap him for the ones he does deliver), but just looking at him makes me laugh, so I can't complain there.

Basically, this is the ultimate inappropriate Christmas movie; one that makes you stand up and scream, "Holly s*!t I can't believe they did that!" This movie is just so blatantly wrong, the only other film I can compare it to is "South Park: The Movie." Just as South Park crosses every line of decency that previously existed, so does BS. A great movie because of it? Hell no. But a funny and entertaining one? Hell yes!