Bad Santa

The problem is that the rewarding situation of a Santa cussing in front of a kid works only at the beginning, but you can’t carry a whole film on that and the plot soon starts to have the bitter taste of stereotype. The idea of dressing up as an elf and Santa to set the stage for a heist isn't bad, but the moralistic conclusion spoils a lot, and Thornton crawling holding a pink elephant is the height of screenwriting cringe. The film starts out controversial, only to end up completely conventional and unbelievable. A mix of wannabe controversy and moralistic message, maybe that's what the Americans want, the box office (60 million) was not bad at all for such a film. Otherwise, Thorton is traditionally superb. Fuck. (06/01/2005)

It's horribly purposeless, but it worked perfectly for me at least thanks to Billy Bob Thornton's performance. Whether it's the scene with the drunken Santa arriving on the escalator and later the brutal massacre of the Christmas reindeer, or the more lyrical positions at the end... I just had a great time and really bought into the main character. I can’t be as positive about Larry Zwigoff's directing. It seemed to me that many of the gags fizzled out, attempts at strong character miniatures (entirely in the style of the Coen brothers, who produced it) end with three dots and not with an exclamation mark, and the film is squeezed only into the character of Santa and a boy who looks like an idiot. But they'll carry that load of presents. The attempts at verbal humor are sometimes too vulgar, and there are not many original gags. Yet the atmosphere and the idea are simply there, and I had fun with the anal-alcoholic "poetics" of the film about fixing one lost destiny. Perhaps it’s too bad that Ethan and Joel did not do more with the film than fund it. (04/09/2006)

A film after which Christmas carols will never be the same again, with Billy Bob Thorton in a role in which he's boxed himself in for years to come. "Coen-like goofy" and therefore damn funny, you naughty trolls! (19/06/2004)

Provocative, by American standards, both in the film industry and in society, this entertaining piece is almost subversive. It revolves around the transformation of an alcohol-soaked criminal, who, alongside his buddy disguised as Santa Claus, takes advantage of the pre-Christmas shopping atmosphere for low-level enrichment. The cynical humor that undermines the traditional Christmas sentiment of American family films, along with excellent performances led by Billy Bob Thornton, makes this comedy a highly above-average affair. Overall impression: 85%. It's just a shame that the director did not find understanding from the producer regarding the mockery of religious rituals and the Christian focus of Christmas celebrations. The original script supposedly featured much sharper humor from the main character. (16/06/2006)

The script is remarkably dull, the story doesn't go anywhere, the individual scenes aren't very funny and everything spiced up with vulgarity. Not exactly the best, really. (24/03/2005)

I don't think the eternally alcohol-laden "Santa", played by the irresistible Billy Bob Thornton, could have met a more worthy opponent than the perfect 21st century baroque angel, who absolutely does not bat an eyelash, come what may. In short, it is a very good comedy that does without pathos and in which even the constant vulgarities do not get old. It was produced by the Coen brothers - no wonder. (25/12/2015)

The brilliant Billy Bob Thornton pulls this controversial whirlwind of black and raunchy humour solely on his shoulders in such a brilliant manner that he manages to mask an inconsistent script that, as it progresses, flounders somewhere in a void between an uncompromising presentation of the 15+ rated word "fuck" and a tawdry family tale about a foul-mouthed Santa learning the true meaning of Christmas under the influence of not only whiskey, but more importantly, a kind little boy. We don't get bored and we are happy to accompany the central couple to the expected conclusion, but the opening "bad motherfucker" part unfortunately far outweighs the rest of the story... 75% (31/05/2012)

There are good jokes, it has quite a good direction, it's action-packed, and it has the great Billy Bob in the lead role. At first, you might despise him, but if you give it a chance, you'll realize how good his character is. Still, I'm not super excited about this movie. I had fun, but I wasn't blown away by this comedy. (27/12/2016)