Bad Santa (2003)

Holy Naughty Nice!!!

Genre: Crime Comedy

Starring: Billy Bob Thorton (Slingblade; Monster's Ball), Tony Cox (The Hebrew Hammer; Me, Myself And Irene)

Directed By: Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World; Art School Confidential)

Overview: A safecracking Santa plans another heist, but gets caught up with one of the kids on his list.

Acting: Billy Bob Thorton is one of my favorite southern actors. His acting in a comedy doesn't diminish his capabilities, nice. He does a wonderful pathetic portrayal of a down on his luck drunk. John Ritter complements him just as well in this movie as he did in Slingblade. In fact all the actors did a tremendous job.
Rating: 8

Cinematography: The director obviously chose the rather simple side of things (only one 10 second shot of a scene made me go "How original"), and there was nothing special or innovative whatsoever in the way it was filmed. It was professional though.
Rating: 6

Script: Well written and entertaining. Lots of laughs, the kind of comedy where suspension of disbelief isn't required (like so many of those stressful scenes that make a situation impossibly dramatic). It was well written, the kid's lines, and the midget's were gold, though Billy-Bob and Ritter were given the treasures.
Rating: 7

Plot: Plot twists? Who needs em. It's a run of the mill film made by a director who doesn't pretend to be an overacheiver. The ending is decent and the predictability factor is bang on without being too obvious.
Rating: 6

Mood: Good Comedy. Again, no one pretends to try anything "new" or "artful" besides cracking out some great humour. Regular music, regular mall scenes, regular kind of movie, but very decent.
Rating: 7

Nothing's so bad when you got a nice summer day, a job, a bottle and a midget

Overall Rating: 68% (You're Getting Coal This Year)

Aftertaste: One of the plainer of the Billy Bob Thorton that I've ever seen, and he does an amazing job. This movie basically gave me some nostalgia and made me think I should see Friday Night Lights as soon as possible, or crack out the Slingblade, one of my top five movies of all time. As for Bad Santa, not a regrettable movie, but not one that will stay in my head for too long.