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Bad Santa Director: Terry Zwigoff Rated: MA15+ Now screening 
The Christmas season is upon us again, and that means Christmas movies. These usually advertise themselves as "fun for the whole family", and that means "bring a sick bag". So what to make of an MA rated film called Bad Santa, with the Coen brothers as executive producers and Terry Zwigoff ('Ghost World') as director?The main character is Willie Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton), a drinking, smoking, foul-mouthed store-Santa. He and his friend Marcus (Tony Cox), who plays an elf, do their performance at stores around the country every year. Willie hates his job and the children he has to deal with, but he has a reason for putting himself through it; he and Marcus case the stores and come back to crack the safe, if he can stay sober long enough. If you have any reverence for Santa and traditional Christmas movies (or simply don't want to hear the word fuck three times a minute), this is probably not for you. If, like me, you like your humour sharp and slightly twisted, you'll love this sick comedy. It has to be said that once the film finds its joke it sticks with it, including the fact that Marcus is a midget, but it's still far funnier than most comedies made these days (the boxing scene is a corker). The action is nicely complemented by the music, a mix of classical pieces and traditional Christmas tunes that are fittingly inappropriate. The casting is what makes this film. Thornton is the epitome of ugly as Willie, from his eating habits to his ultra-jaded expression, and gets a good balance from Marcus, who is increasingly frustrated by Willie's habits. Lauren Graham's role as a waitress with a thing for Santas could have been meatier, but she plays it with great enthusiasm; the role of Marcus's wife is also small (as it should be), but Lauren Tom delivers it to a skanky 'T'. Even Brett Kelly, playing a dopey kid who attaches himself to Willie, is great, displaying none of the smarminess which makes me want to push most child actors out of a window. Excellent support is provided by the late great John Ritter as a twitchy store manager and Bernie Mac as a store detective - almost as disgusting as Willie. 'Bad Santa' is still a Christmas movie, and there is a touch of sentimentality, but even this maintains a fairly hard edge. If you want to put something different on your Christmas list this year, let me recommend 'Bad Santa'. But don't say you hadn't been warned.  |
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