Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- Billy Bob ThorntonWillie
- Tony CoxMarcus
- Brett KellyThe Kid
- Lauren GrahamSue
- Lauren TomLois
- Bernie MacGin
- John RitterBob Chipeska
- Ajay NaiduHindustani Troublemaker
- Lorna ScottMilwaukee Mother
- Harrison BiekerMilwaukee Boy
Recommendations
- 90
The A.V. Club
Much like "School Of Rock," Bad Santa salvages a tired, paint-by-numbers formula by resisting it every step of the way, stubbornly refusing to stop its juvenile fun until the last possible moment. - 88
Chicago Tribune
The foulest holiday movie I've ever seen -- and the funniest. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Happens to be extremely funny -- at times sidesplittingly so -- thanks to Zwigoff's way with raw irreverence and Thornton's perfectly pitched, ready-for-anything performance. - 80
Los Angeles Times
It unapologetically exults in its characters' glorious imperfection. It's good to know that oddballs, outcasts and people who don't look like Barbie and Ken still have a place in American movies and that not everyone in Hollywood pays lip service to the nice and polite. - 80
The New York Times
Takes all the Christmas season's bad vibes and converts them into an achingly funny and corrupt dark comedy. - 75
Rolling Stone
If you've had it with all that feel-good holiday sludge, hook up with the combustibly nasty Bad Santa. It could become a Christmas perennial for Scrooges of all ages. - 75
ReelViews
It has two modes: dark and darker, and dares to do some things with the Christmas motif that haven't been done since Norman Rene's "Reckless." - 70
Variety
First-rate talent and a uniquely dyspeptic mood separate this effort from more routine, populist stabs at tasteless yukkage.
