Critic Reviews
Bad Santa (2003) Rank 3 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (325) reviews
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MovieMaze (Toni Strasser)
ShowBIZ Data
Family associations, conservative groups, religious organizations, and Matt Drudge may be up in arms over Miramax's Bad Santa, suggesting that the film sullies the reputation of Disney for championing traditional heroes and values, but critics, by and ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at ShowBIZ Data
Media-Assault.com (Sean Caszatt)
Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) and Marcus (Tony Cox) are a tagteam of criminals who pose as Santa and his elven helper in shopping centers every year. When the mall closes for the evening on Christmas Eve, Willie cracks the store's safe and Marcus takes the ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Media-Assault.com (Sean Caszatt)
Moda Magazine (Susan Granger)
Christmas cynics rejoice! Here's a big bad comedy just for you. Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) is a surly, sleazy, sarcastic alcoholic who earns enough money cracking department store safes at Christmastime to support his boozing-and-babes ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Moda Magazine (Susan Granger)
The Film Hobbit
Bad Santa is an unredeemable comedy that finds humor in the most reprehensible, morally corrupt, and disturbed side of Christmas without blinking once. Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is an absolute, unforgivable wreck who, even in some sort of weird ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The Film Hobbit
The Movie Chicks
Dear Santa,
Maybe you didn't hear about this new movie, it isn't doing a thing for your image. Not only does it make you look bad, but elves don't fare much better. Not that we're being tattletales, we just thought you should know. Before you go all ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The Movie Chicks
Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Terry Zwigoff�s Bad Santa is a no-holds-barred misanthropic black comedy that takes every cherished clich� of Christmas movies and stands them on their head. Crass, crude, vulgar, and often side-splittingly hilarious, this is a movie that makes no ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
IOFilm
Terry Zwigoff - many may remember his excellent Crumb - has come back with a memorably irreverent black comedy, following the exploits of a beer-swilling, abusive, womanizing Santa (Billy Bob Thornton), who has a deal going with elf-playing dwarf Marcus ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at IOFilm
Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
People who write letters to newspapers complaining about nudity, cursing and anti-Christmas content in Love Actually (Lobsters in the manger?! Those heathens!) will die if they see Bad Santa. It will literally kill them. Their empty heads will explode ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
MovieFreak.com (Dennis Landmann)
You'd better watch out - Santa Claus Willie T. Stokes (Thornton) is coming to town and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Willie's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at MovieFreak.com (Dennis Landmann)
Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
Bad Santa is vulgar, crude, and offensive. It boasts no admirable characters and few redeeming moments. Most, if not all, of the characters are wracked with personality disorders. It's packed with foul language; Quentin Tarantino could take lessons on ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
I love Yuletide -- it's my favorite time of year. It's unfortunate that the Christians have coopted a perfectly lovely celebration of the winter solstice, but they're not the first to do so and they likely won't be the last, and there's no one to ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
JoBlo's Movie Emporium (JoBlo)
Does the idea of a half-shaven Billy Bob Thornton dressed up as Santa Claus, swearing like nobody's business and drinking like it was going out of style, sound funny to you? If not, I would tell you to skip this film entirely because that concept is ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at JoBlo's Movie Emporium (JoBlo)
filmcritic.com (Annette Cardwell)
Director Terry Zwigoff launched a career with his debut film, Crumb, the disturbing yet fascinating documentary about cult comic book artist Robert Crumb. It’s rumored that in order to get Crumb to agree to have a biopic, Zwigoff threatened to kill ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at filmcritic.com (Annette Cardwell)
Close-Up Film (Paul Nash)
Bad Santa is not your typical Christmas film, as such comedic gold Q&A interchanges can firmly attest to. The Santa in question is the demented creation of Willie T. Stoke (a viscerally harsh Billy Bob Thorton), possibly the worst St. Nick to ever grace ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Close-Up Film (Paul Nash)
DVD Times
Bad Santa’s accompanying featurette reveals the film’s outlook with its title, ‘Not Your Average Christmas Movie’. But then this perhaps goes without saying. Seasonal features are usually the perfect home for the lachrymose – consider the ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at DVD Times
DVD Times (unrated edition)
Written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra and adapted from an original idea by Joel and Ethan Coen, Bad Santa tells an altogether different, festive tale that separates it from every other Christmas themed movie ever made and ultimately makes it one of the ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at DVD Times (unrated edition)
Haro Online
Bad Santa has a lot of things going against it. It is a Dimension (i.e. Miramax) film with no website, and a Christmas story about a foul-mouthed, alcoholic Santa Claus. It doesn't sound that interesting. Yet, this strange juxtaposition between the ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Haro Online
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
This film is a breath of fresh air at a time when movies try far too hard to keep everyone unruffled. Clever direction and casting make this a thoroughly rude holiday classic for adults--and it's about time we had one of those!
Willie (Thornton) is a ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
Thornton's Willie T. Soke and his "elf" sidekick (Tony Cox) only work about one month a year: December. They spread holiday "cheer" during shopping hours while casing the store for their ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
FOCUS Online
Der abgewrackte Kriminelle Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) hat eine besondere Masche: Er tritt als Weihnachtsmann auf, um in Einkaufszentren den Tresor ausräumen zu können. Der chronisch mies gelaunte Suffkopp sitzt jeweils gemeinsam mit seinem ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at FOCUS Online
DVDRAMA
L’éditeur apporte un soin tout particulier à cette édition. Le transfert est lumineux à souhait et bénéficie d’un éclat de toute beauté grâce à une très belle restitution des couleurs, ces dernières accusant une superbe saturation. La ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at DVDRAMA
Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)
No doubt about it: Bad Santa is blasphemous. But, to borrow a phrase from another famous hedonist, Homer Simpson, it’s also sacrilicious. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Austin Chronicle (Kimberley Jones)
Cinema Blend
Bad Santa is an unredeemable comedy that finds humor in the most reprehensible, morally corrupt, and disturbed side of Christmas without blinking once. Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is an absolute, unforgivable wreck who, even in some sort of weird ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Cinema Blend
eFilmCritic.com (Brian Mckay)
No attempts at shoving Christmas spirit down your throat, or relaying little morality plays couched in the guise of comedy. It's just a down and dirty, raunchy yuckfest. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Brian Mckay)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Daniel M. Kimmel)
Bad Santa is a foul-mouthed fairy tale for grown-ups. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Daniel M. Kimmel)
New York Times (Elvis Mitchell)
Takes all the Christmas season's bad vibes and converts them into an achingly funny and corrupt dark comedy. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at New York Times (Elvis Mitchell)
filmcritic.com (Annette Cardwell)
Finally, misanthropes have a holiday film of their very own. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at filmcritic.com (Annette Cardwell)
Arizona Republic (Bill Muller)
The movie actually has a heart -- a coal-black heart, but a heart nonetheless -- and it's bitingly funny. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Arizona Republic (Bill Muller)
Los Angeles Times (Manohla Dargis)
This is a superb stink bomb of an entertainment, generously larded with jokes about alcoholics, short people, dim children and the kind of sexual congress that until recently was illegal in nine states. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Los Angeles Times (Manohla Dargis)
EnPrimeur.ca (Nicolas Lacroix)
... un veritable regal pour les cyniques et ceux qui en ont plein le dos du sentimentalisme crasse... ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at EnPrimeur.ca (Nicolas Lacroix)
Time (Richard Schickel)
Not for everyone. The plot is full of holes, and its language is worse than it has to be. But it has some swell supporting performances and a lot of vulgar inventiveness, and best of all, it plugs into -- and electrifies -- the mostly unacknowledged ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Time (Richard Schickel)
Supercala.com (John Venable)
It's raunchy, booze-soaked, foul-mouthed, mean-spirited, and funny as hell. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Supercala.com (John Venable)
Los Angeles Times (Manohla Dargis)
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 ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Los Angeles Times (Manohla Dargis)
eFilmCritic.com (Scott Weinberg)
If you're sort of a Grinch, or you just need a brief respite from the sugarplums and tree ornaments for 90 minutes, Bad Santa is a nasty and joyously caustic good time. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Scott Weinberg)
Jam! Movies (Jim Slotek)
Crude, profane, utterly offensive -- and one of the most darkly funny movies I've seen in years. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Jam! Movies (Jim Slotek)
Empire Magazine (--)
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) (Randy Shulman)
This extravagantly foul, outlandishly profane, howlingly funny comedy about a thieving, hard-drinking, child-loathing department store Santa is a shock to the yuletide system. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) (Randy Shulman)
Orlando Weekly (Steve Schneider)
It isn't always a model of ingenuity, but more often than not, it's terrifically funny. As in still-laughing- the-next-day funny. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Orlando Weekly (Steve Schneider)
MovieFreak.com (Gregory L. Amato)
Crude, yes. Disgusting, sometimes. But it's also a hilarious undoing of the typical sickly sweet holiday fare. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at MovieFreak.com (Gregory L. Amato)
DVD-Dweeb.Com (Oliver Korioth)
You'd better watch out - Santa Claus Willie T. Stokes is coming to town and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Willie's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at DVD-Dweeb.Com (Oliver Korioth)
Latino Review
I really did not know what to expect from this film at 1st. The trailer for “Bad Santa†made the film look as if it was a cheapie early 90’s half-assed comedy that the studios produce to make a quick buck. While in the Zero’s studios still make ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Latino Review
Greenwich Village Gazette (Eric Lurio)
Thanksgiving begins the start of the Christmas season, and all that goes with it. One of the things that’s traditional is the skewed Santa movies.
"Elf" and "The Santa Clause" for example managed to get some ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Greenwich Village Gazette (Eric Lurio)
Comingsoon.net
This is the unrated version of Bad Santa with 5 extra minutes of footage.
Willie T. Soke is the worst department store Santa in the history of Christmas. He's a drunk, he cusses in front of children, he's a sexaholic, and he pees himself while on the ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Comingsoon.net
Frank's Reel Reviews
It’s now official – 9 out of every 10 Christmas movies are about someone being changed by the magic of the season. Bad Santa is no exception, the only thing new we see with this offering is the universal idea that studios are still trying to ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Frank's Reel Reviews
The Boston Phoenix
The culture wars have moved on from the Ten Commandments to Santa Claus. Disney is reported to be upset at the depiction of Father Christmas in this film, which is being released by the studio’s loose-cannon "indie" affiliate Miramax. And perhaps for ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The Boston Phoenix
DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)
“Bad Santa†might be one of the more off-color comedies to come around in years. It’s also almost depressing to watch as these characters don’t have any single redeeming qualities. Then again, that’s the point. Billy Bob Thornton, best-known ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)
The Phantom Tollbooth
Americans are very protective of their Christmas holiday. The gift-giving, the tree, the feeling in the air, it all makes for one big month-long span of good cheer that is quickly shrugged off upon returning to the real world come January. _Bad Santa_ ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The Phantom Tollbooth
Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
It's enough to make Will Ferrell's Elf blush. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)
Bad Santa is a movie for those who prefer their humor brutal. It's like Bad Lieutenant with holiday spirit - the anti- Elf. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)
Seattle Times (Mary Brennan)
A profane, wildly politically incorrect and sometimes shockingly funny holiday comedy. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Seattle Times (Mary Brennan)
The Full Moyer
Not only is this Santa bad, he is vulgar, crass, dirty, foulmouthed, loose-moraled - come to think of it, I can't imagine a worse Santa. In spite of this, Bad Santa is a brilliant dark comedy, full of huge laughs from beginning to end, as long as you ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The Full Moyer
San Francisco Chronicle (C.W. Nevius)
A tasteless, vulgar, savage assault against everything that is good and decent in the Christmas season. I think you are going to like it. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (C.W. Nevius)
Zertinet Movies Review
It is impossible to look at this pathetic man and not laugh. Here is a mall Santa, suit torn apart, taking shots in a bar, yelling at kids, wetting his pants, committing crimes and swearing. He is not so much out of step with the Christmas spirit, but ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Zertinet Movies Review
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
It could become a Christmas perennial for Scrooges of all ages. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
First, let me get out of the way that I'm not giving Bad Santa a bad review because I found it morally repugnant or that I'm upset at yet another desecration of a beloved icon. It's not the fact that the film is vulgar that I dislike it so; it's the ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Apollo Movie Guide (Brian Webster)
Two crooks rob a different department store each year, after working there as Santa Claus and an elf. Things get tricky when Santa meets a troubled little kid who knows what Christmas is really all about. Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox star. Directed by ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Apollo Movie Guide (Brian Webster)
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. Billy Bob Thornton is sinfully funny as Willie T. Stokes, a butt-smoking, ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Rolling Stone
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
"Ghost World" director Terry Zwigoff, working with a depraved script by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, has fashioned the sickest -- and funniest -- black comedy in years. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Slant Magazine - DVD Review
ased on a story by the Coen Brothers, Bad Santa is obsessed with detailing the squalor of its titular character's life. A viciously misanthropic con man, Willie T. Soke (Billy Bob Thornton), along with his dwarf accomplice, robs the stores he works for ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Slant Magazine - DVD Review
TheMovieBoy Review (Dustin Putman)
Seemingly made as a spite against all of the safe, cheerful, child-friendly Christmas movies released each year, "Bad Santa" is an unapologetically profane comedy that aims to shock with its decided bad taste. Nonetheless, in its own lewd and ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at TheMovieBoy Review (Dustin Putman)
Jay's Movie Blog
First, a rant about AMC Fenway's pricing - $7.50 for a matinee? $3 for a small soda? (which, to be fair, seems to be about the same size as a Loews medium). That's something like $1.25 more than at Boston Common, and the presentation isn't that much ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Jay's Movie Blog
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)
It uses black comedy to turn a white Christmas into slushy fun. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)
Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
For those who don't mind a little bile in their eggnog, it's the perfect antidote to all that prefab Christmas cheer. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) (Nick Rogers)
At its dysfunctional, hysterical conclusion, Bad Santa takes the notion of happy, puts it on puree and then pours it out — sort of how life usually is. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) (Nick Rogers)
Kvikmyndir.com (--)
Gambit Weekly (New Orleans, LA) (David Lee Simmons)
This anti-holiday film is so crude one wonders if the film's producers, Ethan and Joel Coen, had actually recruited ... Peter and Bobby Farrelly ... to direct this film ... . ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Gambit Weekly (New Orleans, LA) (David Lee Simmons)
Minneapolis Star Tribune (Jeff Strickler)
A must-see movie for the Scrooges of the world. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Minneapolis Star Tribune (Jeff Strickler)
Newsday (Jan Stuart)
A foul-mouthed joy for much of the way. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Newsday (Jan Stuart)
Zap2it.com (Michael Szymanski)
This is a holiday film to go out and see with the guys. It's funny, irreverant and filled with liquid spirit. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Zap2it.com (Michael Szymanski)
Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)
The results may leave you aghast or breathless with laughter, but you won't be neutral. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)
Talking Pictures (U.S.) (Tony Toscano)
Bad Santa” is easily the funniest film this year... ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Talking Pictures (U.S.) (Tony Toscano)
Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)
It happens to be one of the year's funniest movies, a little one-note at times, but, boy, Zwigoff knows how to make some crazy music from that single note. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)
Zertinet Movies (David Johnson)
CineMe (Daniel Meyer)
rec.arts.movies.reviews (Homer Yen)
Internet Reviews (Steve Rhodes)
A nicely caustic complement to the typically saccharine holiday fare. Think of it as the sour part of a delicious sweet-and-sour sauce for the holidays. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Internet Reviews (Steve Rhodes)
TheMovieBoy.com (Dustin Putman)
The kind of rare perverse treat that John Waters would undoubtedly go crazy for...Billy Bob Thornton is genuinely perfect. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at TheMovieBoy.com (Dustin Putman)
Contra Costa Times (Mary F. Pols)
Those who love this movie are likely to cherish it with the kind of devotion that people feel for the Coen brothers' The Big Lebowski . ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Contra Costa Times (Mary F. Pols)
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
This coal-black comedy provokes frequent laughs, but many of its jokes feel downright cruel. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
Palo Alto Weekly (Tyler Hanley)
Bad Santa is the best adult comedy since There's Something About Mary . ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Palo Alto Weekly (Tyler Hanley)
Hollywood.com (Leigh Johnson)
Bad Santa is fine holiday fare--if by holiday you mean a day for a mean-spirited Santa to take stuff from other people, cuss up a storm and drink 'til he pukes. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Hollywood.com (Leigh Johnson)
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
As in `Crumb' and `Ghost World,' Zwigoff specializes in the fatalistic worldview of the outcast yet intelligent loser. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
Detroit Free Press (Terry Lawson)
Forget spiked fruitcake: This is bad taste with a real kick. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Detroit Free Press (Terry Lawson)
eCinemaCenter.com (Gabe Leibowitz)
A word of advice: see Bad Santa , but see it once without checking your movie listings twice. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at eCinemaCenter.com (Gabe Leibowitz)
Oscar Guy (Wesley Lovell)
Each scene is expertly laid out and when the film wraps at its unlikely conclusion, the audience will be glad it sat down to such a vile but hilarious picture. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Oscar Guy (Wesley Lovell)
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Thornton and Cox are wickedly funny, and Bernie Mac has some good moments as the cynical mall detective on their trail. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
Bad Santa not only embraces bad taste, it envelops it. And I couldn’t stop laughing. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
Thornton plays this loser with reckless glee, snarling and snapping at anyone who expects him to be a jolly Santa. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
Baaaad Santa. Good movie! ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)
...deserves a place among treasured Christmas pictures - as it certainly provides a welcome respite from the relentless holiday cheer that generally accompanies such films. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)
Movie Eye (Frank Ochieng)
[a] dark and dour laugher that gleefully sticks its tongue out. Bad Santa is proof that getting coal in your Christmas stocking isn’t such a terrible gesture after all ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Movie Eye (Frank Ochieng)
Baltimore Sun (--)
Flipside Movie Emporium (Sean O'Connell)
From the bottom of the "Naughty" list comes Terry Zwigoff's Bad Santa, a dark comedy so black it resembles a Christmas lump of coal. Zwigoff's screenwriters use nasty adult humor (leave the kids at home, please) to provide shock therapy to your funny ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Flipside Movie Emporium (Sean O'Connell)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Terry Zwigoff's ("Ghost World"/"Crumb") Bad Santa poses as an antidote to all the usual syrupy Christmas holiday fare. It seems destined to be a cult favorite as a classical anti-Christmas regular on home video. It's suited for those desiring a ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Bad Santa's Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is the kind of guy who makes Scrooge look like a generous, mild mannered eccentric. With a character as thoroughly unlikable as this, you know immediately that Bad Santa is not going to be just another modern-day ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
FilmStew.com
Santa's got himself a mixed bag in Terry Zwigoff (Crumb)'s latest film, a dark comedy that's chock-a-block with attempts at offending you and soliciting your sympathy, but which fails to do either consistently enough to be effective. Bad Santa, a ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at FilmStew.com
PopMatters (Matthew Callan)
Even in this cash-strapped and cynical era, folks still feel obliged to believe in the myth of Holiday Spirit. In movies, this typically takes the form of the curmudgeon who finds the true meaning of Christmas, and those few comedies that dare to poke ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at PopMatters (Matthew Callan)
BBC Films
Funny, sweary and exceptionally acted by Billy Bob Thornton, Bad Santa is the rudest Christmas movie you will ever see. It's a one-joke flick, really, but a rib-cracking one at that. Criminal cad Willie Soke (Thornton) hires himself out as Santa in ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at BBC Films
SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
"Bad Santa" is one hilariously crass Christmas comedy -- and most certainly not for kids.
From the comical poor taste of running the title credit over a shot of a bitter, broken-down, booze-hound mall Santa (Billy Bob Thornton) ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
Jam! Movies
Warning to parents: Bad Santa is the least appropriate followup to Elf for your kids this side of a porn flick. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Jam! Movies
DVD Net (Nick Watts)
Those ghastly holiday-themed films that seem to fill videostores and TV broadcasts leading up to Christmas now have some serious competition. Jonathon Taylor Thomas, after his groundbreaking work in I’ll Be Home for Christmas, may just have some ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at DVD Net (Nick Watts)
MovieEye.com (Frank Ochieng)
So Kris Kringle is an ill-mannered rogue with the off-color antics of a drunken sailor on leave, huh? Say it ain't so, Santa, say it ain't so. Well, in Terry Zwigoff's terminally subversive and flat out ribald holiday heist flick Bad Santa, the rotund ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at MovieEye.com (Frank Ochieng)
The Movie Insider (Dustin Putman)
Seemingly made as a spite against all of the safe, cheerful, child-friendly Christmas movies released each year, Bad Santa is an unapologetically profane comedy that aims to shock with its decided bad taste. Nonetheless, in its own lewd and lascivious ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The Movie Insider (Dustin Putman)
Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)
To say that Bad Santa is one of the darker Christmas comedies is like saying that George Bush has a few PR issues that affect the way he’s viewed by much of the rest of the world. Both are understatements.
Never has there been a more foul-mouthed ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)
JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
Does the idea of a half-shaven Billy Bob Thornton dressed up as Santa Claus, swearing like nobody's business and drinking like it was going out of style, sound funny to you? If not, I would tell you to skip this film entirely because that concept is ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
NYC Film Critic (Ethan Alter)
Bad Santa is a one-joke movie, but fortunately it's a good joke. What if that jolly Santa impersonator you hurry by in your local department store is actually a rude, crude criminal who loathes Christmas and everything it stands for? Thoughts like this ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at NYC Film Critic (Ethan Alter)
DVDActive (Peter Martin)
It turns out that there are some things which, unlike puppies, aren’t for life; they’re just for Christmas. For example, canny marketing men have long-since discovered that no-one really wants to watch festively themed movies in the balmy months of ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at DVDActive (Peter Martin)
Mutant Reviewers From Hell
If ever there was a film that would uplift your spirit, gladden your heart, and restore your faith in the meaning of Christmas, it’s got to be… well, um, It’s A Wonderful Life. Bad Santa, on the other hand, revolves around Willie (Billy Bob ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Mutant Reviewers From Hell
Steve Rhodes
BAD SANTA, by GHOST WORLD's Terry Zwigoff, is an R-rated black comedy that's definitely not for everyone, which is an understatement. This hilarious comedy is a pull-no-punches tale of a disgraceful department store Santa Claus named Willie T. Soke. As ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Steve Rhodes
CineMe (Daniel Meyer)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
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. Billy Bob Thornton is sinfully funny as Willie T. Stokes, a butt-smoking, ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
Willie T. Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) has done prison time, been married twice, had his eye socket punched in and has a bone chip in his ankle that will never go away, but as he downs yet another Old Grandad in a seedy bar wearing a Santa suit, he informs ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
Moovees.com (Bill Payne)
Bad Santa is the anti-Elf. In contrast to the saccharine, family-friendly Will Ferrell comedy smash, Bad Santa is profane, rude, and often hilarious. It's a rare thing to have a Christmas movie with a hard-R rating, and this one is definitely not for ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Moovees.com (Bill Payne)
MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)
In a world that has embraced the putrid “Elf,†one of the single worst Christmas films ever to see the light of day, it would figure that I would in turn fall madly in love with what may be the most vile and grossly disgusting Christmas comedy of all ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)
Flipside Movie Emporium (Sean O'Connell)
From the bottom of the "Naughty" list comes Terry Zwigoff's Bad Santa, a dark comedy so black it resembles a Christmas lump of coal. Zwigoff's screenwriters use nasty adult humor (leave the kids at home, please) to provide shock therapy to your funny ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Flipside Movie Emporium (Sean O'Connell)
The Kansas City Star (Robert W. Butler)
St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt)
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, Santa was puking and soiling himself. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt)
Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
There’s something about Billy Bob Thornton that’s just irresistible, a certain balance of charm and sleaziness, not to mention his deadpan sense of humor... He’s the Man, basically. Be it in heartbreaking drama or broad comedy, he’s always ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
Comingsoon.net
To many people, Christmas is a time of the year to spend with family and friends, thinking of their good fortune and sharing it with others. Bad Santa is not the movie for those people.
Billy Bob Thornton is a mall Santa of the worst kind. He drinks, ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Comingsoon.net
Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)
It's not in a critic's job description to tell a filmmaker how to make a better film; there are plenty of suits in Hollywood happy to do that at the drop of an option. But "Bad Santa," TerryZwigoff's new film, is one of those maddening experiences that ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)
Bangin' Banana (Joe Marchese)
Bad Santa starts out with a drunken, no good, thief named Willie (Billy Bob Thornton). Willie partnered up with Marcus (Tony Cox) developed an elaborate holiday scam where they work as in small town malls as a Santa Clause / Santa's helper. Willie and ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Bangin' Banana (Joe Marchese)
filethirteen.com
Here's the test: Every time Billy Bob Thornton, as the titular bad Santa here, has a child placed upon his knee, he looks at the imp and snarls, "What the fuck do you want?" If that's funny to you, you'll love "Bad Santa." To me, that is hilarious. I ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at filethirteen.com
Latino Review
Kids better watch out because mean-spirited, fall-down drunk Willie Stokes will certainly make you cry. For the kids in the film, Willie Stokes is perhaps the worst Santa Claus the world has ever seen. Stokes is played by Billy Bob Thornton, who brings ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Latino Review
The Spinning Image (Joshua Dudley)
The first thing that you need to know about Bad Santa is that it has the most bad language in a theatrical movie release since South Park. The title character throws around the “F†word so much you’d think he was getting paid for using it. I ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The Spinning Image (Joshua Dudley)
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I'm telling you why: A chain-smoking, skirt-chasing, foul-mouthed Santa is coming to town -- or at least to a theater near you. Billy Bob Thornton stars in "Bad Santa" (Dimension), director ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Filmsnobs (James Owen)
Is Santa Claus a sacred image in our society? People - and when I say people I really mean Disney executives so I don't know if the phrase is proper - are pretty upset with the film Bad Santa and its depiction of a man playing the jolly old elf who as a ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The Filmsnobs (James Owen)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Billy Bob Thornton is about the last guy you'd expect to see playing any kind of Santa. Something about him suggests he's been around the block too many times to buy into the underlying goodness of humanity. In fact, he's at his best when assuming the ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at St. Louis Post-Dispatch
filmdeculte.com (Nicolas Plaire)
Non content d’être un père noël de pacotille, Willie est en plus un arnaqueur à la petite semaine. Sa méthode: cambrioler le soir de noël avec son collègue nain-noir-elf le grand magasin qui l’emploie. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at filmdeculte.com (Nicolas Plaire)
Joe Critic.com (Rick Elliot)
If you like your Christmas icons boozed up, oversexed, and prone to drop an f-bomb every other word, Bad Santa just may be the film for you. A Wonderful Life this ain’t!
Billy Bob Thornton and his diminutive sidekick, Tony Cox, are criminals ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Joe Critic.com (Rick Elliot)
BBC Films
Billy Bob Thornton is the eponymous Bad Santa - a misanthrope whose only sense of Christmas spirit comes packaged in a bottle. Director Terry Zwigoff followed up his offbeat teen flick ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at BBC Films
allesfilm.com (Markus Steiger)
Bad Santa ist der übliche Weihnachtsfilm, der von einem üblichen Regisseur gedreht wird. Das denkt man sich, wenn man das Plakat zum Film sieht und auch sonst nicht so filminteressiert ist. Beim Namen Terry Zwigoff sollte sich für den geübteren ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at allesfilm.com (Markus Steiger)
Guess the Gross
There’s a story about a bad author that goes something like this: After receiving rejection after rejection and feeling like his work is not even being read, he decides to paste pages 13 and 14 of his next submission together. When the inevitable ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Guess the Gross
Mediasearch, Australia
Watching Ghost World director Terry Zwigoff’s latest comedy Bad Santa makes you realise just how politically correct most films are. Never has a by-line been more accurate: this Santa really “doesn’t care if you’re naughty or niceâ€. So ensure ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Mediasearch, Australia
Reel.com
Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is one nasty Santa. He's a foul-mouthed alcoholic who thinks nothing of waking up to the clock radio and starting the day by drinking the dregs of a Corona from the night before (with a cigarette butt at the bottom). Along ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Reel.com
Time Out
Willie T Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) is a shopping-mall Santa with a difference: a cynical, safe-cracking alcoholic with a penchant for sex with hefty women and a wholly unconcealed dislike of kids. Indeed, he only does the job as a cover for the ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Time Out
hip online
This holiday season the traditional Christmas tale will never be the same with the cleverly twisted, merrily irreverent story of a Santa so bad he's wickedly funny. Terry Zwigoff's BAD SANTA stars Billy Bob Thornton as one of the most crooked, corrupted ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at hip online
Panorama (Jean-François Vandeuren)
Bad Santa forme au final une comédie dépravée et grinçante dont on ne peut que savourer chaque excès avec un plaisir coupable ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Panorama (Jean-François Vandeuren)
Variety (Dennis Harvey)
First-rate talent and a uniquely dyspeptic mood separate this effort from more routine, populist stabs at tasteless yukkage. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Variety (Dennis Harvey)
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
A raunchy romp for adults who enjoy a hint of perversion, especially if they're ready for the cotton-candy sweetness of Christmas to be spiked with 100-proof bourbon. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
The New York Times - Family Movie Guide (Peter M. Nichols)
An unusual Christmas scam brings together the drunken safecracker Willie T. Stokes (Mr. Thornton) and a dwarf named Marcus (Mr. Cox). Each year they visit a different mall as, ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The New York Times - Family Movie Guide (Peter M. Nichols)
Film Monthly (Mike Julianelle)
Some people hate Christmas. Some people hate themselves. Some people hate life. Some people hate other people. And some people love drinking.
Willie, as played by Billy Bob Thornton, is "some people" in Bad Santa.
And it's probably not for ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Film Monthly (Mike Julianelle)
cinEncanto (Pablo del Moral)
La proximidad de la temporada navideña generalmente trae a los cines un desfile de cintas bobas y predecibles, que sólo buscan explotar la comercialización de la Navidad y aprovechar que los padres de familia, desesperados por encontrar ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at cinEncanto (Pablo del Moral)
DVD MovieGuide
Usually studios wait until the holiday season to release Christmas movies on DVD. Witness the debuts of The Grinch and Santa Clause 2, both of which failed to appear on DVD until almost a year after their theatrical appearances. Elf will soon follow this ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at DVD MovieGuide
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
OK, this "Bad Santa" is really bad! Maybe not in the traditional sense of the word, but still. . . .
The title character of this dark, politically incorrect and extremely R-rated comedy is a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, unrepentant louse of a ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews (Harry Knowles)
Moviehole
Willie T. Stokes [Billy Bob Thornton] is about the furthest person you’d think would inhabit a Department Store Santa Suit. Dejected, disrespectful and abhorrent, he’d rather be anywhere but on a comfy chair having children tell him their Christmas ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Moviehole
Homer Yen
Here's a film that features Santa Claus, but it is decidedly not the family-oriented movie that some might assume based on the title. In fact, so repugnant is the main character of this movie that old Saint Nick would've filed an injunction to prevent ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Homer Yen
Cinema 2000
Ora estamos mais uma vez no Natal e as pessoas andam a fazer compras nos centros comerciais. Entre elas estão dois condenados que vão de centro em centro roubando tudo o que podem. O dueto disfarça-se como Pai Natal e o seu elfo, dividindo o seu tempo ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Cinema 2000
Philadelphia City Paper (Sam Adams)
Bad Santa. Inevitably, after directors meet their first success, they’re advised to strike while the iron is hot, and maybe give something more commercial a try, just so they don’t get boxed in. The result is that a labor of love that’s been worked ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Philadelphia City Paper (Sam Adams)
Xiibaro Productions (David Perry)
Not since Bill Murray played crabby TV executive Francis Cross in Scrooged has Christmas cheer seemed so overrated as it does in Bad Santa. It is a haphazard little comedy that probably shouldn’t play at any multiplex exhibiting The Cat in the Hat -- ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Xiibaro Productions (David Perry)
CinemaSpeak.com (Dan Tester)
Bad Santa is a Christmas movie that follows in the grand Hollywood tradition of…absolutely, positively nothing. I can't recall a major studio release that was anything like Bad Santa, Christmas themed or not. It is like a bizarre underground ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at CinemaSpeak.com (Dan Tester)
St. Petersburg Times (Steve Persall)
The title Bad Santa doesn't come close to describing what Billy Bob Thornton does to the image of jolly old St. Nick. But Bad, Drunken, Profane, Kinky, Caustic, Criminal Santa Who Hates Children wouldn't fit on a theater marquee. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at St. Petersburg Times (Steve Persall)
Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
In BAD SANTA, a film produced by the Coen Brothers and based on their original story, we have a holiday story for our times. One that dares to show us without pulling any punches the nightmare that all this enforced good cheer has become, that exposes ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
DVD Verdict (Bill Gibron)
Man, Christmas can suck. Now, forget the whole commercialism vs. purity BS and face some frightening facts. More times than not, this holiday has had its way with you psychologically, and you've sat back and taken it like a French field marshal. Maybe ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at DVD Verdict (Bill Gibron)
Film Ireland
A year after its American release, this festive offering from Terry Zwigoff finally comes to these shores. A good film doesn't go stale as quickly as the Christmas biscuits, but those of you expecting something in the league of Ghost World or Crumb will ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Film Ireland
Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
Comedy: A disgruntled, alcoholic man works as a department store Santa so that he and his diminutive associate can rob their places of work, but has his life changed when he encounters a sweet but oblivious and needy boy. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
Flak Magazine (David Essex)
There are many things wrong with Bad Santa: It has more plot holes than plot fabric, several storylines and much of the continuity seem to have been abandoned in the editing room, and it's gratuitously gross and offensive in ways too numerous to list. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Flak Magazine (David Essex)
Film e Dvd
Due complici vanno in giro per le strade vestiti uno da Santa Clause e l’altro da elfo. Il loro lavoro, però, non è mettere il buon umore bensì rubare nei negozi. Le cose si complicano quando un bambino di otto anni insegna loro il vero significato ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Film e Dvd
The (Georgetown) Hoya
Bad Santa, Billy Bob Thornton’s latest movie, is a hilarious dirty comedy that rides on outrageous one-liners and the riotous impertinence of South Park.
In the role he was born to play, Thornton is Willie T. Stokes, a washed-up, wisecracking ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The (Georgetown) Hoya
Indiewire
"Bad Santa" blew in like a gust of fabulously acrid wind, mocking the sterile fare that preceded it this year. "Legally Blonde 2" and "The Matrix: Revolutions," for example, are clean and, yes, square in very different ways. Terry Zwigoff's movie (which ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Indiewire
Expanded Cinemah
USA. Vacanze di Natale. In un centro commerciale ad ascoltare i desideri dei bambini c’è una particolare coppia composta da un Babbo Natale trasandato, Willie, ed un nano di colore vestito da gnomo, Marcus. In realtà sono due rapinatori ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Expanded Cinemah
Boston Globe (Ty Burr)
Without question, not for the children. It is, however, just the cup of rancid black-comedy eggnog for anyone fed up with holiday cheer in all its manifestations. ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Boston Globe (Ty Burr)
Dark Horizons (Garth Franklin)
This year's "Death to Smoochy", 'Santa' is an acidic black comedy which never ever delves into sentimentality and stays succinctly in the realm of nastiness throughout its runtime. Unlike 'Smoochy' though, its not too eccentric (or for that matter ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Dark Horizons (Garth Franklin)
Karina Montgomery
Most holiday themed movies are about redemption, acceptance of your fellow man, finding love and/or family, rejecting crass commercialism, or some combination of the two. Somehow, in the midst of Bad Santa, all of these things happen, but believe me, ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Karina Montgomery
Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
My first reaction to Bad Santa was pretty negative. After seeing it in the theater, I gave it only one and one-half stars, saying that the upbeat ending ruined what could have been a deliciously dark comedy by shining a happy light on the miserable ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
The MovieHamlet (Stefan Hedmark)
It begins with a Santa throwing up in the alley behind a bar. He then goes on swearing, being mean to children and sodomizing fat women. The bad Santa is actually a boozy safecracker who’s robbing department stores; one day he grudgingly befriends a ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at The MovieHamlet (Stefan Hedmark)
A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
I found "Bad Santa" funnier in theory. The film certainly does offer a great idea - a department store Santa hugely upset with where his life has ended up who makes a criminal living robbing the department stores he and his partner (Tony Cox) have found ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
High Plains Reader (Greg Carlson)
"Bad Santa" could have been a really excellent movie. With its relentless profanity, ruthless social agenda, and cynical bite, Terry Zwigoff's film gleefully wallows in its own misanthropy. Along the way, however, the old cracks of "script by ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at High Plains Reader (Greg Carlson)
Motion Picture Purgatory (Rick Trembles)
There ain't no Sanity ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Motion Picture Purgatory (Rick Trembles)
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
In an epoch of bad manners and worse taste, the generally appalling "Bad Santa" warrants categorization in a class of its own.
It's a button-pusher designed to titillate audiences who are offended by nothing and to transfix and leave agape most others ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
In Review (Adam Suraf)
In “Bad Santa†Billy Bob Thornton embodies everything you could possibly think to be against the spirit of the commercialization of the holiday season. For everyone who detests this time of year; all of the cheery mall shoppers, store hoppers, ...read the complete Bad Santa movie review at In Review (Adam Suraf)
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