Film Illiterate, wherein the proprietor records movies seen, and sporadic progress through assorted lists of the "best". Originally started after regretfully renting something forgettable for the third time. I've forgotten what, but never again! A tedious endeavour since 2005. Hello. 🙂
The antidote to Christmas cheer! Alcoholic con-man Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) works as an itinerant shopping mall Santa, suffering the children for a chance to rob the place on Christmas Eve.
I get the feeling Bad Santa was originally intended as a much lighter project. Writers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have generally worked on children's material (Cats and Dogs, The Bad News Bears) and the general plot would work equally well in that context. Willie exploits ("befriends") a fat kid ("an unhappy child") who he inadvertently helps with his self-esteem issues.
But it was directed by Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World, Crumb) and produced by the Coen brothers, all of whom were reportedly responsible for uncredited rewrites. The result is something much darker: Willie is miserable and pathetic: really pathetic. One of the film's more memorable images has him sprawled drunk in his Santa chair, urine trickling down his leg to puddle on the floor. Even once his life is improved by the fat kid and the hot Santa fetishist (Lauren Graham), he's still the same old asshole.
The juxtaposition of happy seasonal kiddy-flick and cynical middle-aged misery doesn't sit easy or even, but it's got surprising depth and a few moments of pure genius. It's worth seeing, especially if It's A Wonderful Life leaves you feeling homicidal. Willie's preference for Christmas spirits is far easier to understand.