Bad Santa

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Bad Santa

R

2003

1h 33m

Holiday

Comedy

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

78%

Tomatometer

217 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

In this dark comedy, the crotchety Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner (Tony Cox) reunite once a year for a holiday con. Posing as a mall Santa and his elf, they rip off shopping outlets on Christmas Eve. This year, however, Willie is falling apart. He's depressed and alcoholic, and his erratic behavior draws the suspicion of mall security (Bernie Mac). But when befriending a small boy brings out his kinder side, Willie begins to wonder if there is still some hope for him.

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Critics Consensus

A gloriously rude and gleefully offensive black comedy, Bad Santa isn't for everyone, but grinches will find it uproariously funny.

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Nick Schager

The Daily Beast

12/05/2022

Climactic uplift is far less important than the bawdy, nasty, inappropriate hilarity peddled by Terry Zwigoff’s 2003 gem, which also benefits from the participation of the late Bernie Mac and John Ritter.

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

12/14/2014

In the annals of movie profanity, this movie would rate an Oscar, but it's actually pretty sweet at heart, although never sentimental. And if you don't believe me, you know what you can do.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

12/14/2014

An antidote to forced holiday cheer, this scabrously funny misanthropic comedy is not for the whole family.

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David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

02/15/2021

The film contains perhaps 90 seconds of genuine amusement. The rest is forced, juvenile, "off."

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

09/25/2020

8/10

His journey of humanization (or the softening of a terribly hardened heart) is sometimes genuinely poignant, even when it's surrounded by preposterously reprehensible conduct.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

09/02/2020

3.0/4.0

Lauren Graham was wonderful as the sweet, at times horny, bartender with a thing for Santa.

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Will G

@Kingofthepixies 3h

One of my favourite Christmas movies along with die hard.

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Steve J

@sjohnson717 3h

A friend said this was one of his favorite Christmas movies. It seems like a movie that's funnier when you're high--as I imagine the writers were. I felt I was getting stupider while watching it.

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Peter H

@Inger 4d

One of my favourite Christmas movies of all time!

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Elad K

@Elad73 Dec 12

This is absolutely the best Christmas movie of all times (unless you still believe in Santa)

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guglielmo d

Dec 12

Great movie! It really is! It is very raw and original. And it keeps you locked in the whole time.

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Raymond D.

@raydiaz Dec 8

A raucous and raunchy holiday movie about a man and his friend who play a mall Santa and an elf who reunite every Christmas to pull a con of ripping off shopping outlets. The Billy Bob Thornton character befriends a boy who affects his heart and brings out his soft side. Also stars Tony Cox, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham and in his last appearance, John Ritter.

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Terry Zwigoff

Director

Billy Bob Thornton

Willie

Tony Cox

Marcus

Brett Kelly

The Kid

Lauren Graham

Sue

Lauren Tom

Lois

Bad Santa: Official Clip - I'm a Dwarf!

2:10

Bad Santa: Official Clip - Santa's Staying Over

2:09

Bad Santa: Official Clip - Santa's Fatherly Advice

1:48

Bad Santa: Official Clip - He's Freakin' Me Out

2:05

Bad Santa: Official Clip - Nutcracker

1:58

Bad Santa: Official Clip - Bob Chipeska

1:42

Bad Santa: Official Clip - The Three B's

2:03

Bad Santa: Official Clip - Wooden Pickle

2:13

Bad Santa: Official Clip - You People

1:54

Bad Santa: Official Clip - I Always Had a Thing For Santa Claus

2:05

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Synopsis

In this dark comedy, the crotchety Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner (Tony Cox) reunite once a year for a holiday con. Posing as a mall Santa and his elf, they rip off shopping outlets on Christmas Eve. This year, however, Willie is falling apart. He's depressed and alcoholic, and his erratic behavior draws the suspicion of mall security (Bernie Mac). But when befriending a small boy brings out his kinder side, Willie begins to wonder if there is still some hope for him.

Director: Terry Zwigoff
Producer: John Cameron, Sarah Aubrey, Bob Weinstein
Screenwriter: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Production Co: Triptych Pictures, The KL Line, Columbia Pictures, Dimension Films
Rating: R (Some Violence|Pervasive Language|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 26, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 21, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $60.1M
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Surround

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