BAD SANTA (2003) (***1/2)
To call this movie a black comedy is being kind. It’s a coal black satire of the holiday season. I hardly ever notice cursing in movies now, but this one even pricked up my ears. Maybe it's the context of something innocent like Santa, but this film even shocked me. These are not complaints; they are the biggest compliments I can give this film.
Willie (Billy Bob Thornton, SLING BLADE) is a foul-mouthed alcoholic safe-cracker, who works with a black dwarf named Marcus (Tony Cox, FRIDAY). Every year they pose as Santa Claus and his elf at malls. On Christmas Eve, they rob the mall and live off their ill-gotten gains for the next year. This time around Willie ends up meeting a kid named Thurman (Brett Kelly, OUT COLD), who is an absolute hopeless loser. He starts to cling to Willie hoping that Santa will give him a present for Christmas. At first Willie doesn’t want to have anything to do with the kid, but ends up staying at his house.