Bad Santa (film)
Bad Santa is a 2003 American Black Comedy film directed by Terry Zwigoff and produced by The Coen Brothers.
Willie Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) is a drunk Jerkass safe cracker who along with his midget accomplice Marcus has a yearly routine of getting jobs as a Mall Santa and Elf respectively during the holidays and robbing the mall's safe on Christmas Eve after closing time. During one such stint, Wille meets a kid (who is mostly referred to in the movie as "The Kid") who inadvertently saves him from being beaten up. After a run in with the mall's unscrupulous security chief (Bernie Mac) posing as a police officer, Willie, his girlfriend Sue and Marcus move in with The Kid, who lives alone with his senile grandmother (his mother is dead and his dad is in jail for embezzlement). Willie starts to warm up to the Kid and starts acting as a surrogate father...of sorts.
- The Alcoholic: Willie
- Abusive Parents: Willie had an abusive father. He did teach him how to crack a safe, though.
- Anything That Moves: Willie, pretty much.
- Bad Santa: Duh.
- Cavalier Consumption: Bernie Mac eating an orange.
- Child-Hater: Willie is one at first.
- Cloudcuckoolander: The kid.
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The Kid: "Now I don't want an elephant at all. I want a gorilla named Davy for beating up the skateboard kids who pull on my underwear. And he can take his orders from the talking walnut, so it won't be my bad thing." |
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- Cluster F-Bomb: According to IMDB, the word "fuck" is used 159 times (170 in the unrated version). In a Christmas movie.
- Groin Attack: When teaching the kid how to fight, the kid ends up kicking Marcus right in the crotch. This causes Marcus to retaliate against the kid in the same fashion. When Willie raises protest about punching a child in the crotch, Marcus yells "fuck you Willie!", and punches Willie in the balls. The scene ends with all three lying on the ground groaning in pain (and trying to kick each other in the balls).
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Starting as a pure Jerkass, Willie eventually becomes this.
- The Mall: Willie's preferred target.
- Mall Santa
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Willie in one of the mall dressing rooms - in more ways than one.
- Pet the Dog: Willie's relationship with the Kid. Curiously enough, Zwigof removed most of them in the Director's Cut, making it shorter than the theatrical release. The ending is still one massive Pet the Dog sequence for Willie.
- Refuge in Audacity: Just...this movie.
- Sir Swearsalot: Willie - not a surprise considering who his actor is.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: When Willie and Marcus first arrive at the mall in Phoenix the song "Let it Snow" is being played, even though it is warm and the sun is out. Given the Black Comedy nature of this film, this is likely intentional.
- Unfortunate Names: The kid, Thurman Merman.
- Villain Protagonist