‘Bad Santa’ really quite good

VAN NOVACK

Do you love those heartwarming holiday films where the Christmas

spirit moves families to reconcile, couples to fall in love, or

individuals to undergo a “Scrooge-like” personality change? If so,

“Bad Santa” is decidedly not the movie for you.

An adult comedy in every sense (appropriately rated “R”), “Bad

Santa” stars Billy Bob Thornton as the most profane, drunken,

dishonest and philandering Saint Nick ever. Thornton plays Willy T.

Soke, an alcoholic safecracker who makes one big score a year by

knocking over a department store after gaining entry as the seasonal

Santa Claus. Willy’s marketability is enhanced by the addition of his

very own Christmas “elf” Marcus (Tony Cox), his partner in crime.

Willy’s continued slide into the final stages of alcoholism and

his outrageously antisocial behavior is making it more difficult each

year to pull off the seasonal scam. Marcus is getting increasingly

frustrated with this arrangement and continually bails Willy out of

one embarrassing episode after another. The scrutiny of the store

manager (John Ritter in his final movie performance) and store

detective Gin Slagel (Bernie Mack) add to his anxiety.

Along the way Willy romances, or is romanced by, a bartending

Santa groupie named Sue (Lauren Graham) and befriends an overweight

loner of a little boy (Brett Kelly). These three form an ersatz

family of sorts, accommodating each other’s weirdness as only fellow

misfits can. The kid lives with his comatose grandmother (Cloris

Leachman) in an upscale suburb and Willy soon takes up residence.

Thornton plays Willy as an unrepentant, no-good, drunk from start

to finish. Willy is the kind of guy who can use the same vile

obscenity as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb, sometimes all in one

sentence. His behavior is absolutely appalling, but always undeniably

hysterical.

Cox’ Marcus is a novel portrayal. Unlike the roles usually

available to dwarf actors, Marcus is not in the film to provide comic

relief. Although Thornton plays the title character, Marcus could

almost share top billing. He is the brains and nerve behind their

risky undertaking. He is only answerable to his harpy of a wife,

Lois, who actually goes through the store taking notes on the

merchandise she wants Marcus to steal for her.

One would think a movie about a profane drunk and his fellow

thieves who use a Christmas icon to further their nefarious schemes

as a poor breeding ground for comedy. However, this Terry Zwigoff

(“Ghost World,” “Crumb”) directed film is absolutely laugh-out-loud

hilarious. Based on a story concept of the Coen Brothers, “Bad Santa”

never hits a false note and the complex characters stay true

throughout.

Coen Brothers’ projects have produced some of the most interesting

and entertaining films of the last several years including “Fargo,”

“Barton Fink,” “Miller’s Crossing” and “Raising Arizona.” Once again

they are associated with an uncompromising off-the-wall film that

swims against the tide of convention.

So, if you find yourself entranced by the one hundred foot

Christmas tree at your local mall as you search for a motorized tie

rack for Uncle Fred, go see “Bad Santa.” It’s the perfect antidote to

twenty-first century manufactured holiday cheer.

* VAN NOVACK, 50, is the director of institutional research at Cal

State Long Beach and lives in Huntington Beach with his wife

Elizabeth.