If Billy Bob Thornton ever made a movie where he pulled off the impossible, it was 2003’s Bad Santa. He’s not my favorite actor, but as a department store Santa with a drinking problem, a foul mouth and a serial quickie artist, he found a niche. This was because he somehow found a way to combine a single character into more than just a filthy-mouthed thief and alcoholic into one whose heart could be soft, and a bit protective of a child who came to his defense.
Years later, when we felt confident that it was a once-in-a-lifetime film and that we were safe at last, they made a sequel.
It was expected that, like most sequels, it was going to be a real stinker.
John Ritter and Bernie Mac were long gone.The love interest in the first film for both lead characters were on to other things.
Willy is about to commit suicide by turning on the oven and stove top burners until he figures out that it’s an electric range. He tries to hang himself, but his old friend Thurman intervenes. He bears a message and lots of cash; Marcus is out of the joint after ten years and wants a meeting to tell Willie about a new mark: a charity guaranteed to gross two million dollars.
Thornton is at his most abominable, which of course is the way we like him best, and Tony Cox can still belt out more one-liners with one or more uses of the word “fuck,” and pull it off.
There’s only one little snag. Oh, and for Willie, it is a big problem: his long-lost mother (Kathy Bates) is involved, and Willie hates her. He even swings on her on sight.
As well as this film is executed, and as much as the trio of Bad Santa characters pulled off staying true to their characters, it is Kathy Bates who blatantly steals the show. Her filthy mind and raunchy language, her unrefined mannerisms, and overall hilarious creepiness are a scream.
Of course, it still has to follow the formula of the first movie, so you’ll see the end coming… sort of. But it’s still satisfying and a riot from beginning to the end.
Retro rating: four out of five. Worth it.
Memoirs of an American Asshole 