Bad Santa (2003, 91 min.) is very naughty, but it isn’t bad. While it treads the well-worn path of pointing out the commercialization of Christmas and the hypocrisy of many who celebrate it, Bad Santa adds a freshness to the seasonal critique genre. For those who haven’t seen it, a brief summary: Billy Bob Thornton plays Willie (the Bad Santa), a cynical, over-sexed, larcenous shopping mall Santa Claus, who is planning, with his accomplices, to rob a ritzy mall on Christmas Eve. This soulless landscape is filled with characters so corrupt and cowardly that they could have been written for a classic film noir. Indeed, if you took out the humor, Santa would make a good neo-noir heist picture.

Billy Bob Thornton is a real live BAD SANTA

Complications - of course - ensue, among them Sue (Lauren Graham), a woman with an intense…interest in Santa Claus, and The Kid/Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly), a young boy who is being bullied. Willie’s relationship with the latter is where Bad Santa really shines (aside from the very inappropriate and very funny comedy bits). Willie does not simply befriend The Kid and slowly come to realize the error of his ways, etc. etc., as he might in other Christmas films. Instead, Willie uses The Kid shamelessly and is casually cruel to the boy. Thornton’s portrayal is excellent. You believe he is an empty shell, and when he transforms (after all, it is a Christmas movie), he becomes more disillusioned, more cynical than those around him. His faith in humanity isn’t totally restored, and he doesn’t completely give up his life of crime. In short, the film manages to be simultaneously heartwarming and realistic.

Oh, and make sure you look for Bad Santa‘s homage to the light display contest from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

You can see Bad Santa at Coffee and (___) on Saturday, December 15 at 7:00 p.m. Note: This film is rated R, and with good reason. It is NOT for children. Check out the IMDB Parental Guide for more details.