Billy Bob Thornton plays a different kind of Kris Kringle in BAD SANTA
BAD SANTA (Terry Zwigoff, 2003)
Nitehawk Cinema
136 Metropolitan Ave.
Friday, December 9, and Saturday, December 10, 12:15 am
718-384-3980
www.nitehawkcinema.com
We really wanted to like Bad Santa a lot more than we did. Terry Zwigoff, who brought us the delightful Crumb (1994) and the terrific Ghost World (2000), reaches for the bottom of the toilet in this foul-mouthed, dingy, and dirty holiday tale of a drunk, debauched Santa (Billy Bob Thornton) and his curse-spewing sidekick elf (Tony Cox) who go to different malls each year and rob them after Santa mistreats the kids who line up to ask for presents. Hey, we love our comedy as low grade as the next person, but we have to admit it bothered us when Thornton let loose with a torrent of filthy language in front of kid actors. The story was devised by executive producers Joel and Ethan Coen, who had good intentions that go awry in the end. Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, and especially John Ritter add fun support. And although Brett Kelly as the Kid, Norman Thurman, is funny at first, eventually the maudlin aspects of his developing relationship with Santa get overplayed and bring the movie down a few notches. Bad Santa is screening just past midnight Friday and Saturday at the Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg, where a few drinks before going in should help a whole lot.