*** Official BAD SANTA Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Rhett_Y]

Personally, I thought the film was horrible...

Other then that....... Bland........

R~

 

[Rob Willey]

I enjoyed watching John Ritter in his last film role.

And as a big fan of Gilmore Girls, I don't think I'll be able to watch Lauren Graham in quite the same way ever again.

Rob

 

[Mark Dubbelboer]

funny funny movie
as previously mentioned I hardly ever like any christmas movies, to like two (elf) in one season just makes me giddy.

 

[Vickie_M]

(In which Vickie gets a bit pissy)

Billy Bob, did an admirable job depicting one wretched lost human soul. I wonder how close to home he was in this role.

Just out of curiosity, what's up with this? Billy Bob Thornton is an ACTOR. One of our finest. I don't recall people wondering if he might have been playing a version of himself when he played the chilling killer in One False Move, or the tragic, mentally-disabled Karl in Sling Blade, or the sad, lonely man in A Simple Plan, or the brisk, no-nonsense NASA suit in Armageddon, or the hot-shot air traffic controller in Pushing Tin, or the taciturn blackmailing barber in The Man Who Wasn't There, or the neurotic, hypochondriac bank robber in Bandits, or the hard-assed prison guard in Monster's Ball, or the grinning, glad-handing "oil tycoon" in Intolerable Cruelty, or, hah, the President of the United States in Love, Actually. Among others.

So, he plays a liquored-up, irresponsible, fucked-up sad sack in this movie, and people hint, even in jest (yeah, I caught the winky), that he's playing himself. That's just unbelievable.

While in curiousity mode, I did a web search, trying to find any incident where Thorton got drunk and got in trouble or made a public spectacle of himself in any way. Couldn't find any. I did another search trying to find any mention of him being unusually profane. Couldn't find any. Pissing off co-workers? Nope. Being unprofessional in any way, shape or form? Nada. Not a mention, not a hint, not a whiff.

The man seems to be a lousy husband, no doubt about that. He's got some pretty unusual phobias (antiques?) and beliefs (says mother is a "psychic" - oookay). He and Jolie were kinda edgy and weird there for a while, though I really believe that part of all that was just messing with journalist's minds for fun. I don't blame them. It worked.

Other than being unusual personalities, where's the connection? Give me ONE SINGLE SOLITARY connection to Billy Bob Thornton the man and the actions of the Bad Santa character Willie T. Sokes. That they both have used their penises and have both let alchohol pass their lips do not count.

I know, I know, I'm taking this waaay too seriously, but come on, really, the man deserves some respect for his quite considerable acting ability, and to even hint that he was playing something close to himself is a major insult to his talent. Not only to Thornton, but to the hard-working professionals who hire him, work with him, and sing his praises, such as the Coen brothers, Terry Zwigoff, Sam Raimi, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone and so many others.

Here's a pretty good interview, conducted by fans, for fans, where he talks about some of the more asinine rumours and gossip written about him. It's in 3 parts and they're all interesting.

http://www.billybobthornton.net/interview1.html

Here's another good interview.
http://mixonline.com/ar/audio_billy_bob_thornton/

(/pissy mode off)

I liked Bad Santa and thought it was VERY funny. As much as a jackass Willie was, I felt sorry for the jerk too.

I loved the Cloris Leachman character, what a surprise to see her in there!

 

[Erik_C]

Saw this last night. But for a couple funny moments, the movie was not good. I swear as much (or more than) the next guy, but the movie reminded me of the South Park episode where they said "shit" just for the sake of saying "shit." The language in Bad Santa became just too much, and regardless, the story line lacked any real purpose. If movies are meant to entertain, this movie didn't come close. Stay away. Stay far, far away.
-Erik

 

[Henry Gale]

Wellllll...!

Disagreement about Bad Santa.

Not just here either, lovin' it or hating it seems to be the situation with critics and the public.

I was amazed that my girlfriend enjoyed it, I have yet to get her through The Big Labowski due to the language.
I'm so jaded I didn't know there was cussing in TBL until I read it on HTF.
She tells me, "TBL is not about anything, they just cuss."

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, and Mark Dubbelboer did more recently, Elf and Bad Santa have made this a special year for holiday films.

 

[Rob Lutter]

Definately in the top 5 movies I have seen in the theatre this year... this film had me laughing more than I have in at least the last 2-3 years in theatres. It was a smart, yet decidedly low-brow comedy that had both its' own sober and drunk moments. Terry Zwigoff has once reaffirmed his godlike view in my eyes.

Next up for Zwigoff is another Daniel Clowes-written piece (ala 'Ghost World'): Art School Confidential. Nice to see he isn't going to "sell out"

 

[Robert_eb]

I saw it tonight and think this is going to be a classic.

One thing though, doesn't Billy Bob have a phobia of midgets? I believe I've heard him state this more than once.

 

[Henry Gale]

...doesn't Billy Bob have a phobia of midgets?

I'll just take your word for that. Tony Cox is not a midget, he's a dwarf. So, no phobia problem there.

 

[Al_S]

Wow, this movie was the crudest movie I've ever seen! I loved it!

 

[BarryS]

I just saw Bad Santa and loved it. Funniest movie I've seen in a long time. A great antidote to all the wholesome, family-friendly pap we see this time of year. At first I was shocked that this film was directed by Terry Zwigoff, but now after learning more about it and seeing it, I think it's perhaps not so out-of-character for him. It's really not that far removed from Crumb and Ghost World.

 

[WillG]

I don't think I'll be able to watch Lauren Graham in quite the same way ever again.

So how traumatizing is it?

 

[Patrick Sun]

Not all that traumatic, just nice to see a naughty side of hers.

 

[WillG]

just nice to see a naughty side of hers

That's what worries me

 

[JonZ]

Saw it last night and thought it was hysterical.

I was laughing at some of it hours later

 

[david kennedy]

After I saw it i couldn't s_it right for a week. Pretty bizarre very funny.

 

[Darren_Reed]

The main thing I came away with after watching this, was knowing that I now want Lauren Graham for Christmas!

 

[DaveGTP]

We saw this last week and enjoyed it a lot. I laughed my head off harder than I have since I watched a good Kevin Smith flick (or the Excel Saga anime).

I love dark comedy, and I despise happy-cheerful typical movies. Although it was a little too typical in wrapping up, I enjoyed. I'm always a fan of dark comedy, especially when it puts a pessimistic spin on something beloved.
I was probably one of the few people that thought Death to Smoochy was OK.

 

[ZacharyTait]

I saw this movie today. This is one funny movie! I was laughing so hard in some spots I missed some dialogue. I'm definitely going back to see this again.

Lauren Graham: I'd hit it!

 

[Sean Laughter]

I wouldn't term Laurent Graham as "disturbing" in the movie in any real way. She's actually rather sweet with Thornton in the film, and the only thing really odd about it is her fetish, which is actually pretty damn harmless all things considered.