Bad Santa (2003)

R   |    |  Comedy, Crime, Drama


Bad Santa (2003) Poster

A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.


7/10
135,894


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  • Terry Zwigoff in Bad Santa (2003)
  • Billy Bob Thornton at an event for Bad Santa (2003)
  • Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox in Bad Santa (2003)
  • Billy Bob Thornton at an event for Bad Santa (2003)
  • Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa (2003)
  • Billy Bob Thornton at an event for Bad Santa (2003)

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Reviews & Commentary

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User Reviews


22 December 2013 | SnoopyStyle
8
| Inappropriately Brilliant
Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) is a drunk who plays store Santa for Christmas. He and his partner-in-crime Marcus (Tony Cox) case out the department store where they work and rob it on Christmas Eve every year. Willie befriends a chubby loner boy (Brett Kelly), and bartender Sue (Lauren Graham) who has Santa issues. Then store manager Gin (Bernie Mac) muscles in on their action.

Bad Santa is demented and destructive. Billy Bob Thornton goes over the edge, and Tony Cox goes right along with him. This is no Christmas special. And I love the kid Brett Kelly. He isn't your average adorable little kid. He's your average loser kid. That makes their friendship so much better. This is a great black Christmas.

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Brett Kelley's character is listed in the credits as "The Kid", even though his name is revealed to be Thurman Merman during the report card scene. Lauren Graham's character is credited as "Sue", but her name is never used in the dialog, even in the director's cut.


Quotes

Willie: Hey, can I get another drink down here?


Goofs

When Thurman first takes Willie inside his house to meet Grandma Merman, Grandma is watching the 2002 Dole "Banana Shuffle" commercial on TV. This commercial was only aired between August 2002 and November 2002, and the film takes place during Christmastime, 2003.


Crazy Credits

Special thanks to ... The Miller-Fritch Family


Alternate Versions

The director's cut of 'Bad Santa' has these changes:

  • The jingling bells heard on the Dimension Films logo are omitted.
  • Willie's voice-over at the beginning of the film is not heard.
  • The scene in which Willie and Marcus are at the bar after the first robbery, as well as the scene of Willie at the Miami Beach are both deleted, and it cuts straight to Willie's apartment instead.
  • The scene of Willie throwing the alarm clock and bottles is slightly longer, with him saying an additional "fuck you" and throwing another bottle.
  • Much of David Kitay's original score is removed and replaced with classical music.
  • When Marcus is berating Willie, his line is changed to "You blow this, we're broke for the whole fucking year!"
  • There's a longer and more vulgar conversation between Marcus and Willie in the mall parking lot on the first night.
  • The pinball scene with the underage girl is the same as on the unrated cut.
  • There's a longer and more vulgar argument between Marcus and Willie regarding the pinball scene.
  • There are some alternate scenes when Marcus discovers the BMW, and when beer containers spill out of the car, Marcus yells, "You cocksucker!" Also, there is an alternate shot of Marcus yelling, "Ever hear of the open bottle law?" He then adds, "You dumb, dip-shit motherfucker!"
  • The scene of Chipeska telling Gin about Willie having sex in the dressing room is removed.
  • All scenes of The Kid's advent calendar are removed.
  • The food court scene is the same as the unrated version.
  • The scene of Lois taking notes on what she wants Marcus to steal is extended.
  • The scene of Willie destroying the decorations is longer, with him also saying "fucking spic" before punching the donkey decoration.
  • All scenes of Willie trying to teach The Kid to stand up for himself, including the boxing scene, are removed.
  • The car death scene is the same as on the unrated version.
  • An alternate car chase scene. Also, Willie does not say, "This is Christmas, and the kid's getting his fucking present."
  • The ending scene is changed to The Kid scrubbing Willie's blood off the front porch.
  • The end credits are different.


Soundtracks

Overture
(from "Il Barbiere di Siviglia")
Written by
Gioachino Rossini
Performed by Zagreb Festival Orchestra
Conducted by Michael Halász
Courtesy of Naxos by arrangement with Source/Q

Storyline

Plot Summary


Synopsis (WARNING: Spoilers)


Genres

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Details

Release Date:

26 November 2003

Language

English


Country of Origin

Germany, USA

Filming Locations

Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,500,000 30 November 2003

Gross USA:

$60,060,328

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$76,490,720

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