Bad Santa

The Christmas season just got a lot less joyous in this very dark comedy. Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) is a con man and a thief who teams up with his friend Marcus (Tony Cox), a midget, for a very special scam each year during the holiday season. Willie gets a job as Santa Claus at a shopping mall, his pal tags along as an elf, and they use their employee status to crack mall security and rob stores blind just before Christmas. However, there’s one flaw to this plan — Willie is a bitter, foul-mouthed and perpetually grouchy alcoholic who doesn’t care for kids, and it’s all he can do to keep himself from getting fired while on the job. The mall’s manager (John Ritter, in his last film appearance) is certain something’s wrong with the Santa he’s hired, so he asks the mall’s chief of security (Bernie Mac) to do some research on Willie. Meanwhile, one of the kids Willie is forced to talk to becomes a regular customer; overweight, awkward, and the frequent target of bullies, the boy manages to arouse something like sympathy from Willie, who tries to give him some advice and develops something vaguely resembling Christmas sprit along the way. Bad Santa was directed by Terry Zwigoff, who enjoyed previous success with Crumb and Ghost World., Billy Bob Thornton is hilarious in this deliciously warped holiday comedy from director Terry Zwigoff (“Ghost World”). Thornton plays a vulgar, boozy con artist who robs the department stores where he works as St. Nick., Black comedy about an alcoholic con man who robs department stores every Christmas Eve by working as a resident Santa Claus. However, his latest plan is complicated by an unlikely romance, the unwanted suspicions of a store security chief and an improbable friendship with a lonely eight-year-old boy., Warped, crudely funny comedy about a boozy conman who robs the department stores where he works as Santa., Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham, Brad Kelly, John Ritter. Black comedy about an alcoholic con man who robs department stores every Christmas Eve by working as a resident Santa Claus. However, his latest plan is complicated by an unlikely romance, the unwanted suspicions of a store security chief and an improbable friendship with a lonely eight-year-old boy., Every December, safecracker Willie takes a job as a department store Santa. Every Christmas Eve, he robs the store and makes off with a lucrative haul. But is his boozy lifestyle killing his criminal record?, Billy Bob Thornton has a blast as the foul-mouthed safecracker who dresses up as a department store Santa, then robs the joint. Wickedly funny comedy. Strong language/sex., Billy Bob Thornton has a blast as the foul-mouthed safecracker who dresses up as a department store Santa, then robs the joint., A miserable conman and his pint-sized partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they soon run into problems…, This hilarious comedy stars Billy Bob Thornton as a conman who poses as Santa Claus in order to rob department stores over the holidays. What will happen when security discover his plan?, A hilariously criminal Santa finds a measure of holiday redemption when he befriends a troubled kid. The traditional Christmas tale will never be the same after this cleverly twisted, merrily irreverent story of a Santa so bad that he’s funny. Billy Bob Thornton stars (in a Golden Globe-nominated role) as Willie T. Stokes, a washed-up, wisecracking department store Santa who is only in the business for the criminal opportunities. Every Christmas Eve this Santa and his ingenious Elf’ Willie’s midget partner-in-crime Marcus (Tony Cox), crack the store safe and make off with their own holiday stash. But this year Santa and his Elf find their annual heist endangered by a pesky store manager (John Ritter), a savvy mall detective (Bernie Mac), a sexy Santa fan (Lauren Graham) and an 8-year-old misfit (Brett Kelly) who decides to believe that Willie: intoxicated, acid-tongued and felonious as he is, is the real Santa.