BAD SANTA

SYNOPSIS: 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, and the security boss discovers the plot.

BOTTOM LINE: This holiday tale of misfits and woe has its' laugh-out-loud moments, but there aren’t enough of them to string together a full blown comedy hit. BAD SANTA expends much effort to be a Christmas flick for adults – a story without the requisite sappiness and overabundance of joy that usually accompanies film’s of this genre – however, it comes off as more obnoxious than clever, failing to generate any consistent level of humor or connection with its characters. The film’s constant attempt to be shocking (which it fails to do) detracts from the weaving of a compelling story. Thornton proves his star quality once again by making you almost like his unrepentantly, abusive, alcoholic asshole of a Santa. Booze is his best friend and though he makes a few new ones along the way, they’re never going to replace his one true love. It’s completely incomprehensible that anyone would hire this man to be their department store Santa, however, they do, along with his partner, an African American little person who plays one of Santa’s elves. The month of pure hell dealing with annoying kids is made tolerable by the massive payday waiting for them each Christmas Eve. Only this time, Santa discovers, for the first time, the joy of life without the aid of a bottle. Yes, even BAD SANTA finds love and acceptance during the holidays. It just comes with a hefty helping of drunkenness, sex and murder. Only those people who really hate Christmas will derive any joy from this seasonal offering.