For the second Christmas season in a row, I spent some time with "Bad Santa". Sure, I watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" with the kids, but "Bad Santa" was for Daddy. It, in my humble opinion, is a modern Christmas classic that deserves to be revisited each holiday season.
It has all the elements of a feel-good story. Willie had a rotten childhood and has become an absolutely miserable adult.who periodically attempts suicide and lives off stolen money. He's rude, he's obnoxious and he's a department store Santa. There's no hope for Willie until he meets the kid. In brilliant Grinch-like fashion, it's eventually revealed that even Willie has a heart.
"Bad Santa" is under appreciated. Perhaps people aren't willing to accept a holiday feel-good movie with 170 instances of the F-word and 74 uses of the S-word. Maybe people don't understand there can be a touching holiday movie that isn't suitable for children, I know I couldn't watch until James was a safe distance from the television. It's as crude as can be imagined but lovingly guided by Terry Zwigoff to a rewarding holiday pay-off.
I still love "A Charlie Brown Christmas", "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "A Christmas Story" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", but when the kids are asleep, I'm sure to save 98 minutes for Willie.
