MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2: (11/23/16): BAD SANTA 2
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| "So ... Just tell me: Did they REALLY cut that guy's foot off in that one episode of Mad Men?!" Diane (Christina Hendricks) glares at Willie Soke (Billy Bob Thornton, center) as his literal partner-in-crime Marcus (Tony Cox) does the same in a scene from BAD SANTA 2. Credit: Jan Thijs for Broad Green Pictures/Miramax © 2016 Santamax Distribution, LLC. All rights reserved. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Tony Cox, Christina Hendricks, Brett Kelly, Jenny Zigrino, Jeff Skowron and Ryan Hansen
WRITER(S): Johnny Rosenthal and Shauna Cross (screenplay); Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (based on characters created by)
DIRECTOR(S): Mark Waters
DIRECTOR(S): Mark Waters
WEB SITE: http://www.badsanta2.com/
HERE'S THE STORY: Willie Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) is tired of being a loser. To hear him tell it, he was born a loser, has been living like a loser and is ready to die a loser – which is why he's about to kill himself in the motel he's been living in. But just as he's in the act of doing it, his old buddy Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly) – the kid turned now 21 year old sandwich maker who took to him as his adopted dad – walks in, not knowing what Willie is doing.
Soon thereafter, Willie gets reacquainted with another old face in the form of Marcus Skidmore (Tony Cox), his height-challenged criminal associate that he hasn't spoken to in quite some time. Then again, when someone tries to kill you, you really don't expect to keep in touch with them. As it turns out, however, Marcus has a big score lined up with a Chicago benefactor that needs Willie's safecracking skills. Reluctantly going along with the plan, Willie is beyond upset when he finds out who the benefactor is: His mother Sunny (Kathy Bates), a criminal in her own right planning on ripping off the charity she's been working for after getting out of prison. Sure, the plan might involve Marcus and Willie buddying up to Diane (Christina Hendricks), wife of the charity's founder Regent Hastings (Ryan Hansen) and their top female security guard Gina de Luca (Jenny Zigrino) ... But when there's $2 million to be had for the taking, you do what you gotta do, right?
Which includes not killing each other ... At least not with anything other than insults.
HERE'S THE STORY: Willie Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) is tired of being a loser. To hear him tell it, he was born a loser, has been living like a loser and is ready to die a loser – which is why he's about to kill himself in the motel he's been living in. But just as he's in the act of doing it, his old buddy Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly) – the kid turned now 21 year old sandwich maker who took to him as his adopted dad – walks in, not knowing what Willie is doing.
Soon thereafter, Willie gets reacquainted with another old face in the form of Marcus Skidmore (Tony Cox), his height-challenged criminal associate that he hasn't spoken to in quite some time. Then again, when someone tries to kill you, you really don't expect to keep in touch with them. As it turns out, however, Marcus has a big score lined up with a Chicago benefactor that needs Willie's safecracking skills. Reluctantly going along with the plan, Willie is beyond upset when he finds out who the benefactor is: His mother Sunny (Kathy Bates), a criminal in her own right planning on ripping off the charity she's been working for after getting out of prison. Sure, the plan might involve Marcus and Willie buddying up to Diane (Christina Hendricks), wife of the charity's founder Regent Hastings (Ryan Hansen) and their top female security guard Gina de Luca (Jenny Zigrino) ... But when there's $2 million to be had for the taking, you do what you gotta do, right?
Which includes not killing each other ... At least not with anything other than insults.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? People who enjoyed the first film; anyone who loves off-color humor and plenty of it, especially of a sexual nature; those who like a film that doesn't fit the mainstream but has an actual story that works from start to finish; Kathy Bates fans
WHO WON'T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who hated the first film; those who feel that anything Christmas/holiday related should NOT be associated with anything crass, lewd and/or potentially offensive; those who feel like the film does not take alcoholism or depression seriously; activists who might view the film as promoting the verbal abuse of little people
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? The rare comedy sequel that surpasses the original in terms of both its storytelling, its comedy and – in this case, it's downright disgraceful behavior – Bad Santa 2 is the perfect holiday film for anyone looking to watch bad people behaving even worse ... And laugh all time they do it.
Make no mistake: Bad Santa 2 is as ribald as a rated "R" comedy can be these days, so if you are easily offended or watch the trailers and go 'This doesn't seem to be be for me,' stick with that assessment. As anyone familiar with the first film might expect, Thornton's performance in Bad Santa 2 is filled with all the crustiness, acerbic/sarcastic nature and yet, when faced with the optimism and innocence of Thurman, desire to do the right thing (in all the most wrong ways possible). Of course, one could say the same can be said for Cox and Bates as the three sling jokes with equivalency of heavyweight boxers in the 1970s. Whereas Thornton and Cox dish out insults throw profane insults at each other left and right, Bates more than holds her own, delivering crushing truths no proper mother would ever say to her son and discourse that would make even the most respectful man consider domestic violence.
Not to be left out, Hendricks and Zigrino get down in their own dirty ways, the former as a sexually frustrated wife and Jenny Zigrino as a security guars with a VERY specific fetish of her own that plays for big laughs. (To say more about it would be to give too much away.) However, the x factor that keeps you from feeling horrible about enjoying watching so many terrible people be, well, terrible is the performance of Kelly as the adorably naive Thurman. Ever an optimist who simply does not understand evil, bad or indecent things, Thurman is the one positive figure in the film who represents all of the things that one is supposed to appreciate about life – a fact not lost on Thornton's character (and in turn, the audience). While in almost any other situation Thurman's character would be a completely annoying caricature, Kelly hits his beats with precision to make it all come together.
At least, it all comes together as best one could hope for a film loaded with explicit language, sexual situations, politically incorrect, well, everything, drug and alcohol abuse ... And quite possibly the world's worst mother and son.
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? The rare comedy sequel that surpasses the original in terms of both its storytelling, its comedy and – in this case, it's downright disgraceful behavior – Bad Santa 2 is the perfect holiday film for anyone looking to watch bad people behaving even worse ... And laugh all time they do it.
Make no mistake: Bad Santa 2 is as ribald as a rated "R" comedy can be these days, so if you are easily offended or watch the trailers and go 'This doesn't seem to be be for me,' stick with that assessment. As anyone familiar with the first film might expect, Thornton's performance in Bad Santa 2 is filled with all the crustiness, acerbic/sarcastic nature and yet, when faced with the optimism and innocence of Thurman, desire to do the right thing (in all the most wrong ways possible). Of course, one could say the same can be said for Cox and Bates as the three sling jokes with equivalency of heavyweight boxers in the 1970s. Whereas Thornton and Cox dish out insults throw profane insults at each other left and right, Bates more than holds her own, delivering crushing truths no proper mother would ever say to her son and discourse that would make even the most respectful man consider domestic violence.
Not to be left out, Hendricks and Zigrino get down in their own dirty ways, the former as a sexually frustrated wife and Jenny Zigrino as a security guars with a VERY specific fetish of her own that plays for big laughs. (To say more about it would be to give too much away.) However, the x factor that keeps you from feeling horrible about enjoying watching so many terrible people be, well, terrible is the performance of Kelly as the adorably naive Thurman. Ever an optimist who simply does not understand evil, bad or indecent things, Thurman is the one positive figure in the film who represents all of the things that one is supposed to appreciate about life – a fact not lost on Thornton's character (and in turn, the audience). While in almost any other situation Thurman's character would be a completely annoying caricature, Kelly hits his beats with precision to make it all come together.
At least, it all comes together as best one could hope for a film loaded with explicit language, sexual situations, politically incorrect, well, everything, drug and alcohol abuse ... And quite possibly the world's worst mother and son.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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