Bad Santa 2- directed by Mark Waters
The original "Bad Santa" was one of my favourite comedies of the time that it came out.
That would be way back 2003.
Thirteen years is a long time between drinks as it were but the sequel has finally arrived.
While a lot of sequels would seem to have no reason to exist or no way that they can due to the way the preceding film left things "Bad Santa 2" has no such issues.
Billy Bob Thornton's Willie Soke was shot up but still alive and it looked like he may have found happiness with a woman and a kid - of sorts.
Marcus his diminutive partner in crime was offside for sure but also still alive and kicking.
A sequel was not only entirely possible but not too hard to figure the nature of.
More of the same over the top shenanigans from a born loser and his equally undesirable friends and associates.
There is the worry that a sequel that takes so long to come to fruition cannot be any good and you only need to look at "Dumb and Dumberer" and "Independence Day: Resurgence" for evidence that frequently it is a justified concern.
The good news with "Bad Santa 2" is that it is every bit as outrageous, profane and over the top as the last one and feels like the logical follow up.
It is just more of the same. Fine by me.
This time as the movie opens we find Willie looking happy and healthy driving an expensive convertible.
We are being mislead of course and all is not as it looks.
He is still the same drunken bum that he ever was.
Marcus arrives back in his life with a job offer and soon the pair are back in Santa and Elf costumes up to their old tricks setting up a safe heist.
They are joined this time by Willie's Mother Sunny who makes her son look like a well adjusted human being in comparison.
Kathy Bates absolutely lets rip in portraying Sunny and shows yet again how willing she is to throw all dignity to the wind in bringing an unappealing character to the screen.
The back and forth between she and Thornton is one of the strengths of the film.
The heart however comes in the form of Thurman Merman - now a 21 year old man.
He is still gormless, large and naive as all hell.
He also still worships Willie as the Father he never had.
The gang being back together works and it doesn't really feel that thirteen years have passed.
Thurman as a grown man works way better than I thought he would and still provides vital moments of not only comedy but quite some degree of emotional pull.
I have two gripes with this movie however.
Firstly it is a little underwritten with some poorly fleshed out characters.
Christina Hendricks character and her husband are paper thin.
They share one scene together and don't affect the plot much at all. They could easily be removed and nothing much would need to change.
Compared to Lauren Graham's Sue from the first film who provided the glue for the relationship between Willie and Thurman forming a very weird family of sorts Hendricks has little to do but allow a few dirty lines and moments- something that the film has no trouble doing quite well without her.
Don't get me wrong - Hendricks is very good - her character however is not.
The same level of shallowness applies to most of the other characters outside of the main four.
Ryan Hansen and Jeff Skowron as Hendricks Husband and a security guard pop in and out of the movie to little effect. At least Skowron gets a couple of good lines but all in all these characters just don't work.
They don't feel like fully fleshed out characters and they don't contribute much to the humour or the plot.
Bernie Mac and John Ritter are really missed.
The other complaint I have is that Lauren Graham should have been included.
She is alluded to then quickly dismissed and while I understand that it makes sense that a decent woman like Sue wouldn't still be with a nightmare like Willie for too long the movie is a lesser experience without her. Graham added a sweetness and Sue made Willie a better character. There is no one other than Thurman to do that this time.
But there are plentiful laughs and this does a lot to make up for some of the shortcomings.
The script seems at great pains to find common ground with the first film and then push just that little bit harder in the inappropriateness stakes.
The constant references to domestic violence, anal sex and alcoholism combined with a massive profanity count work because that is the universe that Bad Santa belongs in.
These movies are the proverbial 'don't watch with Granny' films and that is why they work.
This one also doesn't outstay its welcome and whilst the pacing is off with an ending that feels like there was no journey towards it but a collection of scenes in place of a logical narrative it is funny enough consistently enough that it pretty much gets away with it.
Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates are masters at this sort of character work and bounce off each other like they've been working together for years (they actually have worked together just once in "Primary Colors")
This isn't anywhere near as good as the first film but it is a very funny film and one that anyone who liked "Bad Santa" will undoubtedly also enjoy.
RATING: 77 / 100
CONCLUSION: Funny enough to obscure at least some of the flaws in the script the joy here is the utter outrageousness of how far Thornton and Bates go in bringing to life two of the most despicably likeable misfits to grace the screen.
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Christina Hendricks, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Ryan Hansen, Mike Starr, Cristina Rosato, Jenny Zigrino, Jeff Skowron, Christopher Tyson, Tyrone Benskin, Mike Starr
Screenplay: Johnny Rosenthal & Shauna Cross
Music Score by: Lyle Workman
Cinematography: Theo van de Sande
Cinematography: Theo van de Sande
Edited by: Travis Sittard
Running Time: 92 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - Loads of profanity, sexual activity and some violence
Running Time: 92 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - Loads of profanity, sexual activity and some violence
That would be way back 2003.
Thirteen years is a long time between drinks as it were but the sequel has finally arrived.
While a lot of sequels would seem to have no reason to exist or no way that they can due to the way the preceding film left things "Bad Santa 2" has no such issues.
Billy Bob Thornton's Willie Soke was shot up but still alive and it looked like he may have found happiness with a woman and a kid - of sorts.
Marcus his diminutive partner in crime was offside for sure but also still alive and kicking.
A sequel was not only entirely possible but not too hard to figure the nature of.
More of the same over the top shenanigans from a born loser and his equally undesirable friends and associates.
There is the worry that a sequel that takes so long to come to fruition cannot be any good and you only need to look at "Dumb and Dumberer" and "Independence Day: Resurgence" for evidence that frequently it is a justified concern.
The good news with "Bad Santa 2" is that it is every bit as outrageous, profane and over the top as the last one and feels like the logical follow up.
It is just more of the same. Fine by me.
This time as the movie opens we find Willie looking happy and healthy driving an expensive convertible.
We are being mislead of course and all is not as it looks.
He is still the same drunken bum that he ever was.
Marcus arrives back in his life with a job offer and soon the pair are back in Santa and Elf costumes up to their old tricks setting up a safe heist.
They are joined this time by Willie's Mother Sunny who makes her son look like a well adjusted human being in comparison.
Kathy Bates absolutely lets rip in portraying Sunny and shows yet again how willing she is to throw all dignity to the wind in bringing an unappealing character to the screen.
The back and forth between she and Thornton is one of the strengths of the film.
The heart however comes in the form of Thurman Merman - now a 21 year old man.
He is still gormless, large and naive as all hell.
He also still worships Willie as the Father he never had.
The gang being back together works and it doesn't really feel that thirteen years have passed.
Thurman as a grown man works way better than I thought he would and still provides vital moments of not only comedy but quite some degree of emotional pull.
 |
| Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates and Tony Cox |
Firstly it is a little underwritten with some poorly fleshed out characters.
Christina Hendricks character and her husband are paper thin.
They share one scene together and don't affect the plot much at all. They could easily be removed and nothing much would need to change.
Compared to Lauren Graham's Sue from the first film who provided the glue for the relationship between Willie and Thurman forming a very weird family of sorts Hendricks has little to do but allow a few dirty lines and moments- something that the film has no trouble doing quite well without her.
Don't get me wrong - Hendricks is very good - her character however is not.
The same level of shallowness applies to most of the other characters outside of the main four.
Ryan Hansen and Jeff Skowron as Hendricks Husband and a security guard pop in and out of the movie to little effect. At least Skowron gets a couple of good lines but all in all these characters just don't work.
They don't feel like fully fleshed out characters and they don't contribute much to the humour or the plot.
Bernie Mac and John Ritter are really missed.
The other complaint I have is that Lauren Graham should have been included.
She is alluded to then quickly dismissed and while I understand that it makes sense that a decent woman like Sue wouldn't still be with a nightmare like Willie for too long the movie is a lesser experience without her. Graham added a sweetness and Sue made Willie a better character. There is no one other than Thurman to do that this time.
 |
| Christina Hendricks, Kathy Bates and Brett Kelly |
The script seems at great pains to find common ground with the first film and then push just that little bit harder in the inappropriateness stakes.
The constant references to domestic violence, anal sex and alcoholism combined with a massive profanity count work because that is the universe that Bad Santa belongs in.
These movies are the proverbial 'don't watch with Granny' films and that is why they work.
This one also doesn't outstay its welcome and whilst the pacing is off with an ending that feels like there was no journey towards it but a collection of scenes in place of a logical narrative it is funny enough consistently enough that it pretty much gets away with it.
Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates are masters at this sort of character work and bounce off each other like they've been working together for years (they actually have worked together just once in "Primary Colors")
This isn't anywhere near as good as the first film but it is a very funny film and one that anyone who liked "Bad Santa" will undoubtedly also enjoy.
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