 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Bad Santa
- Review Date: November 12, 2007
- R
- Genre: Comedy
- 2003
Common Sense Media says
Too naughty for kids; nice for some grown-ups.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie, though it features a Santa Claus character and Christmas theme, is not for kids and may even be too much for some adults. It includes profanity, nonstop drinking and smoking, extremely explicit sexual references and situations, and graphic violence, including a suicide attempt, hitting below the belt, murder, and shooting. Note: This is a review of Badder Santa, an unrated version that was released on DVD and is available through Netflix.
What's the story?
A dark comedy with raunchy humor, BAD SANTA centers on Willie (Billy Bob Thornton), a hard-drinking, foul-mouthed ex-con.. For many years running, Willie and his partner in crime, a little person named Marcus (Tony Cox), get jobs as Santa and his elf in a department store and rob the place blind on Christmas Eve. As Santa, Willie is slovenly, self-loathing, and angry at the world, he drinks and smokes on the job, insults the kids, and has sex with women in the ladies' fitting room. Everything changes in Phoenix, where he meets the perfect woman and Thurman, a lonely little boy who lives with his grandmother (Cloris Leachman). Thurman desperately needs a father figure. Willie has no patience with kids and is hardly a role model. Not only does he steal the family's car, but he also robs their safe -- assuring the kid that he'll use the money to repair his sleigh. Thurman, however, seems to adore his live-in Santa. Willie, meanwhile, develops a fondness for the kid and is soon protecting him from bullies and teaching him to defend himself.
Is it any good?
There's no question that viewers will find Bad Santa crude and irreverent. But while some might be shocked and disgusted, others will find themselves laughing all the way through this unconventional Christmas tale. Indeed, Willie emerges as the ultimate antihero. Those who aren't utterly offended might even find themselves rooting for Willie, who is portrayed as more of a washed-up, disorganized loser than a genuine menace. He starts out as a Grinch, but seems to be headed for his own version of redemption. A scene where Willie and his girlfriend help decorate the home for Christmas is surprisingly sweet.
In his final film role, the late John Ritter shines as the uptight department-store manager. Lauren Graham brings just the right mix of freewheeling sexiness and earthy compassion to her role Willie's love interest, and Bernie Mac is solid as the store's deadpan, scheming security guard, and Cox plays a great straight man to Thornton's over-the-top Willie.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about dark comedies and raunchy humor. Do you think comedies are getting raunchier? What more recent comedies can you compare this to? Would this movie work with a more innocent brand of humor or not? Which movies are funny without the violent and sexual content?
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AGE
Its funny, But Language is Over the top.
The violence isn't that bad and neither is the sexual content, But the language is terrible. Sometimes 5 swear words in a sentance. The F bomb is dropped about 50 times. A kid does get kicked in the balls and stuff but its not bad enough for anything. There is no blood at all. The sexual content is mild. and only suggestive really. There was pedophilia a little. And a few iffy bits.
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AGE
ahhhh penisis
Bad sexual santa UG one of the bad movies w/ violence and sex
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AGE
Bad Santa
Bad Santa
This movie is for the ones who love comedy. A great actor named Billy Bob Thornton plays Bad Santa. Bad Santa is a drinker. He goes out every night to drink and party. The actor Tony Cox plays the little evil elf. This is the elf you do not want to see before Christmas. The movie needed a bad guy, not the really bad one but the dumb one. This kid named Brett Kelly plays the dumbest act in the whole entire human race all over the universe. Playing that part would be unbearable for any other kid. After all, Brett Kelly did it well.
In the movie, Bad Santa and the little evil elf go out robbing money from department stores for their yearly profit. Kind of like their main work and goal in life. They get to listen to the children’s Christmas wishes before they get to the main part. Somehow they have no feelings for the little kids. After people left the store, Marcus the mighty little elf gets to the security block panel. Switching off the sensors, Santa waits outside patiently till Marcus lets him in. Once in, Santa heads for the safe. He opens it with a couple of instruments. After a while they split the money and go their own ways till the next Christmas comes. But what they do not know is that the next department robbing store is much tougher.
This is one of the best movies, by Terry Zwigoff. There were a couple of problems with the movie and some of it did not make sense at all. A lot of emotions went around on some scenes. This was a major struggle for the director and the filming crew.
Billy Bob Thornton had to drink a lot because he had the part where he was always at the bar. The kid wasn’t dumb enough to make it through, but when he got the feel of it, Brett Kelly played the most ridiculous part in the movie which made it very funny.
Overall the movie is great but probably not for the children under the age of sixteen. This is one of the best movies ever that had been ever created. Comedy movies are one of the best that would do the trick of cheering you up after an ugly day at work.
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AGE
good movie
i laughed all through the movie. it was funny! but filled with language.
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AGE
Great for mature kids
I'm 14 and this is, by far, my favorite christmas movie of all time. It is hilarious. Billy Bob Thornton plays his character perfectly. If you're a teenager and you're mature you will totally be able to handle this movie. The swearing might be over the top, but honestly, after about 20 minutes I stopped noticing it, it blended in perfectly with the movie.
If the only thing you're worried about is violence, it not that bad. I have seen much, much worse. A guy gets rammed between two cars. That pretty much it and it was not very graphic. A guy trying to kill himself the way he does it in this movie is really not very violent. Honestly, some kids will probably have no idea what's going on in this scene.
The sex scenes are all clothed from waist up and actually, compared to many rated R movies, very tame.
I know a lot of people might disagree with this but, I think it has very positive messages. The alcoholic is completely miserable. His life is very sad and he actually pisses his pants several times. No kid will want to drink heavily after seeing this guy. I don't want to give away the ending, but I think some people will see what I'm talking about.
People are unfair to this movie. It's not as bad as some people say it is. I saw this for the first time when I was twelve and I didn't just go around cussing and getting drunk. If you're that worried about you're kid swearing, explain after that those words are only okay for adults to use in certain situation. And chances are, they already know them anyway and are smart enough not to use them.
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| Studio: | Miramax |
| Director: | Terry Zwigoff |
| Cast: | Bernie Mac, Billy Bob Thornton, Cloris Leachman, John Ritter, Lauren Graham, Tony Cox |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 93 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | November 26, 2003 |
| DVD release date: | June 22, 2004 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | pervasive language, strong sexual content and some violence. |
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