Bad Santa
Disney / Buena Vista (2003)
Comedy
In Collection
#491
7*
Seen It:  Yes
(6/13/2011)
786936245042
IMDB   7.2
93 mins USA/English
DVD  Region 1   NR
Billy Bob Thornton Willie
Tony Cox Marcus
Brett Kelly The Kid
Lauren Graham Sue
Lauren Tom Lois
Bernie Mac Gin
John Ritter Bob Chipeska
Ajay Naidu Hindustani Troublemaker
Lorna Scott Milwaukee Mother
Harrison Bieker Milwaukee Boy
Alex Borstein Milwaukee Mom with Photo
Director Terry Zwigoff
Producer Sarah Aubrey
John Cameron
Bob Weinstein
Ethan Coen
Writer Glenn Ficarra
John Requa

The Christmas season just got a lot less joyous in this very dark comedy. Willie T. Soke ( Billy Bob Thornton ) is a con man and a thief who teams up with his friend Marcus ( Tony Cox ), a midget, for a very special scam each year during the holiday season. Willie gets a job as Santa Claus at a shopping mall, his pal tags along as an elf, and they use their employee status to crack mall security and rob stores blind just before Christmas. However, there's one flaw to this plan — Willie is a bitter, foul-mouthed and perpetually grouchy alcoholic who doesn't care for kids, and it's all he can do to keep himself from getting fired while on the job. The mall's manager ( John Ritter , in his last film appearance) is certain something's wrong with the Santa he's hired, so he asks the mall's chief of security ( Bernie Mac ) to do some research on Willie. Meanwhile, one of the kids Willie is forced to talk to becomes a regular customer; overweight, awkward, and the frequent target of bullies, the boy manages to arouse something like sympathy from Willie, who tries to give him some advice and develops something vaguely resembling Christmas sprit along the way. Bad Santa was directed by Terry Zwigoff , who enjoyed previous success with Crumb and Ghost World . — Mark Deming
Edition Details
Edition Unrated Special Edition
Chapters 19
Release Date 6/22/2004
Packaging Keep Case
Screen Ratio 1.85:1
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
Layers Single Side, Dual Layer
No. of Disks/Tapes 1
Personal Details
Purchase Date 6/22/2004
Owner Thomas Eisenmann
Store Best Buy
Purchase Price $15.99
Condition Excellent
Reviewed Widescreen Review
Bit Rate 448 KB
Anamophic Yes
Links IMDB

Features
Anamophic
There are deleted or alternate scenes; a nine-minute behind-the-scenes featurette; a “badder” gag reel; unrated menus; and, unfortunately, up front ads.

Widescreen Review
Special Notes:
Also available in an R-rated theatrical edition.

Story Synopsis:
Willie T. Stoke (Thornton) is a womanizing, potty-mouthed drunk working as a mall Santa Claus during the holiday season. But this Bad Santa also moonlights as a thief in his workplace with his elf friend Marcus (Cox). While the mall’s chief of security (Mac) digs up a little dirt on Stoke, he and Marcus plan one more mall heist. But this Scrooge-Of-All-Scrooges finds something in overweight kid Thurman Merman (Kelly) that evokes feelings that sort of resembles the Christmas spirit. But don’t count on things getting too mushy. (Suzanne Hodges)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85:1 DVDs exhibit the same image quality, with the Unrated edition offering extended and new scenes of Santa’s bad antics. Though the picture is colorful, with rich hues like deep reds, bold greens, and bright blues, there is a thematically “dark” quality that complements the edgy comedy. Sharpness is satisfactory, but finer details are a bit lacking. There is some minor pixel breakup noticed at times, and picky viewers may notice the presence of edge enhancement. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack on both rated and unrated versions is pretty much the same and exhibits average to above average fidelity and tonality. This soundtrack is very front three screen channel heavy with minimal use of the LFE and surround channels. The use of the dual surround channels shows up usually where there is music present to either move the story along or serve as a bridge between scenes. (Jeffrey Kern)