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Bad Santa
Surprisingly funny for the type of comedy film that it was. Billy Bob Thorton does a surprisingly good job in the lead, a role that was really made for him, a boozing drunk permanently pissed off person.
The story was pretty expected for the type of film that it was. It had a couple of twists and turns in it with the character that Bernie Mac played, but it was generally a normal redemption story. It was just that the kid and Billy Bob Thorton's characters were both really good and fairly absurd and that made the film humorous. The sex, booze, and crotch jokes played out well, even though they are the expected type of joke. It was probably aided by the fact that Billy Bob Thorton made them believable. And the whole scheme was somewhat absurd, so there was humor in that by itself as compared to most crude comdies.
As I've said, Billy Bob Thorton plays the lead role very well. His counterparts in the crime are decent, but they aren't anything amazing. They have a few good lines, but play the typical sidekick type of character. The other character that does a good job is the kid, played by Brett Kelly. He is a fairly believable kid who is looking for any sort of father figure. He has some solid humorous parts as well, and the times where he and Thorton play off eachother works out really well. There aren't really any other characters that jump out all that well. Bernie Mac's character really does what is expected of him, and he isn't all that funny in the film.
Overall this is an above average crude comedy that has a good number of good laughs in it. With a different lead it would have been a dud, I can see it as the type of film that Will Ferrell would have done and ruined, but it got lucky with the right casting.
Overall Grade: B
Story: B-
Acting: B
Audio/Visual: B-
Surprisingly funny for the type of comedy film that it was. Billy Bob Thorton does a surprisingly good job in the lead, a role that was really made for him, a boozing drunk permanently pissed off person.
The story was pretty expected for the type of film that it was. It had a couple of twists and turns in it with the character that Bernie Mac played, but it was generally a normal redemption story. It was just that the kid and Billy Bob Thorton's characters were both really good and fairly absurd and that made the film humorous. The sex, booze, and crotch jokes played out well, even though they are the expected type of joke. It was probably aided by the fact that Billy Bob Thorton made them believable. And the whole scheme was somewhat absurd, so there was humor in that by itself as compared to most crude comdies.
As I've said, Billy Bob Thorton plays the lead role very well. His counterparts in the crime are decent, but they aren't anything amazing. They have a few good lines, but play the typical sidekick type of character. The other character that does a good job is the kid, played by Brett Kelly. He is a fairly believable kid who is looking for any sort of father figure. He has some solid humorous parts as well, and the times where he and Thorton play off eachother works out really well. There aren't really any other characters that jump out all that well. Bernie Mac's character really does what is expected of him, and he isn't all that funny in the film.
Overall this is an above average crude comedy that has a good number of good laughs in it. With a different lead it would have been a dud, I can see it as the type of film that Will Ferrell would have done and ruined, but it got lucky with the right casting.
Overall Grade: B
Story: B-
Acting: B
Audio/Visual: B-