‘Bad Santa 2’ (2016) – the long anticipated sequel of the raunchy 2003 Christmas comedy; the former was a global phenomenon that launched Billy Bob Thornton into megastar status and helped to solidify the actor as a household name. The sequel manages to attain a level of entertainment that is surprisingly close to the original.
Professional thief Willie Soke (Thornton), once again uses his ironic cover of volunteering as a Santa Claus in his Grinch-like holiday tradition of taking part in an annual heist. Principal photography for ‘Bad Santa 2’ was filmed in the city of Montreal, Quèbec, Canada, utilizing the tax credit available for foreign film productions that take place in the province.
Use this link to find out more about the refundable tax credit:
Billy Bob Thornton is still an unstoppable force of debauchery in his portrayal of Willie Soke. Even when other cast members are doing their best to keep pace with him; it’s visibly hard to match the veracity of his lewd outbursts. He seems almost truthful in his vicious judgments of others, often funny, but also possibly serving as an metatextual indictment of people who lead “pleasant lives” and ignore the problems around them. Either way, Thornton seems to thrive from playing a role that figuratively gives a middle finger to the establishment.
And seeing as Mark Waters previously directed ‘Mean Girls’ – a movie that very clearly derides the existence of social “cliques”; anti classism appears to be the director’s stomping ground as well.
So, the two are presumably a nice fit for director and lead of a project, a synergy that is very obviously beneficial to filmmaking.
Thornton’s on-screen abrasiveness is often unparalleled; his punchlines are delivered in a hilariously, seemingly improvisational way. I checked and it’s hard to find info on whether any of the jokes were actually improvised, but to me it seems more than likely. The back-and-forths (or retorts) come off as some brilliant ad-lib comedy in the way they’re being delivered.
In short, It’s like Billy Bob Thornton was meant to play this role.
Indeed, judging by his involvement with the script development phase; he really understands the character:
“There are actually rules,” Thornton says. “When I would say, ‘No, Willie would never do that,’ [the writers] were kind of shocked. They’d say, ‘Oh, I thought this was Bad Santa, you could do anything.’ I’d say, ‘Yeah, up to a point.’ There’s a certain soft spot in this guy and you have to maintain that.” (Screenplay credit on Bad Santa 2 is shared by Rosenthal, Shauna Cross (Whip It), and Entourage creator Doug Ellin.) -Clark Collis of EntertainmentWeekly.com [2]
The addition of Oscar winner Kathy Bates helped to bolster the cast of a sequel that may have otherwise fallen into the somewhat objectionable category of nostalgia bait; a term that’s generally applied when there is little offered in the way of substantive plot connections to the first film – instead “Easter eggs” and call-backs are used to glaze over an under-written (and often unnecessary) attempt at a continuance of the original story.
Fear not; for this isn’t the case with ‘Bad Santa 2’, instead this movie is a much needed exception to the rule – see below, a quote from director Mark Waters highlighting this:
“Waters: Yeah, we wanted to consciously do some homages to the first movie. There’s that fine line between, are we just going to rip off the same gags and kind of making the same movie? Or are you taking it knowing there are certain touchstone moments that you want to kind of feel like, okay we’re going to pay that off here.” -Jessica Heidenreich of ScreenRant.com [1]
I feel like the choice to include an actor as celebrated as Kathy Bates in a starring role alongside Billy Bob Thornton was (most likely) born of a lack of clear direction for the planned plot of ‘Bad Santa 2’ during the production phase.
“Thornton had long wanted to make Bad Santa 2, and writer Johnny Rosenthal had been hired to work on the script way back in 2011, but the project spent years in development hell. The delays were caused both by corporate machinations — including Disney’s 2010 sale of Miramax, the studio that had produced the first film — and by a lengthy rewrite process.” -Clark Collis of EntertainmentWeekly.com [2]
Regardless, the choice was the right one to make.
Kathy Bates plays Willy’s estranged mother – providing a tangible backstory for the main character, where one did not exist before. Although she isn’t quite as snappy as her counterparts; Bates is definitely able to hold her own when it comes to comedy. I do think she’s a tad bit more at home in a series like Netflix’s ‘Disjointed’, but her overall charisma is still on full display in this movie.
In addition, this film does an admirable job of respecting the spirit of the original – while providing something new, creative; and some very clever writing that manages to further the character-arcs of most of the returning cast in the process.
Willie’s ex-partner Marcus (played by Tony Cox) who betrayed him in the first film is back – and his attitude is as flagrant as ever; spouting some of the funniest and most stinging comebacks you’ve ever heard. Honestly, I’ve never heard such hurtful things come out someone’s mouth!
Despite Cox being 3’6”, his diminutive stature is balanced by an utterly gargantuan on-screen presence.
His ability to “riff” with another comic-actor is a joy to watch and truly, truly awesome.
If you enjoy Tony Cox’ work, he plays a stellar role in ‘Guns, Girls, and Gambling’ a film that stars Christian Slater in the lead role, and Gary Oldman in a supporting role, among others.
Honestly, this film is a hoot-and-a-half!
Even considering the staggering heights that ‘Bad Santa’ managed to reach in 2003, the long-awaited second instalment ‘Bad Santa 2’ managed to deliver just as many jokes, witty comebacks, and seriously unhinged Christmas happenings. If you’re looking to bust a gut this holiday — sit down and enjoy a healthy helping of ‘Bad Santa 2’.
I promise, you won’t be disappointed!
RATING 7.5 / 10
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Sources:
[1]https://screenrant.com/bad-santa-2-mark-waters-interview/
[2]https://ew.com/article/2016/11/21/billy-bob-thornton-bad-santa-3/#:~:text=A%20string%20of%20scribes%20attempted,see%20the%20film’s%20trailer%20below.
