Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Bad Santa Blu-ray Movie Review

Merry F&*%*@! Christmas, Blu-ray fans!

Reviewed by Ben Williams November 28, 2007

The main character in Bad Santa, Willie (Billy Bob Thornton), is truly one of the most vile characters in the history of cinema. He drinks and is constantly drunk, smokes, harasses women, terrorizes children and liberally peppers his speech with f-bombs and other socially unacceptable words. He’s also frighteningly hilarious and entertaining. Bad Santa is the kind of film that shouldn’t work, yet succeeds on just about every level.

Due to the fact that this is a family website, I'm not permitted to re-print virtually any of the dialogue from Bad Santa, except this singe line: "prove it..."

Willie and Marcus (Tony Cox) run a pretty ingenious scam. Every Christmas, they move to a new town and pose as a mall Santa and Elf duo. Casing the establishment as they go through the motions of their mall Santa duties, they rob the store blind on Christmas Eve. Of course, Willie’s disgusting behavior makes blending in very difficult. On their latest Christmas score in Phoenix, Willie is hitting rock bottom and is at his absolute lowest. Chance encounters with a troubled kid, a nosy store detective and a sweet woman with a Santa fetish will make this their most difficult heist, yet.

Bad Santa is definitely not for kids. The film is rated a very hard “R” and features some of the harshest language ever heard in a Christmas comedy - - heck, it’s probably some of the worst language ever in a film, regardless of genre! Regardless, this is a film that won’t appeal to everyone, but is gut-wrenchingly hilarious to those with slightly more liberal senses of humor. If you can stomach the language and the extreme nature of the subject matter, then you are likely to be very entertained. Willie really is a vile character and a lot of credit has to go to Billy Bob Thornton for his very raw and perfectly timed comedic performance. Tony Cox is also amazing here. He takes what could have been a very one-dimensional character role and just about steals every scene he’s in. Lauren Graham is also remarkably sweet and provides a nice warm-hearted balance to the film’s harsh tone. Finally, there’s Brett Kelly as Thurman Merman, or as Willie calls him, “the Kid.” I’ve not seen this actor since Bad Santa was released, but he is really quite good in the film. He is easily the most sympathetic character in the film and viewers who become invested in “The Kid” will find it hard not to feel some strangely strong emotions about him. Bad Santa was also the final filmed performance from John Ritter before his untimely death. His role in the film is rather limited, yet his scene-stealing performance is a further testament to how talented he was a comedic actor. In the end, Bad Santa is one of the funniest films I’ve laid eyes on in recent years and has earned a permanent place in my family’s annual Christmas must-view movie list.

Note: This release of Bad Santa features two different versions of the film. Included in the set is the new Director’s cut that features some new material not found in the original theatrical version as well as the expanded unrated cut. I prefer the unrated cut as it adds a few minutes to Willie’s drunken romp in Miami at the beginning of the film and cuts several weak transitions contained in the Director’s cut.

Bad Santa Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While Bad Santa wasn't ever destined to win any awards for picture quality, it does feature a expressive and rich palette of familiar Christmas colors. As most of the film takes place in a mall decorated for the holidays, there are plenty of vivid reds and greens that really pop off of the screen. Presented in full 1080p, this AVC encode does a remarkable job of presenting the film in a way that is true to its theatrical roots. There isn't a trace of edge enhancement, banding or any other negative picture anomalies found here. Instead we are treated to a very film-like image that retains the slight grain that is to be found in the original print. The film has a bit of a murky look at times, so a quick check of my DVD version of the film showed that this issue was also present there as well. It's hard to say if the murkiness is intended, but I do give the folks at Disney / Miramax the benefit of the doubt given their track record.

Bad Santa Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Again, Bad Santa isn't here to win awards on technical merit, but like its video presentation, this 5.1 PCM soundtrack is very effective and natural. What was striking about this uncompressed soundtrack was how rich and full the musical score sounded. Selections from Mozart, Chopin and Dean Martin are all wonderfully placed in what is a very front-loaded presentation. There is an occasional flourish from the rear channels and bass response is pretty well limited to a couple of gunshots and orchestral splashes. Otherwise, we have a very nice dialogue heavy presentation that is always perfectly intelligible. Uncompressed sound continues to impress, even on titles that are less flashy.

Bad Santa Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Here's what's included:

-Behind the Scenes
-Outtakes
-Deleted Scenes
-Alternate Scenes
-Gag Reel


There really isn't much here worth mentioning. All of the features on this Blu-ray release have been ported directly from the DVD release in 480i. The Behind the scenes feature is typical promotional junk and the outtakes and gag reel are just plain silly. The deleted and alternate scenes offer the only real entertainment value in this supplements package, but they are quite limited at best.

Bad Santa Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are easily offended, then avoid Bad Santa at all costs. The entire film is an exercise in bad taste and bad manners. Of course, the film is devilishly funny and features a whole slew of fantastic performances. Video and audio are also very nice and naturally presented. The supplements are a bit on the weak side, but the inclusion of two versions of the film more than makes up for this shortcoming. All in all, Bad Santa is a stunningly hilarious film with a surprising sweet twist. If your Christmas has room for a few F-Bombs and some scatological humor, make some time to watch this one as soon as possible!