CinemaClock Guelph

Piece of advice: do not expect to see this and walk out of the theatre in a whistling Jingle Bells. This is as far from a feel-good movie as Saving Private Ryan was an advocate for the necessity of war. To start, it is hands-down the most vulgar movie I have ever opened my far-from virgin ears to (I own and can quote verbatim all of Andrew Dice Clay's standup routines, incidentally) Bad Santa is dirty, dark, depressing, and more cynical than a feminist studies class. I was alternating between being made to laugh and being offended. Obviously, this is not meant to be a comedy for the mainstream crowd. In fact, some may not look at it as a comedy at all. More accurately, it is a window into the mindset of a seemingly hopeless alcoholic, who has hit rock bottom. He is filthy, perpetually drunk and without a single shred of moral decency. Watching how he interacts with the other characters forces me to contemplate why anyone would care for such a worthless sack of garbage. And in fact, I still wonder to this minute; I actually found myself pulling for the kid and the bartender. One thing to be said: Billy Bob's got that drunken lowlife role down pat. Tony Cox is great as... well, as a midget, pretty much reprising the same role he played in Me, Myself & Irene. In fact, one scene was more or less lifted from that movie. It was nice to see John Ritter one last time, may he rest in peace. And Bernie Mac was particularly slimy as the mall security chief. I don't know what else to say? View it at your own risk. If you like Quentin Tarantino pictures, then you'll probably be rolling in the aisles here, but for the love of God, don't take your kids to this. A rating of 13 is not enough. I don't think I should have been old enough to see this.

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