“Why don’t you wish in one hand and sh*t in the other, and see which fills up first?” The most festive of all lines uttered by Billy Bob Thornton‘s Willie T. Soke in Bad Santa to Brett Kelly‘s Thurman Merman is one of its most memorable. Before Thornton was commanding the screen in Taylor Sheridan’s Landman, he was busy redefining what a Christmas movie could be — and shocking audiences in the process. More than 20 years later, Thornton’s foul-mouthed, booze-soaked Santa still hits a very specific — and very funny — holiday nerve, and it’s winning over audiences again, rising into the top 10 on HBO Max.
Released in 2003, Bad Santa is a rough, dark and no-holds-barred comedy about Willie T. Soke (Thornton), a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking conman who spends each holiday season posing as a department store Santa to rob shopping malls with his partner-in-crime, Marcus (Tony Cox). Things take an unexpected turn when Willie forms an unlikely bond with Thurman Merman (Kelly), a naive, overly trusting kid who believes in Santa Claus a little too much. There’s also the happy accident that Thurman’s dad appears to be in prison and his dementia-riddled granny is the only person looking after him, making their luxury home the perfect place to hook up with Sue (Lauren Graham), a bartender with a Santa fetish who becomes romantically entangled with Willie.
Was There a ‘Bad Santa’ Sequel?
There was indeed. Bad Santa 2 saw Thornton, Cox and Kelly return, while Kathy Bates appeared as Willie’s mother, Sunny, and this time around, Willie is at rock bottom — okay, he was at rock bottom last time too, but at least things haven’t gotten any worse — when Marcus decides to let bygones be bygones and sets up another job for the duo. However, when Sunny rocks into town, she decides to take control of the heist and, wouldn’t you know it, things go from bad to worse. Oh, and of course, Thurman still thinks Willie is Santa Claus, and Granny is no longer with us. Pour one out.
Bad Santa 2 is currently streaming on HBO Max and Paramount+, as is Landman, which streams new episodes every Sunday evening. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on Landman and Billy Bob Thornton.
