Billy Bob Thornton’s grouchy Santa is finally back, but his sequel is pretty ho-ho-horrible.
It’s been thirteen years since the original “Bad Santa” found its fan base, and it feels like someone’s been trying to make a sequel ever since. Opening over Thanksgiving weekend, “Bad Santa 2” brings back Billy Bob Thornton’s cranky, bitter, alcoholic safecracker Willy, who is called back into action by his former partner, Marcus (Tony Cox).
This time, they’re off to Chicago to rob a charity of millions, but once there, Willy realizes his equally foul-mouthed and estranged mother (Kathy Bates) will also be involved in their heist. The robbery gets a little more complicated with the need to seduce an amorous security guard (Jenny Zigrino) to get her keys to reach the safe. Willy, meanwhile, has his eye on the comely Diane (Christina Hendricks), who runs the charity.
None of the original creative team, including creators Glenn Ficcara and John Requa, were involved with this sequel. They have since gone on to better things, while original director Terry Zwigoff is replaced by “Mean Girls” director Mark Waters, working on his raciest material to date.
It’s almost immediately obvious Waters is out of his depth, as most of the attempted humor just falls flat, even when a lot of the filthiest lines are coming out of Bates’ mouth. Certainly, one hopes Bates’ sassy, heavily-tattooed counterpart to Thornton will hold her own — and she mostly does, but that doesn’t make their clunky banter work any better.
The original “Bad Santa” came out at a time before Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen and their gang found a way to innovate R-rated humor in a smart and clever way. “Bad Santa 2” seems like a dated throwback where everyone constantly hurls expletives and makes filthy, often gag-inducing cracks at each other, amounting to more disgust than laughs.
The only part that really works is when Thornton’s Santa is interacting with the kids, but then they repeat a joke almost verbatim from the first film. Maybe they saw it as a witty homage, but it just comes across like laziness.
There are a few saving graces, such as Brett Kelly as the grown-up “Kid” Thurman Merman, who brings some much needed warmth and optimism to the stew. But even laughing at his semi-autism seems cruel in this day and age. Zigrino as Gina the security guard stands out among the movie’s otherwise weak supporting cast.
Clearly, now is not the right time for such an ugly and mean-spirited excuse for a comedy, and in a year already full of crappy sequels, “Bad Santa 2” is the lump of coal we really didn’t need this Christmas.
