Written by Logan J. Fowler and Justin Matchick
Release Date: November 23rd, 2016
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Christina Hendricks, Kathy Bates, Tony Cox
Director: Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, The Spiderwick Chronicles)
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: I have never seen the original Bad Santa (sorry about that) but I know it’s a beloved raunchy holiday classic that clearly had enough staying power to bring on a sequel. Aside from that, my only other thought is-was this movie really necessary?-LJF
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: The first Bad Santa was an excellent piece of dark comedy that was enhanced thanks to the touches of Ghost World director Terry Zwigoff as well as having the Coen Brothers as executive producers. The second film lacks any of their involvement. Can the presence of a returning Billy Bob Thornton be enough to carry the second film more than a decade since the previous one? – JTM
Rate the Trailer: 2 out of 5. The trailer, which boasts a solid cast, really didn’t make me chuckle, or even smile. I still have that ultimate feeling that it just isn’t really something that exist. Is Hollywood really that hard up for ideas that they had to revisit a concept that was lightning in a bottle? I’m just not feeling what I’m seeing here. -LJF
Rate the Trailer: 2 out of 5. Something about this whole trailer seemed off, and it’s likely due to the absence of Zwigoff and the Coen’s. They gave the first film it’s black comedy edge that looks to be sorely lacking from this film. Even adding the usually great Kathy Bates and Christina Hendricks on top of the returning cast doesn’t really help salvage anything. This entire trailer gave off the vibe of a direct-to-DVD movie from a few years ago, and it’s hard to see how making the sex jokes raunchier and the pratfalls goofier works as a replacement for the subversive jokes from the first film. – JTM
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? No Thanks. I’ll gladly check out the first Bad Santa if it ever crosses my path, but I just can’t give money to this because of how “meh” it looks. -LJF
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks? Rent. Despite my reservations about the trailer, Thornton was amazing in this role in the first film and his performance alone will be enough to warrant checking this out at a later time. I might regret it, but I’ve been surprised before. – JTM
