merry christmas mr zwigoff - 'bad santa' film review

After such a long wait, I finally got to see this film i.e. Peter the Pirate has finally got hold of a copy of its DVD!! Thank god they got it, for this film, along with Matchstick Men, The Station Agent, Mystic River, PTU and a few others I can't list off the top of my head, is certainly one of the best films of last year.

But no, don't run yet. This is in no way a 'slow' movie. Unless you're so PC you get easily offended in case someone says "fuck-stick" or "cocksucker", this movie will entertain you in ways you can't possibly imagine. The script, I simply can't praise enough. It's very, very vulgar, yes. But I howled so much with laughter, I sometimes feel ashamed of myself for doing it. You can't even count how many times the word 'fuck' is used in the film. I assure you, you'll lose count after 10 minutes or so into the film. And what they do with the characters is simply fearless. Lauren Graham (the hot mom in Gilmore Girls, and FYI, is still HOT here), for example plays a bartender who has a Santa fetish that when she shags Santa (Billy Bob Thornton), she makes him wear his Santa hat whilst screaming "Fuck me Santa! Fuck me Santa!" repeatedly!! Santa himself does so many outrageous things, you'll be wondering why in the hell do you think all these things are funny. Example? Well, he tends to piss his pants quite a lot. I know, is that funny? Well wait till you see the movie and then you tell me.

So some of the stars you already know. The director is Terry Zwigoff (of 'Crumb' and 'Ghost World' fame). The script is by the guys who last wrote 'Cats & Dogs'. I know!! Cats & Dogs!! But this one's so good, I'm already tempted to see 'Cats & Dogs' again just to see what I've missed.

The story? It's about 2 criminals whose M.O. every year is to pose as Santa and one of his elves in a department store and then rob it when everyone goes home for the holidays. Santa then encounters one troubled kid who may or may not teach him a thing or two about Christmas. So the story sounds normal enough. But believe me, even the most potentially cliched things, like what makes the kid so troubled and fucked up, is presented with humility, freshness and surprise without a single ounce of the schmaltz we've come to expect from movies of this kind. For me this film is truly a perfect example of when "art" and "commerce" goes hand in hand in perfect complement of each other.

I loved every single thing about the movie. It may be, for the most part, 'mean-spirited' or 'nasty' or 'vulgar', but just when you are about to make up your mind on that, it reveals its spirit and its humanity to you. And you'll love it more after that.
I can't recommend this film high enough. But do yourself a favour and see it. A fucked up darling, that's what I'd call it. (9 out of 10 stars)