Amongst the great comedies of the aughts that I was absolutely not looking for a sequel to, Bad Santa would rank incredibly high. It's such a perfect little slice of robust dark comedy, given just a slight bit of sweetness at the end that feels increasingly earned with subsequent watches. It's also one of Billy Bob Thornton's most naturalistic comedic performances, paired with some excellent supporting turns by Laura Graham, Tony Cox, Cloris Leachman, and Brett Kelly.
So, as you might imagine, my wanting to put any kind of hope behind Bad Santa 2, which sees Thornton returning with Cox and Kelly, was minimal at best before seeing the first images and posters for the film. You can take a look at them below, along with an official synopsis, and I must say that seeing Thornton in his gear again does warm my cynical heart a bit. We'll have to wait for a full trailer to hit before we can fully surmise how much a difference the switch from Ghost World director Terry Zwigoff to Mean Girls director Mark Waters makes here, but I'm just a little more likely to spend the money for a ticket after seeing these images.
Bad Santa 2 hits theaters nationwide on November 23rd.
Here's the first images from Bad Santa 2:
Here's the motion poster and the regular poster for Bad Santa 2:
Here's the official synopsis for Bad Santa 2:
BAD SANTA 2 returns Academy Award®-winner BILLY BOB THORNTON to the screen as America's favorite anti-hero, Willie Soke. Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus (TONY COX), to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is 'the kid' - chubby and cheery Thurman Merman (BRETT KELLY), a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie's sliver of humanity.
Mommy issues arise when the pair are joined by Academy Award®, Golden Globe and Emmy-winner KATHY BATES, as Willie's horror story of a mother, Sunny Soke. A super butch super bitch, Sunny raises the bar for the gang's ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior. Willie is further burdened by lusting after the curvaceous and prim Diane, played by Emmy Award-nominee CHRISTINA HENDRICKS, the charity director with a heart of gold and libido of steel.
