Bad Santa 2

A slightly inferior sequel, Bad Santa 2 follows Billy Bob Thornton’s Willie Soke as he once again agrees to team up with Tony Cox’s Marcus Skidmore to pull off a lucrative heist – with the endeavor conceived and planned by no less than Willie’s equally hateful mother (Kathy Bates’ Sunny). There’s little doubt that Bad Santa 2 works best in its entertaining and often laugh-out-loud funny first half, as scripters Johnny Rosenthal and Shauna Cross deliver a relatively fresh narrative that doesn’t feel like a complete rehash of the original film’s – which is no small feat, certainly, given the heist-centric storyline and proliferation of familiar faces in the supporting cast. (The return of Brett Kelly’s Thurman Merman is, in terms of the latter, handled surprisingly well, to be sure.) It’s clear, ultimately, that Bad Santa 2‘s mild success is due mostly to Thornton’s often spellbinding turn as the title character, with the actor’s sardonic, caustic performance generally compensating for the less-than-successful elements within the screenplay (and it’s clear, too, that both Cox and Bates acquit themselves quite well here). The film, then, begins to run out of steam as it progresses into its plot-heavy final third, as filmmaker Mark Waters places an all-too-prominent emphasis on action-oriented beats that grow increasingly tedious – which ensures that Bad Santa 2 ultimately does end with more of a whimper than a bang. It’s nevertheless undeniable that the movie fares a whole lot better than most contemporary comedy sequels (eg Dumb and Dumber Too, Neighbors 2, etc), with the somewhat iconic nature of Thornton’s antihero ensuring that future possible followups wouldn’t be entirely unwelcome.

**1/2 out of ****