If there ever was a Christmas-movie meant for Bill-Bob Thornton, this is so definitely it. Usually, voice-overs are annoying and adds little. Not here. The introduction is ripe with loathing and contempt for absolutely everything. My kind of start.
And let's make it clear immediately: A Santa that drinks heavily, swears like a sailor and has a huge thing for asses and anal sex... It's funny. With Thornton and Tony Cox... it's very funny.
Cox is a wonderful addition to Thornton's self-destructing Santa. A great balance of frustration, anger and disappointment as he tries to hold it together for the both of them. Brett Kelly and Lauren Kelly also shine in Thornton's presence, almost making me think he can make anyone good. Then I remember "Love actually". But seriously. How many films has interaction between an adult and a dumb child that has you hollering in laughter? And if you're thinking about "America's stupidest Homevideos" now, grinning to yourself... take a dive off a 60 foot ledge. Besides, the boxing-scene in this film is better than anything Stallone could muster in a dozen films.
Bernie Mac and John Ritter (this was to be Ritter's final full-length feature) both died rather shortly after this film, and they will both be missed. They're very nicely cast here, playing right at their strengths.
It's great fun to see that someone still manages to put a bit of thought and originality into a heist. Seeing Tony Cox slide down an escalator in a snowman-costume... Priceless.
It falls a bit to pieces towards the end in usual comedy fashion. It's hard to be funny when you're trying to add both moral and a happy ending. The kid manages to squeeze out more sympathy than you'd think but the humour suffers.
Oh, and the musical choices are mostly brilliant throughout. Shostakovich's Jazz Suite was never more fitting.
This film will in no way raise any Christmas spirit, but it might just raise the roof with laughs. And that is much, much better.
7/10
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