Bad Santa

If Christmas brings out the "bah, humbug" in you, then this pitch-black comedy from indie film-maker Terry Zwigoff (Crumb, Ghost World) will be right up your alley. Flouting the sentimental spirit of the season and then some, it stars Billy Bob Thornton as Willie Stokes, a grouchy, alcoholic safe-cracker who works as a department store Santa so he can rob his employers with the help of an "elf" partner-in-crime (Tony Cox). On one last job, the foul-mouthed, determinedly child-unfriendly Stokes becomes involved with a Santa-loving barmaid (Lauren Graham) and a lonely, bullied, overweight boy (Brett Kelly) who is apparently immune to the river of profanity coming out of Stokes's mouth. Sounds like a recipe for a feel-good ending, but Zwigoff resists that temptation, and with Thornton giving a terrific deadpan performance, this is the perfect antidote to the usual saccharine Christmas confection.