Bad Santa 2

Director: Mark Waters
Year Released: 2016
Rating: 2.0

Old Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) and Marcus (Tony Cox) reunite (some thirteen years later!) to pull off another Santa-themed heist, this time ripping off a Chicago-based 'charity' with the 'help' of Willie's long-lost (and physically ill ... but venomous) Mum (Kathy Bates). The first Bad Santa (helmed by Terry Zwigoff) was such a hysterically profane revelation when it came out - and has since become a cult classic - that topping it was a nearly impossible challenge: though there are some laugh-out-loud moments (nobody can snarl like Thornton ... or pound dat ass), it mimics the structure (and comedic content) of its predecessor nearly identically, with Christina Hendricks playing Lauren Graham's part and Jeff Skowron taking the late John Ritter's place. The "alternative ending," featured on the DVD, is better than the one they used, in which Cox's two-timer gets Thornton's testicles shoved in his face (this is commonly known as "tea-bagging"): it's witless frat-level humor you'd expect from a Zac Efron/Seth Rogan movie.