One of the few movies improved by studio interference. Original ending had him killed by the cops, test audiences hated it, and of course Zwigoff didn't want it changed. With a little tweaking and some good writing, the happier ending works great!
@@ModeratelyAmused Dark comedies are usually serious movies with elements of comedy. The tone is very different. Comedies are meant to make you feel good.
@@ZombieWerePrechaunPire that is entirely not true at all. dark humor is a thing. a dark comedy is full of dark humor. comedies are meant to make you laugh. feeling good is a side product. Rick and Morty, 100% a comedy, loaded with Dark Humor. Same goes for What We Do in the Shadows. But it doesn't have to be completely absurd to be a comedy. The Patriot and Game Night would be two, that if you watched and considered them dramas, your view of humor is child-like.
It'd be worth uploading the Terry Zwigoff comments about how awful Billy Bob was to work with on that set. And how the original Coen Bros script turned into this movie.
Honestly this movie is incredible. Not just comedically, but it’s one of my favorite Christmas movies for it’s ability to portray a true Christmas miracle. Thurman (Kid) is the only one who is able to get through to Willie (Bad Santa). Santa is going to commit suicide, but the sweetness and purity and innocence of the troubled child is what saves his life, and he goes to beat the shit out of the bullies for Thurman.. and in what might possibly be his final moments, knowing full well he’s gonna be gunned down by the police, the only thing he wants to do is get back to Thurman to give him his Christmas present. Now, I might be a sappy bastard, but if that part of the movie doesn’t warm your heart then you might not have one… because it’s one of the most wholesome and non-cheesy things I’ve ever seen in a Christmas movie.
The opening scene of the holiday party at the local bar is so great. One of the best ever. When the holiday spirit gets occasionally too sweet - there's always Bad Santa to make you feel better about yourself.
You should make a video out of Terry Zwigoff on Gilbert Gottfrieds podcast talking about Billy Bob on this movie. Apparently he was a nightmare. His thing is to work just long enough so he cant be fired from the movie, and then start in hard on the booze and the meth and become the worlds most unlikable walking turd. Oh and he said Bernie Mac got major star struck by John Ritter.
@@evanwakelin7944 I think that's a really bad mentality to have about art. Art can be made in any condition, we shouldn't glorify suffering as way to achieve "true" art. A lot of great artists have been taken away prematurely because of it. I know David Lynch isn't everyone's cup of tea, but his films are incredible pieces of art and he's stated many times that suffering ruins art. He maintains he can reach these ideas because he has serenity and balance in his life.
If you listen to the commentary, it may even have been the sequel and a different director, he said that it is something Thornton does when they have shot enough footage to not be able to replace him, the director rang up another director he had before and that guy confirmed that he did it after few weeks, he is just an asshole. Few of them ever want to work with him again.@@evanwakelin7944
I think they will return before the decade is over and these woke PC times will die off. The miserable liberal crowd that gets offended by everything will have to deal with it and the world will move on without them.
The only thing more annoying than false outrage is people like you who go looking for it where it doesn't even exist. You're outraged about the mere idea of outrage.
He does not have a good rep and he's an alcoholic that gets nasty drunk. The director of Bad Santa does an interview where he says he soon found out Thornton acts nice for first few days then when he knows they've filmed too much to be able to sack him he hits the booze and turns nasty. If you type in "billy bob Thornton interview gone wrong" you can see him be a proper asshole!
The shooting at the end just about ruined a great movie. Guns and shooting do not have to be part of American films or any films. It could have been such a better movie if they had written the ending differently.
Billy bob must be some drinking king if he’s able to tell someone he might pass out and act out that scene with that accuracy how the hell do white people hold it together when they’re almost blackout drunk that’s a super power or strong minded
