The original “Bad Santa” was a compact, deliciously naughty piece of R-rated comedy. Terry Zwigoff‘s movie is pitch black in tone, but lets in just enough light for audiences to side with Billy Bob Thornton‘s titular character. So how will the sequel deliver? By pushing the envelope, but not going too far over the edge.
“I think we pushed it even a little further this time, not only in the sort of dark humor, but also in the emotion,” Billy Bob Thornton said at the Television Critics Association panel for Amazon‘s “Goliath” recently (via Slashfilm). “This one has more of a heart, more of a story you would say, but it also went a little further with some of the nasty stuff.”
READ MORE: Billy Bob Thornton Battles A Legal Giant In Trailer For Amazon Series ‘Goliath’
Co-starring Kathy Bates, Tony Cox, Christina Hendricks, Brett Kelly, Ryan Hansen, Jeff Skowron, Jenny Zigrino and Cristina Rosato, “Bad Santa 2” sees Willie Soke back at work and his mother coming into the mix, with a grown up Thurman returning as well. Here’s the official synopsis:
BAD SANTA 2 returns Academy Award®-winner BILLY BOB THORNTON to the screen as America’s favorite anti-hero, Willie Soke. Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus (TONY COX), to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is ‘the kid’ – chubby and cheery Thurman Merman (BRETT KELLY), a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie’s sliver of humanity.
Mommy issues arise when the pair are joined by Academy Award®, Golden Globe and Emmy-winner KATHY BATES, as Willie’s horror story of a mother, Sunny Soke. A super butch super bitch, Sunny raises the bar for the gang’s ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior. Willie is further burdened by lusting after the curvaceous and prim Diane, played by Emmy Award-nominee CHRISTINA HENDRICKS, the charity director with a heart of gold and libido of steel.
Directed by Mark Waters (“Mean Girls”), “Bad Santa 2” opens on November 23rd. Check out the red band and green band trailers below.
