I saw the trailers and knew what I was in for when I went to see Bad Santa. It's not Nice Santa or Naughty Santa, but BAAADD SANTA, horribly drunk and disorderly Santa. Rude and Crude Santa.

I laughed until tears streamed down my face.

There is a lot of sexual situations and profanity, but you have to look past it. Those sensitive to foul language should not watch this movie nor FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL. This is not a kiddie movie, but a movie made for adults.

Compared to ELF, SANTA CLAUSE, and a whole raft of other so-so Christmas related comedies, this is one of the best. Most holiday humor movies are always on the lightside with an eye to the children market during the holidays. This one ranks in there with A Christmas STORY and PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES and THE GRINCH WHO STOLE Christmas (cartoon version).

BAD SANTA is Christmas at its darkest, full of profanity, bad people, and evil deeds. But at the heart of it is a small bit of caring by one Bad Santa.

The ultimate hilarious adult treat with glorious lines throughout! I've laughed so hard from Bad Santa that my face has turned red it's quite enticing. I'm shocked this isn't in the top Christmas lists from what I've seen barely anyone mentioned it. So much madness packed in raunchiness, foul, great Christmas music, and relentlessly enjoyable probably seen nearly 40 times. I so love this movie and it's amazing that Billy Bob Thornton really got drunk for the role.

"Bad Santa" is the perfect antidote for those people tired of the usual run of feel good and family friendly holiday fare. It's got one hell of a funny and extremely profane script, and presents a man who just may be one of the worst Santas ever.

He's Willie (Billy Bob Thornton), a miserable alcoholic with a bad case of self hatred who lets himself get dragged into one department store robbery after another by his conniving "elf" partner, Marcus (Tony Cox). Things finally take a different turn for Willie when he encounters Thurman (Brett Kelly), a portly, bullied young boy who lives a very isolated existence; he's got a dad in prison and a grandmother (an uncredited Cloris Leachman) who's not all there. The kids' sincerity and need for friendship set off something inside Willie, who after all this time has found something to live for.

Thornton is wonderful in this role, one of the best of his career, and the other roles are equally as well cast. Cox is a hoot, as is Lauren Tom as the getaway driver, Lauren Graham as the sexy bartender who lusts after Santa Claus (!), and late talents Bernie Mac, as a security chief who learns the truth about Willie & Marcus, and John Ritter (to whom the film is dedicated) who's good as the uptight store manager. Director Terry Zwigoff ("Crumb", "Ghost World") makes the most of the blackly comic screenplay by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. It's a delight because it's so fresh and unpredictable in terms of what outrageousness the filmmakers will sling at us.

Plus, there's just something irresistible about the time honoured premise of giving a pathetic character his much needed chance at redemption. (The film really isn't too far removed from "A Christmas Carol" in this regard.) As much as we laugh at Willie, we're too uncomfortably aware of how much his life stinks, and how well he knows it. As a result, Zwigoff maintains a really fine balancing act between the wilder moments and the more human ones.

Provided the viewer is more than ready to handle all of the obscenities, and a story that gets dark at times, they should have a high old time with "Bad Santa".

Nine out of 10.