bad santa Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Drugs could make a good girl go bad. Reese Witherspoon, who rose to stardom as a good girl in bubbly comedies Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama before winning an Oscar for the dramatic Walk the Line, will star in and produce Pharm Girl for Universal Pictures. Here's the "bad" part: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, responsible for I Love You Philip Morris but best known for writing the acerbic Bad Santa, "are writing the screenplay and in talks to direct," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It's hard to believe it's been 18 years since Reese debuted as a spunky young teen in Robert Mulligan's evocative The Man in the Moon. In the decade before Legally Blonde, she gave a scorching performance as an incredibly foul-mouthed, rebellious teen in Matthew Bright's super-dark Freeway (which had a biting comic edge), and eventually won wide acclaim in Alexander Payne's superb Election. It would be refreshing to see sweet Reese go dark in her comedy again, after all the lighter humor that's become her trademark.

Reese has a host of other potential projects boiling right now: Alexander Payne's little people flick Downsizing, clone comedy Used Guys, and James L. Brooks' softball romantic comedy. I haven't been too excited by her recent films, whether comic (Just Like Heaven) or dramatic (Rendition), but it was good to hear her distinctive Southern twang in Monsters vs. Aliens, and I'd like to see the Bad Santa boys cook up a twisted, irreverent satire about the "dark underbelly" of the pharmaceutical industry. Would you go see Reese as a bad "pharm girl"?

As Spin-ematical alerted you earlier today, the cinematic wonder that is Paul Blart: Mall Cop is now available on DVD and Blu-ray for our movie-loving paws. But that doesn't mean we want it. (I hope!) Why go for the "harmlessly humorless" when you can revel in true commerce comedy?

There are a number of better options to satisfy your yearnings for officers of the shopping law and mall mayhem. Most of them are funny, one is downright scary, and all offer something both entertaining and worthwhile. And that's the key -- isn't it? Being entertained without feeling like we've been lobotomized?

Read on for my selections, and be sure to comment with your own favorite mall mayhem movies. Beware: some of the following clips are full of f-bombs and adult language, so NSFW.

The AP is reporting this morning that actor/comedian Bernie Mac has passed away in a Chicago area hospital from complications due to pneumonia. He's also suffered from an inflammatory lung disease known as sarcoidosis, though that had gone into remission back in 2005. Mac, who won a Peabody Award for his very popular sitcom The Bernie Mac Show, was also well known for his stand-up comedy -- and as part of The Original Kings of Comedy -- as well as his various big-screen appearances in films from the Ocean's series to Bad Santa to Mr. 3000 to his upcoming roles in Soul Men opposite Samuel L. Jackson, and Old Dogs opposite Robin Williams and John Travolta.

Dude was a funny, funny man. He will be missed. What's your favorite Bernie Mac performance/joke/moment? Feel free to share your thoughts on the man in the comments section below ...

Although Will Smith plays an emotionally fragile superhero in Hancock, as a movie star he's practically invincible. By industry standards, the last genuine Smith dud was The Legend of Bagger Vance, but the actor's standing among many audiences has remained decidedly rocky. As a result, he occupies a unique corner of the Hollywood marketplace where quality and taste don't necessarily match up. Unlike, say, The Dark Knight, not many people eagerly await the latest Smith offering -- which currently has a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes -- but they'll see it anyway. Hancock is tracking well, thanks to a poster exclusively dominated by Smith's unshaven mug, and that pretty much seals its potent box office fate. Just as Smith's slapdash onscreen persona is bullet-proof, Smith himself is steadfastly critic-proof.

Which places movie in an interesting quagmire: After pulling in waves of cash, it will probably get relegated to the void of forgettable Smith fare, where spectacles offer passing amusement before scampering off forever. Hancock, however, deserves better than a fleeting moment in the limelight and a crash landing in the bargain bin. It's part of a genre that speaks directly to the modern state of blockbuster cinema: The superhero satire.

"Are you okay?"
"I'm disgusted and repulsed and ... I can't look away."

--Clerks II

After watching Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay with me, my husband remarked, "That may be the most deliberately offensive film I've seen." However, he also pointed out that he'd been laughing his head off most of the time. My first thought was that if the Harold and Kumar sequel was the most offensive thing he'd seen in awhile, maybe he needed to go to QT Fest with me next time, or watch some of those bizarre midnight movies at Alamo Drafthouse. (And what, did he forget we saw Borat together last year?)

But afterwards, I started wondering ... how many intentionally offensive comedies have we seen and loved? I'm not thinking about provocative or transgressive films that try to make you stop and think about your life. I'm talking about movies that, when they succeed, evoke that amazing moment in which your jaw has plummeted to the floor in disbelief as a bubble of laughter starts to force its way out of you and will send you to the floor along with your dropped jaw, in hysteria. I'll put up with revolting, sacrilegious, and downright repellent content in a film if it makes me laugh hard enough. Can I think of seven movies that meet such a high standard for offensive comedy? It's more like seven times seven, and difficult to pick only a few of my favorites. Feel free to share any movies that you think I neglected to include -- bear in mind that in some cases, I simply didn't like the movie enough to get past the offensive bits (the Jackass films), or although I liked the movie, wasn't offended (The Aristocrats).

Before I get started, I just wanted to say that anyone who was undecided as to whether or not Knocked Up was sexist, probably wasn't really paying too close attention to Leslie Mann's performance. Mann's portrayal of a woman forced into being the bad cop because her husband isn't into the whole 'grown up' thing was one of the best things about that film. Now she's heading for another 'wronged wife' role, and The Hollywood Reporter announced that Mann has joined the cast of I Love You, Phillip Morris.

Phillip Morris is based on the true life story of Steven Russell (as played by Jim Carrey). Russell was a married family man whose criminal exploits landed him in the Texas prison system. While incarcerated, Russell fell in love with his cell mate, Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). After Morris' release, Russell concocted a variety of bizarre escape attempts in hopes of reuniting with the love of his life.

Well, I guess if you are looking to cast an unlikely couple, then Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey would probably be at the top of the list. Variety reports that McGregor has signed to play the romantic lead opposite Jim Carrey in the black comedy, I Love You Philip Morris. The film centers on Steven Russell (Carrey), a Texas conman who fell in love with his cellmate, Phillip Morris (played by McGregor). The script is based on the true story of Russell and his various escape attempts to be with his true love. Some of the more elaborate attempts included "using a green pen and bucket of water to change his prison outfit into what appeared to be surgical scrubs, another time by faking his death from AIDS and signing his own death certificate". But all did not end well for the lovers and while Morris eventually made it out of prison, Russell managed to earn a 144 year sentence for his various escape attempts.

The film is the directorial debut of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who are best known as the writers of Bad Santa. Ficarra and Requa also wrote the script based off of crime reporter Steve Mcvicker's novel. The film is set to start production as soon as Carrey is finished with Robert Zemeckis' latest foray into motion capture, A Christmas Carol (where Carrey is set to play multiple parts). McGregor has already lined up the Hitchcock-inspired Number 13 and the big-screen version of I, Lucifer for 2008. Plus, he has just finished work on The List with Hugh Jackman -- now that's the on-screen couple I've been hoping for; but no such luck.

OK, so this is theoretical: Charles Dickens died in 1870, about 25 years before the very first motion pictures were shown. He published A Christmas Carol in 1843, when he was about thirty, which would have put his fictitious Ebenezer Scrooge several years older, with even less chance of ever having seen any movies. So we're just imagining that if Scrooge was around today, and still hated Christmas, but loved movies -- and preferred to spend Christmas alone watching mean, dark Christmas stories -- then these might be his favorites. A Happy Humbug -- er... Holidays to all!

1. Bad Santa (2003)
Of course: Billy Bob Thornton's Willie T. Soke has gone down as perhaps the greatest Christmas curmudgeon since the Grinch, and even Scrooge himself. His beautifully crafted dialogue is like an opera of swear words, soaring over the proceedings like the wings of drunken, unwashed angels. Terry Zwigoff's masterful direction walks an impossible line between vicious and sweet, hilarious and human. (Note: avoid the theatrical cut and the bogus "Badder Santa" version, and stick with the superior, official Director's Cut.)

2. Black Christmas (1974)
Bob Clark directed everyone's holiday favorite, A Christmas Story, but nine years earlier he made this horror masterpiece about the first holiday serial killer, a nasty piece of work who torments a girl's sorority house on the eve of the holiday break. But these girls (including Margot Kidder and Olivia Hussey) are no innocent Cindy Lou Whos; they can out-drink and out-curse any slasher. Even Scrooge wouldn't accept the dreadful 2006 remake, however.

I entirely sympathize with people that complain about the press (or bloggers or fanboys or "the Internet community") over-hyping certain movies because I feel the same way about holiday flicks in general. It's like the "Small World" ride/attraction at Disneyland: the first time you hear "It's a Small World," you think, "OK, fairly inoffensive little song, nice message, good for the kids" but by the end of the ride -- and the 50 millionth rendition -- you want to take a baseball bat to all the speakers in the vicinity and, oh yeah, smash yourself over the head too, to properly bid the song good riddance.

That's just me, though. I realize I may be walking out onto a plank solo with my choices, but these are the holiday movies for which I've developed an unreasoning, out of proportion hatred -- the mere mention of which drives me insane. In some cases I've tried to watch them, sometimes repeatedly, to see what others enjoy so much, but I'm afraid it's a lost cause. Apologies in advance if you're offended; please don't take it as a rejection of your values, morals, or good sense. These are not reviews, they are notes on films I couldn't finish or simply hate on principle. For the record, I don't have a knee-jerk reaction to ALL holiday movies, or movies set during the holidays; I came to enjoy most of It's a Wonderful Life (up to that sentimental ending with James Stewart running down the street), and really dig The Nightmare Before Christmas, Gremlins, Die Hard, and Lethal Weapon.

1. A Christmas Story

I've tried, I've tried, I've tried. I've started at the beginning, I've come back in the middle, I've come back near the end, and the charms of this film still elude me. All due respect to the late Jean Sheperd, but how does his voice not drive you folks up the wall? To me, he sounds like nails on a chalkboard. And he never shuts up! Combined with the kid's unrelenting desire for a BB gun, it just seems to me like one long whine for a present. In general, the tone is far too precious for me. Maybe I heard too many stories from my father about growing up in poverty during the 1930s to enjoy a warm-hearted family tale set in the 1940s. (For an entirely different perspective, read why my boss thinks you should watch it for 24 hours straight.)

I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about this idea when they first announced it -- basically, a take on The Six Million Dollar Man, except the government only throws a measly $40,000 into this experiment. Great. Will Ferrell, Jack Black -- throw one of them in there, and it's just another doofy spring comedy. But now that The Hollywood Reporter tells us Terry Zwigoff will be directing, my anticipation meter just shot up. Zwigoff doesn't take on just any project; he's not one of those directors who's shoveling out a film every year. I guess you could say he's somewhat of an odd fellow, but I've loved each and every one of his films for different reasons. They're all slightly off, slightly warped -- each finding its own cult audience over time, with one (Bad Santa) hitting the right chords with more of the mainstream crowd, yet even that film could be deemed "out there."

But the news gets even better -- apparently Zwigoff, aside from directing the flick, will help re-write the script alongside his Ghost World partner Dan Clowes (both were nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for their work on that film's script). For those that adored Ghost World (and I know there's a ton of you out there), this is probably wonderful news -- even if it does sound like an odd project for the duo to take on. As I alluded to before, The $40,000 Man centers on an astronaut who's injured in a horrific crash and then re-built by the government on a shoe-string budget of $40,000. Zwigoff last helmed Art School Confidential, which I remember starting out as this goofy, mainstream teen comedy before turning into something completely different. One thing's for sure here -- however you think this film is going to end up, it will most likely go in the exact opposite direction. And I cannot wait.