Academy Award-winner Bill Bob Thorton returns to the big screen as Willie Soke in America’s anti-holiday film, Bad Santa 2. In the sequel, Willie collaborates once again with his angry mini-sidekick, Marcus, played by Tony Cox, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is Thurman Merman who is a cheery ray of sunshine, who brings out the humanity in Willie.
Conflict begins when the duo are joined by Academy Award winner Kathy Bates, as Willie’s super butch mother. Sunny raises the bar for the devious duo’s ambitions, while lowering the standards for criminal mischief. The plot thickens, as Willie grows an attraction to the curvaceous prim Dimane, played by Emmy Award nominee Christina Hendricks, who is the charity director with a heart of gold.
In an interview with Metro, Thornton said: “Some of the nasty stuff is even nastier, but this one has more heart — even compared to the heart of the first one, which did have a beating heart. It went to both extremes a little more. We have a couple scenes that you could put in On the Waterfront.” Whatever that means, we’ll find out soon enough. Bad Santa 2 arrives in theaters starting November 23rd this fall.
Mean Girls director Mark Waters directs Bad Santa 2 from a screenplay by Johnny Rosethal and Shauna Cross.
This isn’t exactly a blockbuster film, but we can say Bad Santa 2 has been a long time coming. Rumors circulated that the sequel would return in 2012, with a Christmas 2013 release date.
Released in 2003, Bad Santa starred a comedic lineup, including the beloved Bernie Mac and John Ritter. The film grossed over $60 million with a warm reception from prestige publications, like The Washington Times, who called the film an “evil twin” of Miracle on 34th Street.
Are you ready for Bad Santa 2?
