SUBMITTED BY Timbo

November 18, 2003 — Adults who were traumatized as children by the revelation that (spoiler) Santa wasn't real (end spoiler) may have to take to their beds after seeing the raunchy "Bad Santa", which gets some coverage over at MSNBC as part of their look at Santa in the movies.

In "Bad Santa," Thornton takes far more than the occasional nip, playing a scruffy boozer who vomits in alleys and passes out in his Santa suit. Spewing profanity, Thornton's thieving Santa gets a lesson in holiday spirit from a misfit kid convinced the shady crook is the real St. Nick.

With a hard R rating for language and sex but ultimately a warm though twisted heart, "Bad Santa" plays out like an episode of "South Park" that turns into "It's a Wonderful Life," Thornton said.

"What's great about the character, he's one of those guys who's so pathetic that you've got to love him," Thornton said. "He's a sort of pitiful guy who's just sour all the time, and the fact that he ends up actually having a heart is great."

Read the full article at the link below.