I questioned a few aspects of the film--such as why would any parent let their child sit on the lap of a foul-mouthed Santa who looks less savory than most prison inmates--but I was willing to suspend disbelief because I was having such a good time. If you're not too taken-aback by profuse swearing or depictions of the seedier sides of life, Bad Santa is a very funny film with a genuinely touching soul. It warmed my heart...in a warped and twisted and wonderful way.

[SPOILER SECTION]

Okay, if you haven't seen the film yet, get the f**k out of my spoiler section. Seriously, I'm gonna spoil everything and if you have any interest in seeing Bad Santa this will ruin the ending and most of the surprises, so get outta here!

Thurman is such a wonderfully tragic character. When he revealed that the "brown" was dried blood from when he had cut his hand making the absurd "wooden pickle" for Willie, I felt like crying. He didn't even carve it well, slicing into his own hand but sucking it up and dealing with the pain because he was making a present for someone he wanted to be his friend.

Willie's transformation is just as touching throughout its slow progression. In a drunken stupor he tears apart the advent calendar that Thurman prizes just so that he can pillage the chocolates inside. The next morning he feels guilty, probably for the first time in his life, and instead of buying a new calendar tries taping back together the shreds, replacing the missing chocolates with anything he can find (candy corn, aspirin...). It's a poor job that he does, at best. He's not bending over backwards for the kid (yet) but his heart is, for once, in the right place. During the final heist, though, it's clear that Willie's got a priority other than the money. When he finally gets the "unbreakable" Kitnerboy Safe open (likely named for the "Kitner boy" in Jaws, one of the shark's more gruesome kills) Willie walks past the money and right to the stuffed elephant that Thurman asked for. When Marcus pulls the gun on him, you can tell what's on Willie's mind is Thurman's disappointment that Santa won't be bringing him any presents...again. By now he's willing to risk it all to ensure that Thurman gets not just the elephant, but what the elephant has come to symbolize: his first merry Christmas in years. Lots of Christmas movies have Santa (or some Santa stand-in) racing against the clock to save Christmas...but this is the first time I really cared that Santa succeeded. What would have been lost in all the other films had Santa missed his rounds? Lots of spoiled little kids not getting spoiled further with free gifts is all. Willie's run from the police, gripping the trunk of the stuffed elephant as if it were all that mattered in life, means so much more. Even after being shot repeatedly he still tries with every ounce of his strength to get the elephant to Thurman, thus proving that someone cares about him.