BAD SANTA:  2003 (Paramount+) We watched this one in honor of Joanna and Carl S. who love this movie. They watch it every holiday season. In this dark comedy, the crotchety Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner (Tony Cox) reunite once a year for a holiday con. Posing as a mall Santa and his elf, they rip off shopping outlets on Christmas Eve. Willie learned  safe-cracking from his father—the only thing his father ever gave him. This year, however, Willie is falling apart. He's depressed and alcoholic, and his erratic behavior draws the suspicion of mall security (Bernie Mac). But when befriending a small boy, and he develops a relationship with Sue (Lauren Graham). brings out his kinder side, Willie begins to wonder if there is still some hope for him. After the movie ended, we were treated to another movie, Bad Santa 2. I say “treated,” but that’s not entirely accurate. There are some movies that don’t deserve a sequel, especially one this bad. We liked the Bad Santa movie but the sequel is lame! As my son, John  said, “They doubled down on the grosssness and they made a bad movie.” GRADE B+ for BAD SANTA, D- for BAD SANTA 2.