Winter Wonderland: As New York City experiences its first snowstorm of the season, it might be fitting to quickly approve of Bad Santa, the misogynist holiday movie not for the kiddies. The movie about a drunken, self-hating safecraker whose m.o. is to be Santa at a mall and then rob it at the end of the season is not totally outrageous in a sense. The drunk Santa image was seen briefly in the film The Apartment, and the idea that clowns are really sad creatures is a comparable one.

Still, the lengths Billy Bob Thornton and company takes this has to be seen to be believed. Both "Santa" and the kid who latches on to him are not lovely examples of humanity. Also, as a fan of The Gilmore Girls, Lauren Graham as a barmaid with a Santa fetish is not too surprising. First, she has played individuals a bit off in the past (including a memorable run on Newsradio as a slightly insane effeciency expert), and Lorelai is clearly pretty naughty herself. Looks great in black too.

This would make a good movie for those out there whose Christmas consists of a frozen dinner next to a small table tree, those who at times feel like that person, or just those who like dark movies that are both hilarious and on some level uplifting. You know, in a "I beat the shit out of some kids today ... but it was for a purpose" sort of way. For those who want their holiday movies totally depressing, however, one needs to look elsewhere. After all, the movie does fit a sort of traditional mold ... it's like they had to retain some degree of loyalty to Christmas movie basics, but have some twisted fun in the process. The end result is worth the price of admission.