Great Character: Willie T. Stokes (“Bad Santa”)
In December, guest columnist Jason Cuthbert looks at Christmas Grinch characters. Today: Willie T. Stokes from the 2003 movie Bad Santa, written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.
Billy Bob Thornton has had several illustrious highlights in his diverse Hollywood career. Thornton directed, starred and also won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Sling Blade, worked with the highly regarded directors deluxe: The Coen Brothers in The Man Who Wasn’t There and also played a racist rethinking his bigotry in Monster’s Ball. But in 2003, Billy Bob Thornton stretched his acting range five blocks away from his backyard with the infusion of comedic timing as the three-daily-meals-of-alcohol suicide contender Willie T. Stokes in director Terry Zwigoff’s profanity arena Bad Santa. Screenwriters Glenn Ficarra and John Requa contributed several memorable potty mouth quotes, too harsh to flush.
Bad Santa from IMDB:
A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid, and the security boss discovers the plot.
We meet Willie T. Stokes in the only establishment where life makes sense to him — a bar, wearing the outfit that makes zero sense to him — a Santa Claus costume. All of his fellow pub patrons are completely oblivious to Willie’s self-hating existence, orbiting around his vacant planet of invisible Christmas spirit, without ever paying a visit.
WILLIE T. STOKES: I’ve been to prison once, I’ve been married — twice. I was once drafted by Lyndon Johnson and had to live in shit-ass Mexico for 21/2 years for no reason. I’ve had my eye socket punched in, a kidney taken out and I got a bone-chip in my ankle that’s never gonna heal. I’ve seen some pretty shitty situations in my life, but nothing has ever sucked more ass than this!
Dressing like a reindeer wrangler was clearly never part of Willie’s 5-year plan; neither was being sober, responsible, politically correct, or a taxpayer. You see, Willie and his small stature amigo Marcus only dress up as Santa and a Christmas Elf respectively to rob department stores blind after they close. If only parents knew what sort of continual debauchery this Old Saint Nick was partaking in in the store’s fitting rooms with full figure women or while parked outside of dive bars with Santa-fetish cocktail waitresses. This would definitely not be a lap that children should be seated on. Especially with his penchant for peeing his Santa suit in public.
THE KID: I wished for a purple elephant, but now I want a pink elephant!
WILLIE T. STOKES: Well, wish in one hand, sh*t in the other; see which one fills up first.
THE KID: OK.
Willie can’t seem to beat his annual cycle of converting all of his stolen Santa riches into liquid liver killer, with history repeating itself in Miami to the sound of a Christmas carol on an alarm clock magnifying his hangover. But upon returning to his Kris Kringle thievery by relocating to Phoenix temporarily with Marcus, a kid with the bully-stimulant name of Thurman Merman just may give this Bad Santa the gift that he doesn’t have back at his “North Pole” at the strip club — the gift of unconditional friendship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKd7z5CY4BU
Whether Willie feels sorry for the constantly picked on Thurman, or he feels compelled to protect him from his naivety and innate sweetness, Willie takes a break from his self-loathing and invests what’s left of his malnourished soul into cultivating Thurman’s survival skillset.
WILLIE T. STOKES: I beat the shit out of some kids today. But it was for a purpose. It made me feel good about myself. It was like I did something constructive with my life or something. I don’t know. Like I accomplished something.
Willie’s character arch is flawed to the bitter end. But it is those moments when Willie sticks his neck out to defend those that have tolerated his tumultuous criticisms and atomic disrespect that forge a telescope in Willie’s Christmas Scrooge heart to find those rare fading shades of red that haven’t rotted away yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKONPxrqFxs
Willie T. Stokes is no role model. He is regularly undependable and he even may eat your Christmas candy that you were looking forward to during his most recent drunken brain wipe. But deep in the unkempt cellar of Willie’s soul, there is a middle-aged man needing to be needed, even if he indulges in hatred. When it comes to establishing and sustaining friendships, he treads lightly; ok…better yet…he treads invisibly. But this wall of shame is a bunker for Willie to hide his weaknesses, his disappointments and his unfulfilled desires. With a girlfriend by his side (or other various locations), and a “son” he didn’t conceive looking up to him, flaws and all, there is hope that this Bad Santa may transform into Good Willie. A life without love is truly a sickness with no cure…except love itself.
For his vitriolic spitfire dialogue, his big brother protective instincts and his desire to find a reason to not be “bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good,” Willie T. Stokes is a GREAT CHARACTER.
Talk about counter-programming! Bad Santa is perhaps the ultimate example… and funny as hell. See you in comments to carry on the conversation.
Thanks once again to Jason! You may follow him on Twitter: @A2Jason.
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