hen filming the award-winning feature Sling Blade, Billy Bob Thornton, the director, writer and star of the film, insisted that John Ritter play a role. They had both recently co-starred in the TV series Hearts Afire and not only had they hit it off almost immediately, Thornton had been so impressed by Ritter's acting ability that he promised the two would work together again. When Ritter landed a starring role as the father in the hit sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, his schedule suddenly became very busy, but during a break from the show, he managed to squeeze in some time to appear with Thornton in the holiday comedy, Bad Santa. In the film, Ritter plays a mall manager who becomes suspicious of the Santa Claus who is appearing there. Played by Thornton, this Kris Kringle is one of the most crooked, corrupt and wickedly funny Santas ever to grace the screen. |
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Turns out the manager's instincts are
right on - Santa is a con artist named Willie T. Stokes. Along with his
partner-in-crime (Tony Cox) who's masquerading as an elf, Willie is planning to
crack the store safe and make off with the holiday stash. After all, who would
suspect the jolly old elf? But when Ritter's character begins to wonder what
Santa is up to, he asks mall detective (Bernie
Mac) to investigate. |