A year after its American release, this festive offering from Terry Zwigoff finally comes to these shores. A good film doesn't go stale as quickly as the Christmas biscuits, but those of you expecting something in the league of Ghost World or Crumb will be sorely disappointed. Where Zwigoff's last fiction film offered savage humour and characterisations worthy of Balzac, Bad Santa wheels out the creaky old yuletide formula: misanthrope makes good at Christmas.

It's not that Bad Santa is a particularly bad film; there are some very funny moments, and some snuck-in consumerist critique, but the film relies on one joke alone: Santa is a cantankerous alcoholic crook who hates kids... until... you guessed the rest!

On paper the idea of remaking Bad Lieutenant as a Christmas fable is intriguing, and the choice of Zwigoff as director seems ideal. However, the potential goes unrealised, and the tone remains one-note throughout.

A similar cranky crook at Christmas formula was used to the full in the unlikely Simpson/Bruckheimer comedy Hostile Hostages. But despite the best efforts of Thornton, Ritter and co., the level of this caustic classic is never reached.

Apparently Bill Murray was slated to play the main role before signing to Lost in Translation; Bad Santa is no great shakes, but it's still better than Murray and Richard Donner's similar Scrooged.

Clovis