38
Metascore
36 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweThe Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweEven more inappropriate physical gags, foul-mouthed dialogue and outrageous situations all contribute to raising the stakes, as Waters pushes the cast to amiably outdo the original.
- 75Slant MagazineOleg IvanovSlant MagazineOleg IvanovBoth a potent rendering of and cure for the holiday blues, Bad Santa 2 shows that even the most hopeless situations can be remedied and that just about anyone is capable of redemption
- As long as you know what you’re in for, the film is a hilarious good time, a respectable continuation of what made the first "Bad Santa" so fun.
- 50New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithBad Santa 2 is vulgar, nasty and offensive, but it has flawed aspects also.
- 42IndieWireEric KohnIndieWireEric KohnOnce again, the screenplay (by Johnny Rosenthal and Shauna Cross) goes out of its way to put terrible lines in its characters’ mouths and dares viewers to laugh. However, it’s gotten harder to take this form of jarring lowbrow humor, especially when it serves no purpose beyond shock value.
- 40TheWrapDave WhiteTheWrapDave WhiteIt’s impossible to watch Bad Santa 2 without getting the sense that people who knew how to do their jobs were studio-noted out of their minds and forced to run a futile obstacle course hampered by budget restrictions, shortened shooting schedules, and general carelessness.
- 40VarietyAndrew BarkerVarietyAndrew BarkerIt’s essentially a hangout movie populated exclusively with some of the worst people imaginable, rarely with any sort of solid scene-setting or straight-men to provide context.
- 40Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzThere are some laughs, sure, but not enough. It was funny the first time. This is the second time, and returns diminish accordingly.
- 30Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonAn agonisingly strained attempt at misanthropic comedy, Bad Santa 2 is puerile when it should be shocking, calculating when it should be transgressive, and listless when it should be liberating.
- 20New York Daily NewsEdward DouglasNew York Daily NewsEdward DouglasBilly Bob Thornton's grouchy Santa is finally back, but his sequel is pretty ho-ho-horrible.