feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like Bad Santa (2003)

If you loved Bad Santa, the closest films we have are Chicago (2002), Bottle Rocket (1996) and Ghost World (2001). All three share Bad Santa's contemplative and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu and others, checked against today's data.

You'd better watch out - Willie T. Soke is coming to town, and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Willie's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year his plot gets derailed by a wisecracking store detective, a sexy bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus.

πŸ… 78% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Terry Zwigoffcontemplativewittyplayfulgritty
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If Bad Santa hit the spot, these will too

Chicago poster
Chicago
2002 Β· dir. Rob Marshall
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.2comedy Β· crime Β· drama

Contemplative and witty in the same breath

Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

Feels alike?
Bottle Rocket poster
Bottle Rocket
1996 Β· dir. Wes Anderson
πŸ… 86%β˜… 6.9comedy Β· crime Β· drama

Both land play and grit at once

Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a harebrained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.

Feels alike?
Ghost World poster
Ghost World
2001 Β· dir. Terry Zwigoff
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.3comedy Β· drama

The same hand behind both of them: Terry Zwigoff

The difference: Not nearly as gritty as Bad Santa

Two quirky, cynical, teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives following high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle-aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls’ friendship.

Feels alike?
The Longest Yard poster
The Longest Yard
2005 Β· dir. Peter Segal
πŸ… 31%β˜… 6.4drama Β· comedy Β· crime

Drama built on stillness, twice over

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

Disgraced pro football quarterback Paul Crewe lands in a Texas federal penitentiary, where manipulative Warden Hazen recruits him to advise the institution's football team of prison guards. Crewe suggests a tune-up game which lands him quarterbacking a crew of inmates in a game against the guards. Aided by incarcerated ex-NFL coach and player Nate Scarborough, Crewe and his team must overcome not only the bloodthirstiness of the opposition, but also the corrupt warden trying to fix the game against them.

Feels alike?
Tokyo Godfathers poster
Tokyo Godfathers
2003 Β· dir. Satoshi Kon
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.8animation Β· drama Β· comedy

Both are working the same pair: holiday, christmas

The difference: None of the grit Bad Santa is built on

On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.

Feels alike?
The Santa Claus Gang poster
The Santa Claus Gang
2010 Β· dir. Paolo Genovese
β˜… 5.9comedy

Common ground: christmas

On Christmas Eve, three friends dressed as Santa Claus are arrested in what looks like an attempted burglary and charged with being the infamous "Santa Claus Gang". While trying to prove their innocence to the police, the trio explains why they found themselves in such a strange situation...

Feels alike?
Le Week-End poster
Le Week-End
2013 Β· dir. Roger Michell
πŸ… 89%β˜… 6.4comedy Β· drama

The same preoccupation in both: holiday

Nick and Meg Burrows return to Paris, the city where they honeymooned, to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and rediscover some romance in their long-lived marriage. The film follows the couple as long-established tensions in their marriage break out in humorous and often painful ways.

Feels alike?
Pieces of April poster
Pieces of April
2003 Β· dir. Peter Hedges
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7comedy Β· drama

Witty comedy in both cases

Quirky and rebellious April Burns lives with her boyfriend in a low-rent New York City apartment miles away from her emotionally distant family. But when she discovers that her mother has a fatal form of breast cancer, she invites the clan to her place for Thanksgiving. While her father struggles to drive her family into the city, April -- an inexperienced cook -- runs into kitchen trouble and must ask a neighbor for help.

Feels alike?
Hustlers poster
Hustlers
2019 Β· dir. Lorene Scafaria
πŸ… 88%β˜… 6.3drama Β· comedy Β· crime

Playful crime, and it commits to that

A crew of savvy former strip club employees band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.

Feels alike?
Hera Pheri poster
Hera Pheri
2000 Β· dir. Priyadarshan
β˜… 8.2comedy Β· crime

Comedy with a pulse of grit, in both cases

Two tenants and a landlord, in desperate need of money, chance upon a ransom call via a cross connection. They hatch a plan to claim the ransom for themselves.

Feels alike?
American Made poster
American Made
2017 Β· dir. Doug Liman
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.1comedy Β· crime Β· drama

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.

Feels alike?
Austin Powers in Goldmember poster
Austin Powers in Goldmember
2002 Β· dir. Jay Roach
πŸ… 52%β˜… 6.3comedy Β· crime

Witty crime in both cases

The world's most shagadelic spy continues his fight against Dr. Evil. This time, the diabolical doctor and his clone, Mini-Me, team up with a new foeβ€”'70s kingpin Goldmember. While pursuing the team of villains to stop them from world domination, Austin gets help from his dad and an old girlfriend.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Bad Santa’s defining feeling.