I remember being surprised at how much I liked this movie the first time I saw it. Sometime after the second time, I think I realized that I really loved the movie. It's reached a classic status with me. Thornton's performance is perfect. The story reaches some serious depths, and with another actor handling the material, it would be hard to believe. But Thornton's Willie is so miserable, and so unable to understand anything other than misery, that it becomes believable for a character to act as outrageous as he does. He has simply hit rock bottom, and has been willing to stay there.
What stands out on repeat viewings is how evil the people around him are. They've gotten their acts together, and they're much more careful to avoid attracting attention, but they have far more contempt for everyone. Willie lashes out at a lot of people, but the script is always careful to make it so that he simply reflects what we're all thinking. When a kid sits on his lap and says he wants "fraggle stick car," Willie seems to think this is bizarre and silly. The audience thinks so too, but we would all be too polite to point this out. He generally doesn't lash out at being picked on, either. When Marcus berates Willie for his terrible behavior, Willie accepts it, and agrees with it. Not all the time, but most. He's very self-aware.
In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge gets the Christmas spirit by seeing how clearly he's disliked, and how his legacy is not celebrated. In Bad Santa, Willie takes a step to improving himself by finding that it feels good to help someone less powerful.
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