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Best Christmas movies set in each state

By Reed Gaudens

HOME ALONE - Eight year old Kevin MacAllister (Macaulay Culkin) gets lost in the shuffle as his large, upper-middle class suburban family rushes to make a plane that will ferry them off to their Christmas vacation in France; Kevin, having been banished to an attic room as punishment, is subsequently forgotten. At first this is a dream come true, as for the first time in his young life he has no one to answer to but himself, and he takes full advantage of his newfound freedom, eating junk food and watching late-night horror flicks. But when the bumbling Wet Bandits Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) target his house for a robbery, Kevin must step up to defend his home; he sets a maze of booby traps so elaborate that only an eight year old imagination could concoct them. (20TH CENTURY FOX)MACAULAY CULKIN
HOME ALONE - Eight year old Kevin MacAllister (Macaulay Culkin) gets lost in the shuffle as his large, upper-middle class suburban family rushes to make a plane that will ferry them off to their Christmas vacation in France; Kevin, having been banished to an attic room as punishment, is subsequently forgotten. At first this is a dream come true, as for the first time in his young life he has no one to answer to but himself, and he takes full advantage of his newfound freedom, eating junk food and watching late-night horror flicks. But when the bumbling Wet Bandits Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) target his house for a robbery, Kevin must step up to defend his home; he sets a maze of booby traps so elaborate that only an eight year old imagination could concoct them. (20TH CENTURY FOX)MACAULAY CULKIN /
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NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 15: Billy Bob Thornton, Brett Kelly, Tony Cox, Christina Hendricks and Kathy Bates attend the ‘Bad Santa 2’ New York Premiere at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 theater on November 15, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 15: Billy Bob Thornton, Brett Kelly, Tony Cox, Christina Hendricks and Kathy Bates attend the ‘Bad Santa 2’ New York Premiere at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 theater on November 15, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) /

Arkansas: Bad Santa

Release Year: 2003

Directed By: Terry Zwigoff

Starring: Billy Bod Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham, Brett Kelly, Lauren Tom, John Ritter, Bernie Mac, Cloris Leachman, Octavia Spencer, Alex Borstein, Billy Gardell

Some states are harder to find in Christmas movies than others. Specifically, Arkansas hasn’t been accurately represented in the holiday movie world. Even though Bad Santa takes place in Phoenix, Arizona, the dark Christmas comedy stars Billy Bob Thornton, who hails from Hot Springs, Arkansas. Close enough, eh? Thornton steps into the Santa suit of Willie T. Soke, an annual mall Santa with a criminal streak. Every year, he and his friend Marcus (Tony Cox) team up to rip off shopping centers on Christmas Eve. But Willie’s well-executed plans start to fall apart as his strategy gets sloppy. Meeting a hopeful young boy helps push Willie toward a new goal.

Bad Santa hit theaters in November 2003 and earned mostly positive reviews from critics, holding a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was also a box office success, bringing in over $76 million worldwide, which helped spawn the 2015 sequel, Bad Santa 2. Unfortunately, the sequel wasn’t as successful or well-received. Again, Bad Santa may not be set in Arkansas, but with an Arkansas native in the lead, the state’s got a major movie star (and hilarious rendition of Santa) in its corner. Perhaps someday a Christmas movie will celebrate the holidays in a small Arkansas town, but for now, the state’s best bet is supporting one of its own in Bad Santa.

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