As I reminisce my youth, I feel regret for having my parents go out and get me so many different toys. It was not as if I was a spoiled pain-in- the-butt but it was hard for them to keep up with what I was interested in. I went through a timeline of obsession with "Power Rangers", "Pokémon", "Digimon", and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" cards. I cannot imagine the sheer frustration my parents felt spending their hard-earned money on merchandise I would soon grow out of. I suppose my past has something to do with my sympathy for "Jingle All the Way" despite being a fairly bad movie.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Howard Langston, a hard-working salesman, who tries as hard as he can to spend time with his family especially his son, Jamie (played by child star Jake Lloyd). But every time Howard sees a great opportunity to fulfill his family duties, he encounters multiple set-backs whether it is traffic or the police. On Christmas Eve, Howard decides to make-up for all his troubles by buying his son an action figure of Turboman, a TV superhero beloved by children all over the world (He is nothing compared to my "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers"). However, finding the most popular toy on the market during Christmas Eve proves futile. Howard is also forced to compete with another father, Myron Larabee (played by Sinbad), for Turboman. Throughout the day, Howard will face one problem after another on his quest to buy his son's Christmas present.
As a comedy dependent on chaos and absurd behavior, "Jingle All The Way" offers fun but not enough intelligence. People run into boxes containing action figures and use toys to sabotage their competitors. In real life, the situation would be more mob-like and hazardous with shoving and occasional fist-fights. If the director (Brian Levant) wanted to make a point about Christmas commercialism, he should have made the last minute shopping much more realistic. Speaking of which, the people in "Jingle All the Way" are ridiculously easy to anger and they will react with cheesy lines ("I'm going to deck your halls") and violence. If you call me a conman, I simply shrug the name off, maybe laugh at you for being wrong. I am not going to hit anybody. Arnold gets into fights with everybody: a mall employee, Santa Clauses, midgets, giants, kids, parents, a cardboard stand, and even a reindeer that acts more like a dog. He is better off fighting a South American army than yelling at a neighbor for eating his Christmas cookies.
In this movie, Arnold abandons his cool, comedic catchphrases in favor of stiff sarcasm. Sure, Arnold's lines are fairly comedic and he has a couple of hilarious scenes but his acting is painful to watch especially when he tries being excited. Speaking of which, he utilizes his eye bulging routine in "Jingle All the Way" more than any other film he has ever been in. Despite his flawed performance, I enjoyed watching Arnold act as a father who feels as if he must buy his son's love. Rita Wilson plays Arnold's wife, Liz, and she manages to pull through the movie past a few wooden instances. I have a mixed feeling towards Jake Lloyd. Sometimes Jake convinces me that he is a regular boy but at other times, I am reminded that he's an actor playing as a boy.
The other cast members have stereotypical roles that do more harm than good for the movie. At first, Sinbad's character seems like a desperate father looking for a Christmas present until he abruptly goes off on a rant about his troubled family, his oppressed race, and marketing ploys. It's not a decent performance but it is strangely amusing to witness Sinbad whine and complain. Meanwhile, Phil Hartman overacts his role as the Langston's perverted, brown nose neighbor. He is supposed to act as the perfect kind of neighbor but he does way too much good for his fellow man. The only actor who fits his role is James Belushi as the corrupt Santa Claus but he is given too little time to bring out his goods.
The movie is not as terrible as some people proclaim it to be because there are funny sequences to laugh and enjoy. A family celebrating Christmas would find "Jingle All the Way" stupid but entertaining to watch. The parents may raise their eyebrows but will laugh with the kids at the right moments.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Howard Langston, a hard-working salesman, who tries as hard as he can to spend time with his family especially his son, Jamie (played by child star Jake Lloyd). But every time Howard sees a great opportunity to fulfill his family duties, he encounters multiple set-backs whether it is traffic or the police. On Christmas Eve, Howard decides to make-up for all his troubles by buying his son an action figure of Turboman, a TV superhero beloved by children all over the world (He is nothing compared to my "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers"). However, finding the most popular toy on the market during Christmas Eve proves futile. Howard is also forced to compete with another father, Myron Larabee (played by Sinbad), for Turboman. Throughout the day, Howard will face one problem after another on his quest to buy his son's Christmas present.
As a comedy dependent on chaos and absurd behavior, "Jingle All The Way" offers fun but not enough intelligence. People run into boxes containing action figures and use toys to sabotage their competitors. In real life, the situation would be more mob-like and hazardous with shoving and occasional fist-fights. If the director (Brian Levant) wanted to make a point about Christmas commercialism, he should have made the last minute shopping much more realistic. Speaking of which, the people in "Jingle All the Way" are ridiculously easy to anger and they will react with cheesy lines ("I'm going to deck your halls") and violence. If you call me a conman, I simply shrug the name off, maybe laugh at you for being wrong. I am not going to hit anybody. Arnold gets into fights with everybody: a mall employee, Santa Clauses, midgets, giants, kids, parents, a cardboard stand, and even a reindeer that acts more like a dog. He is better off fighting a South American army than yelling at a neighbor for eating his Christmas cookies.
In this movie, Arnold abandons his cool, comedic catchphrases in favor of stiff sarcasm. Sure, Arnold's lines are fairly comedic and he has a couple of hilarious scenes but his acting is painful to watch especially when he tries being excited. Speaking of which, he utilizes his eye bulging routine in "Jingle All the Way" more than any other film he has ever been in. Despite his flawed performance, I enjoyed watching Arnold act as a father who feels as if he must buy his son's love. Rita Wilson plays Arnold's wife, Liz, and she manages to pull through the movie past a few wooden instances. I have a mixed feeling towards Jake Lloyd. Sometimes Jake convinces me that he is a regular boy but at other times, I am reminded that he's an actor playing as a boy.
The other cast members have stereotypical roles that do more harm than good for the movie. At first, Sinbad's character seems like a desperate father looking for a Christmas present until he abruptly goes off on a rant about his troubled family, his oppressed race, and marketing ploys. It's not a decent performance but it is strangely amusing to witness Sinbad whine and complain. Meanwhile, Phil Hartman overacts his role as the Langston's perverted, brown nose neighbor. He is supposed to act as the perfect kind of neighbor but he does way too much good for his fellow man. The only actor who fits his role is James Belushi as the corrupt Santa Claus but he is given too little time to bring out his goods.
The movie is not as terrible as some people proclaim it to be because there are funny sequences to laugh and enjoy. A family celebrating Christmas would find "Jingle All the Way" stupid but entertaining to watch. The parents may raise their eyebrows but will laugh with the kids at the right moments.