Jingle All the Way

Yes, the critics got this one wrong. There are a couple of underlying themes in this movie that are still relevant nearly 30 years later. The blind consumerism around Christmastime is insane.

Jingle All the Way offers plenty of dumb fun that should make your casual moviegoer laugh. A comedy of errors drives the plot, and the pacing is perfect for general audiences. I like the running gag with the same cop.

Online shopping did away with forcing people to live through the horrible experience of shopping in crowded stores, but toy stores are still busy to some extent in 2024. Some of us still like buying Christmas gifts in person.

Millions of consumers can relate to Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Myron Larabee (Sinbad) around the holidays.

Howard becoming Turbo Man at the end was perfect, and the Santa Claus warehouse fight was funny as well. Big Show from WWE plays the giant Santa Claus.

It's pretty much a documentary for your average American who waits until the last second to buy his son a Christmas present.

Everything about this movie is great. It has a great cast (With a wonderfully sleazy Phil Hartman). A great script with loads of laughter.

It's obviously created as a spoof for the Christmas buying crazes that go on in the world, where everybody must have that one very special toy.

It has the look and feel of a children's movie - but I'm not sure it is, or was ever designed to be.

Don't expect a Schwarzie action movie. It's more a live-action cartoon.

Jingle all the way is a movie I've seen a couple of times now - and I'll watch it again and again. Good fun. 8/10.

'Jingle All The Way' is a Christmas story about merchandising and family. A lot of people seemed to really hate this movie, but I did not think it was all that bad. Sure, some of the action and the story was not the best, but I thought it did provoke a lot of laughter. The scenes with Arnie at the warehouse filled with Santas and elves was funny, and it had a good ending with the father becoming the hero after all. It does represent the bad of the holiday season with all the merchandising and the over-emphasis on that one particular toy that kids must get for Christmas, and if they do not receive it, then they are outcasts. Despite its problems, I did find it a funny and worthwhile film.

Jingle All the Way is far from perfect, but it is fun and worthwhile. The plot tells of an overworked businessman who wants to buy a Turbo Man, the year's hottest toy, for his neglected son. In the title role of Howard Langston, Arnold Schwarznegger acquits himself well, particularly in the action sequences. The soundtrack is awesome, the film is not too bad to look at and the climax is a lot of fun if very far fetched. Sinbad is amusing is Myron, and James Belushi is great as the Crooked Santa. Phil Hartmann(while he has been better) is hilarious as Ted, the phone conversation between him and Howard is a hoot. Rita Wilson does a good job as the mother, and Jake Lloyd is cute as Jamie. The film has some nice messages for kids. While the film is funny in places, the humour is questionable sometimes. The film is also rather short, and perhaps a tad rushed. Also Brian Levant's direction could have done with a harder edge. Still, despite the failings, it is a fun Christmas comedy, that is not really to be taken seriously. I call it a guilty pleasure. 6/10 Bethany Cox

This film shows the insanity of Christmas. Two parents, who waited untill the last minute to buy a popular gift for their child, spend all of Christmas Eve trying to come up with the toy. They were vicious and violent with each other in their efforts to secure the piece of plastic junk for their little darling. This picture shows just how goofy people act at this time of year. Instead of preparing, most folks wait till it is too late; all in the name of Christmas spirit. Arnold portrayed a man who ignored his boy all year, and then tried to buy his love at Christmas with a pitiful little bauble. How true of real life. A funny movie on one hand, a tragedy on the other. Look and learn.