Review: Jingle All The Way (1996)

I have previously stated that I would watch just about anything that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. This includes Jingle All The Way, Arnie's so-so attempt at a Christmas movie. Released in 1996, Jingle All The Way hardly set the box office alight, opening in fourth place. The film was panned by critics, and fell out of the top 10 after only 5 weeks. Despite this, Jingle All The Way has received a great amount of airplay over the years, and is one of the better known holiday movies.

When Howard Landston forgets to buy his son a Turbo-Man doll for Christmas, he spends what is surely to be the most eventful Christmas Eve of his life trying to get his hands on the elusive toy.

"Put that cookie down - Now!"

Jingle All The Way is one of those movies that I watched a lot as a child, but that I grew out of as I got older. You know, the strange thing is that I can't really remember loving it. I would watch it whenever I saw that it was playing on TV, but I don't really know why. Even so, I have to admit that I did laugh out loud a couple of times watching this movie earlier today, but some of it is just so annoying, not to mention ridiculous.

A couple of super-annoying parts: A store having empty shelves with giant signs saying "sold out"? Please! They would fill those things with anything they could find. No store is going to have empty shelves, especially at Christmas. How does the same policeman manage to go everywhere Howard goes? Why doesn't Jamie recognize that Turbo-man is his father? And even more pressing, why doesn't Howard's wife recognize him? With that accent?? Ugh. And Sinbad's character in general. Now, he is irriating.

"You can't bench press your way out of this one"

I mean, this movie is so ridiculous and unrealistic. I know, I know, it's a movie, it's not supposed to be realistic, but... It's got to be semi-realistic, I mean,  it's based on real life for crying out loud. Now I'm getting angry... Calm down, it's only a movie. The sad fact is that I actually like Jingle All The Way, despite all its (many, many) faults.

And, for the most part, I really like it's cast too. Phil Hartman was an excellent comic. Rita Wilson is as completely likable as her Husband, Tom Hanks. Jake Lloyd is adorable. And you know how much I love Schwarzenegger. The only cast member I don't like is Sinbad, who I find incredibly annoying.

I was originally going to give Jingle All The Way a six, but after all that, I'm afraid it's going to have to be a five. 5/10

Trivia: Jingle All The Way is based on the real frenzy around Cabbage Patch Dolls in the US in the 1980s.