Jingle All the Way Movie

Jingle All the Way
Rating:
Run Time: 88 min
MPAA Rating: PG
Released: 1996
Directors: Brian Levant
Genre/Type: Comedy
Children's/Family
Domestic Comedy
Family-Oriented Comedy
Holiday Film
Producers: Chris Columbus
Mark A. Radcliffe
Michael Barnathan
Plot Synopsis by Mark Deming
The true meaning of Christmas -- desperate last-minute shopping -- is the subject of this holiday-themed comedy. Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a mattress salesman with a bad habit of putting his work ahead of his family. His son Jamie (Jake Lloyd), who wishes Dad would pay more attention to him, wants only one thing for Christmas -- a Turbo Man action figure, with all the accessories. Howard promises both Jamie and his wife Liz (Rita Wilson) that there will indeed be a Turbo Man under the tree for Jamie on Christmas morning, but come December 24, Howard realizes that he hasn't actually bought the toy yet. Seemingly it would be no great problem to head on down to the toy store and pick one up, but it just so happens that Turbo Man has been the hottest ticket of the holiday season, and literally thousands of parents are scrambling for the last few action figures. Howard then spends a hilariously hellish Christmas Eve madly scrambling from store to store in desperate search of a Turbo Man; in the course of his adventures, Howard keeps crossing paths Myron Larabee (Sinbad), a postal worker who wants a Turbo Man even more desperately than Howard. And on the home front, Howard has to worry about Ted Maltin (Phil Hartman), an annoyingly perfect suburbanite obsessed with Christmas who has eyes for Liz. This was the second film for child actor Jake Lloyd, who three years later would gain international attention when he was cast as the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

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Sinbad plays Myron Larabee in Jingle All the Way. ChaCha!
A harried father decides to dream the impossible dream, to get that year's hot toy for his son just before Christmas Day. full summary | add synopsis
I plan on "jingling" 2/3rds of the way. The rest I will spend in a "one-horse open sleigh". As for presents I try to find something meaningful for the recipient. While I spend within reason, what the gift is means more t...

Cast

Actors Character Born
Arnold Schwarzenegger Howard Langston Jul 30, 1947 in Graz, Austria
Sinbad Myron Larabee Nov 10, 1956 in Benton Harbor, MI
Phil Hartman Ted Maltin Sep 24, 1948 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Rita Wilson Liz Langston Oct 26, 1956 in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Conrad Officer Hummell Mar 1, 1935 in Chicago, IL
Martin Mull DJ Aug 18, 1943 in Chicago, IL
James Belushi Santa Claus Jun 15, 1954 in Chicago, IL
Jake Lloyd Jamie Langston Mar 5, 1989 in Fort Collins, CO
Brian Johnson Christmas Caroler
Harvey Korman President Feb 15, 1927 in Chicago, IL
David Nash Christmas Caroler
Laraine Newman First Lady Mar 2, 1952 in Los Angeles, CA
Jane Plank Christmas Caroler

Back to the topReview

Review by Karl Williams
A thoroughly enjoyable family comedy, this holiday film represents the high water mark of director Brian Levant's career, one marked by a specialization in light, intentionally fatuous comic fare. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays, as usual, a thinly veiled variation on himself, the "funny" version recognizable from Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and Junior (1994). The rest of the cast plays against the star's mountainous gravity, however, with delightful results; in particular, Phil Hartman has oodles of fun as an oily neighborhood lecher, mocking and lampooning his leading man's stoic demeanor and sheer physical size. As the film's mailman foil, stand-up comic Sinbad is not utilized very well by the script, which never seems quite sure if he's a villain or not. Performances and clear character motivations are beside the point, however, as the script does its job, delivering the gift of many memorably amusing moments. Among them: scenes in which the star is attacked by a rogue band of elves, another in which he's attacked by angry mothers at a mall, and yet another in which he shudders to imagine his son growing up to be a boozing postal worker. There's also some fun with a rented reindeer and Schwarzenegger in a superhero costume, which is probably where he belongs. It's certainly not witty enough for the stage, but Jingle All the Way is a fun seasonal treat that will probably be popping up on cable TV as a December programming staple, one in which weary parental shoppers will grimace and guffaw to recognize themselves.

Jingle All the Way on TV

Zip Code: 10010 · Provider: Verizon Fios Freehold NY Plus-Digital (Jersey City) Edit
Dec 5 , 3:00 PM ET · Jingle All the Way  · Channel 9 · WWOR · Duration: 120 min.
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