Jingle All The Way

1996 • 89 minutes
4.3
1.1K reviews
20%
Tomatometer
PG
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Christmas; It's the most magical time of the year. High powered businessman Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger), is hard at work taking last-minute orders from customers to whom he just can't say no; like his son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd), asking for the hottest action figure of the season -- Turbo Man! Unfortunately, Howard is facing one BIG problem: It's Christmas Eve, and Turbo Man has been sold out since Thanksgiving! Howard's down-to-the-wire trek to find Turbo Man quickly turns into an odyssey wilder than he could have ever imagined. In the course of his seemingly endless Yuletide misadventures, he finds himself in a no-holds-barred fight-to-the-finish with a crazed postman named Myron (Sinbad), who is out to claim the last Turbo Man for his kid. It's enough to scare away even the bravest of men. But to Howard, this is war -- and he's determined to win...no matter what!
Rating
PG

Ratings and reviews

4.3
1.1K reviews
Kyle Vansteelandt
November 23, 2021
Let me start by saying that there are some decent scenes involving Turbo-Man in the mildly entertaining former and in the nicely-written latter. The latter wraps up an agreeable moral about the true meaning of Christmas: it's not about the presents, It's about your family. There are some slick where Brian Levant's direction and Randy Kornfield's writing hits me with middling effort in surprise sometimes. Although truth be told, most of these elements are quite predictable, even when the slick screenplay either struggles to lift it's entertainment value or come sliding by before the little voice in my head said "I knew that was coming." Then, there is the comedy. Oh comedy, wonder what I am going to say you? Sure, there are some funny moments from the well-constructed script and the tone at times, but only two comedic moments are memorable, because most of the comedy that I chuckled at just tends to slide by really fast, and then I have forgotten them. I have just forgotten them right now. Most of the comedy suffers due to the mean-spirited nature, some of the weird goofy close-ups that are redundant, and there some unnecessary ideas like Arnold Schwarzenegger fighting a lot of mall Santas that come in shapes and sizes, and a kid drinking alcohol and giving a reindeer alcohol. Also, I must mention that Myron Larabee (Sinbad) is an intrusive antagonist; he is obnoxious with his shouting that is loud and a little fast. Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a failing father that has to get into trouble to get his son the Turbo-Man doll, and it's not funny. Even though the story about a father who frequently fails but will make something up to his son once and for all is something really nice to see, but at the end, the whole story can become a bit predictable as the movie keeps progressing. May I add, why in the heck is Ted Maltin (Phil Hartman) in Howard's house putting up all the decorations and hanging out with his wife? I don't think there is an answer to that, but who knows? I don't have anything to say about the score by David Newman; it is just a plain energetic orchestral score with nothing dynamic and it barely has the flavor to grab my ears attention. In conclusion: While there are some decent set-pieces, most of the movie suffers from it's weak stereotypical comedy, and unfortunately, everything about this movie is weak. For recommendation: I don't know who this movie will appeal to; worth a rental at your own risk (I guess).
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Rebecca W
November 28, 2018
Depending on why you like comedies, this one is bad which makes it good. Arnold is not very convincing at being a typical suburban dad which cracks up my family. It's like watching a bull in a china store- he shouldn't be there but you can't help looking at him. The supporting cast is rather funny, especially Sinbad. You can't but quoting the lines in your best "Terminator" voice. If you don't take it too seriously, you will enjoy it.
47 people found this review helpful
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Jermaine Lucas
December 10, 2020
ILL fight all of y'all on these reviews! Time and place with a date please! It is not that bad! It shows the modern struggle of Christmas shoppin in the 90's (minus black Friday). It also shows relative struggles of parents (namely fathers) having to work and not be there for there kids Christmas morning but will go through anything to give them anything they want. Maybe it's just from personal experience but this movie hits close to the heart for me. AGAIN, "ILL TAKE YOU ALL!" OPTIMUS VOICE
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