Jingle All The Way – Film Review

Workaholic Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) wants to make things up to his son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd), and wife, Liz (Rita Wilson). He promises to get Jamie the hottest toy of the season, Turbo-Man — even though it’s Christmas Eve and the toy is practically sold out. As Langston hunts down the elusive gift, he runs into mailman Myron (Sinbad), another father on the same quest. With the clock winding down, Langston’s moral code is tested as he starts to learn the real meaning of Christmas.

Look, I am fully aware that technically, Brian Levant‘s Jingle All The Way is an insanely hilariously over-the-top movie that lots of people out there hate and tend to pick on. I can see why lots of people hate this movie. Heck, even just listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s line-delivery can be quite hysterical, but at the end of the day, I’d be lying to you if I told you that I didn’t love this movie.

It’s an extremely comforting film to me that, in my opinion, seems to understand just how crazy and off-the-rails it is, and embraces it. The entire scene in which Schwarzenegger’s character Howard chases that numbered ball throughout the shopping mall is honestly one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in a movie. Not only that, but it also seemed like a satire, showing just how far people will go just to get one present for their young one.

That’s not to say that Jingle All The Way is a deep movie because it’s the furthest thing from being deep. Instead, we are treated to a truly insane movie that, despite running at an extremely brisk ninety minutes, is filled to the brim with scenes that honestly get even crazier than the last each and every time.

Some people may complain about Schwarzenegger’s presence in this film but he’s actually my favorite part about this whole thing. Here, he just radiates a strange sense of comfort and warmth that no other actor would’ve been able to bring to the table quite like he did. It’s also one of the many reasons why Jingle All The Way 2 was terrible. Who in the world wanted Larry the Cable Guy as the lead?

The script on display in this film isn’t anything special, but it’s filled with tons of hilarious moments as well as some emotional ones that nicely change the tone a little bit without feeling jarring. All of that being said, I can totally understand where you’re coming from if you were to say you hated this movie. I, however, love it in all of its insane glory.

Jingle All The Way is a genuinely off-the-wall crazy Christmas comedy that’s oddly comforting thanks to a zany script and a strangely wholesome lead performance from Arnold Schwarzenegger.