“Put that cookie down!” —Howard Langston
Today’s quick review: Jingle All the Way. Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger), an overworked father, barely has time for his wife Liz (Rita Wilson) and son Jamie (Jake Lloyd). To make up it up to Jamie, Howard promises to get him a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas. But when Howard heads out to pick up the toy on Christmas Eve, every store is out of stock, forcing him to pull a series of increasingly desperate stunts to get one.
Jingle All the Way is a family action comedy about the last-minute shopping rush on Christmas Eve. Desperate for the hottest toy in town, Howard must fight with fellow shoppers, gamble on raffles, and break every traffic law known to Man to make his son’s Christmas wish come true. Jingle All the Way satirizes holiday shopping with brawls, betrayals, and no end of family-friendly stunts.
However, the main shortcoming of Jingle All the Way is that it is shallow. Where other Christmas movies have a heartfelt core, Jingle All the Way pays lip service to love and the Christmas spirit before sending Howard out to cause more chaos. This is not necessarily a bad thing in terms of keeping the story light and linear, but it robs the movie of depth and forces it to rely on contrived situations for its entertainment value.
How much you get out of Jingle All the Way will depend on what you are looking for. If you are a fan of Schwarzenegger’s style of comedy and are in the mood for a simple story with lots of mayhem, Jingle All the Way is an entertaining pick. If you are looking for a Christmas movie with a more heartfelt story or a plot that has better justification, you may want to steer clear.
For another comedy about the stress of the holiday season, try Christmas with the Kranks. For a slapstick-oriented family Christmas comedy with more depth, try Home Alone. For a less family-friendly action movie set at Christmas, try Die Hard. For a Schwarzenegger action comedy with more substance, check out True Lies.
[5.7 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116705/). I give it a 6.5 for simple but entertaining antics.