Ah-nuld has forgotten to get young Anakin Skywalker the toy that he wants for Christmas. However, that doll is one that everyone else in the world is after as well. Can Ah-nuld get the doll and keep off the wrong side of the force?
Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a successful businessman who is entirely devoted to his business. So much so that his family life is suffering. He does want to connect with them but matters of business make him forget about it as well as missing many family events since he’s busy at the office. When he does have a moment when he connects with his young son Jamie (Jake Lloyd) he’s elated, but it’s over the Turboman television show (think Power Rangers).
His wife Liz (Rita Wilson) asks him if he remembered to get the Turboman “doll” (everyone calls it this but I say action figure) and he replies in the affirmative. However, we all know that business comes before doll purchasing and Howard finds that the Turboman doll is the hot toy to have this holiday season and is sold out across the city. He was under the delusion that he could just walk into a mall and pick one up on Christmas Eve.
He begins his insane journey across the city to try and find the elusive doll. He’s hindered in his quest by postman Myron (Sinbad) who is also after the doll for his son as well, keeps running into a police officer (Robert Conrad), and running afoul of a shifty department store Santa (Jim Belushi).
Jingle All the Way is another film that my kids want to pull out and watch even if it’s not Christmas (Elf is the major offender in that category though). I guess it’s the Tom and Jerry-ish slapstick set pieces that Howard and company goes through. I can’t say that Jingle rises to the holiday classic level that Elf occupies though.
It’s a film trying to put a message on our consumer-oriented version of Christmas these days, but the message is that you only give your coveted toy away if you get a better present or at least that’s how I interpreted it. Ah-nuld mugs shamelessly at the camera and Sinbad does as well and both go way over the top in their pursuit of that stupid toy. Phil Hartman is his smarmy best as a lecherous neighbor, but has little screen time.
Jake Lloyd appears in one of his first film roles before he would appear in Lucas’ Phantom Menace and you can see the stirrings of the wooden performance that he gives there. It doesn’t knock It’s A Wonderful Life off of the holiday tree, but it will entertain the kids.
Discriminating adults might not be entertained by the cartoon violence and mugging by the stars. This version is billed as having 20 more minutes of extra footage and a running time of 122 minutes (gasp!). However, that’s really not correct. When you hit the play button you’ll be asked to choose the theatrical cut (89 minutes) or the extended cut (92 minutes).
The extended cut only adds about 3 minutes to the running time and a handful of scenes. How they use the new math to get that 20-minute figure will be revealed in the special features section.
Jingle all the Way is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. I don’t know where they got the 122 minutes on the back of the box from since you get much more than that if you add the running times together. The new additions to the film consist of some scene extensions but they really don’t add too much to make the film any better (you do get a cameo by Yeardly Smith and a new credit for her on the extended cut and a song from Jim Belushi).
First up is the 15-minute “The Making of a Hero” that interviews director Brian Levant, Turboman designer and supervisor Tim Flattery, producer Michael Barnathan, Dan Riordan (Turboman in the TV clip), and 1996 interview footage with Arnold. Next is the 8-minute “Super Kids” which has some kids talking about superheroes. The 8 minute “Turboman: Behind the Mask” is a mockumentary about how Turboman (Riordan) went to pot after his show got cancelled.
There are also 2 games and a 5-minute photo gallery that plays with music from the film. The “Added Footage” section totals about 20 minutes (6 scenes) and has all those “extended scenes” from the longer cut, but they cheat the running time because they pad them with scenes that appeared in the theatrical cut.
I don’t mean to be the Grinch, but Jingle All the Way isn’t exactly a Christmas classic in either cut. This one does add some new footage and gives you the theatrical cut, but the new footage really doesn’t add much.
Jingle All the Way (Family Fun Edition) is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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