Jingle All the Way

Jingle All the Way
"Damn you, Howard."
Genre: Christmas Comedy Family Directed by: Brian Levant Produced by: Chris Columbus Written by: Randy Kornfield Starring: Arnold Schwarzenagger Sinbad Phil Hartman Rita Wilson Jake Lloyd Robert Conrad Jim Belushi Cinematography: Victor J. Kemper Distributed by: 20th Century Fox Release date: November 22, 1996 Runtime: 89 minutes Country: United States Language: English Budget: $75 million Box office: $129.8 million Franchise: Jingle All the Way Sequel: Jingle All the Way 2

Jingle All the Way is a Christmas film. It was released on November 22, 1996.

Plot

A man named Howard wants to get a Turbo Man toy for his son, while another man is competing against him to get it.

Damned Qualities

1. To start off with, the movie is filled with unlikable characters:
   1. Howard is a rather unlikable protagonist, as he does many bad things to get his son a Turbo Man. He even tries to steal another kid's present in one scene.
   2. Howard's wife isn't that likable, as she is extremely bland and dull.
   3. The kids, and some other people, constantly pick on Booster, a character from the Turbo Man show, for no reason. In fact, during the parade scene, they tend to beat up Booster just because they hated him.
   4. Myron is a weak antagonist.
   5. The Santa Claus impersonator is just annoying.
   6. Ted is an unlikable and uninteresting character, and his crush on Howard's wife is unneeded, pointless and random.
   7. Jamie's friend is unlikable and suggests to him in one scene that his father should get a divorce just because it could cause him to get anything he wants.
   8. The police officer at the start of the film makes Howard do random things for no reason.
2. The scene where Myron blows up a room with a bomb is impossible and random. He could not have guessed that it was a bomb if it really was, nor could it have been a bomb if he guessed it.
3. Pretty much every scene involving Myron and Howard fighting is stupid, bland and dull.
4. The scene where Howard steals another kid's Christmas present (although he gives it back), is mean-spirited and makes Howard look like a villain.
5. The father-son relationship with Jamie and Howard is incredibly badly done and unoriginal.
6. The film has multiple scenes that don't contribute to the plot:
   1. Any scene involving the Santa impersonators are pointless.
   2. The subplot with Ted and Howard's wife is completely useless and shows no purpose to the plot.
7. While the voice acting isn't terrible, it is overreacted, just like how it is in the sequel.
8. As well as the film being mean-spirited, the message is pretty mean-spirited as well. It ultimately suggests that you don't need a toy when your dad is a real life version of that character. However, it is actually dangerous to pretend to be a hero character. Would you want to try and be a hero in real life?
9. Turbo Man is an incredibly lame show.
10. Terrible dialogue, such as "Damn you, Howard".
11. Most of the few funny jokes in the film were ruined in later scenes.
12. Boring soundtrack that is very forgettable and generic. It also consists of random Christmas songs that barely even fit with the plot.

Good Qualities

1. The voice acting is great, especially by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
2. Jamie is a somewhat likable character, as while he does act bratty at times, his anger towards his father is understandable, and he at least doesn't pick on Booster unlike the other kids.
3. While the father-son relationship with Jamie and Howard is badly done, it improves at the end.
4. As much as the bomb scene makes no sense, it is still somewhat funny.
5. The giant Santa Claus is played by pro wrestler Paul "Big Show" Wight II.
6. It has gained a cult status over the years, and reception has improved as a result.
7. "PUT THAT COOKIE DOWN NOW!!!"
8. Ted's comeuppance near the end.
9. Depending on your view, this film can be considered "so bad it's good" due to its crazy plot.
10. Despite being unlikable for causing chaos, Howard does care about his son after all.
11. Atleast its better than its sequel.

Reception

Jingle All The Way was panned by critics for its uneven tone and crazy plot. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 15%.

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