Jingle All the Way [Family Fun Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The true meaning of Christmas -- desperate last-minute shopping -- is the subject of this holiday-themed comedy. Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a mattress salesman with a bad habit of putting his work ahead of his family. His son Jamie (Jake Lloyd), who wishes Dad would pay more attention to him, wants only one thing for Christmas -- a Turbo Man action figure, with all the accessories. Howard promises both Jamie and his wife Liz (Rita Wilson) that there will indeed be a Turbo Man under the tree for Jamie on Christmas morning, but come December 24, Howard realizes that he hasn't actually bought the toy yet. Seemingly it would be no great problem to head on down to the toy store and pick one up, but it just so happens that Turbo Man has been the hottest ticket of the holiday season, and literally thousands of parents are scrambling for the last few action figures. Howard then spends a hilariously hellish Christmas Eve madly scrambling from store to store in desperate search of a Turbo Man; in the course of his adventures, Howard keeps crossing paths Myron Larabee (Sinbad), a postal worker who wants a Turbo Man even more desperately than Howard. And on the home front, Howard has to worry about Ted Maltin (Phil Hartman), an annoyingly perfect suburbanite obsessed with Christmas who has eyes for Liz. This was the second film for child actor Jake Lloyd, who three years later would gain international attention when he was cast as the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Surrond
• Encoding: NTSC
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, Color
• Subtitle: Spanish, English
• Features:
  • Extended director's cut with footage not shown in theaters!
  • Two set-top games: Christmas Rush and Guess the Gift
  • The Making of a Heto, Super Kids, and Turbo Man Behind the Mask featurettes

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Arnold Schwarzenegger - Howard Langston
       Sinbad - Myron Larabee
       Phil Hartman - Ted Maltin
       Rita Wilson - Liz Langston
       Robert Conrad - Officer Hummell

• Director:

  Brian Levant

• Producer:

  Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Mark A. Radcliffe

• Screenwriter:

  Randy Kornfield

• Cinematographer:

  Victor J. Kemper

• Composer (Music Score):

  David Newman

• Editor:

  Kent Beyda, Wilton Henderson

• Production Designer:

  Leslie McDonald

• Art Director:

  Thomas Fichter

• Associate Producer:

  Paula DuPre Pesman

REVIEW:

• A thoroughly enjoyable family comedy, this holiday film represents the high water mark of director Brian Levant's career, one marked by a specialization in light, intentionally fatuous comic fare. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays, as usual, a thinly veiled variation on himself, the "funny" version recognizable from Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and Junior (1994). The rest of the cast plays against the star's mountainous gravity, however, with delightful results; in particular, Phil Hartman has oodles of fun as an oily neighborhood lecher, mocking and lampooning his leading man's stoic demeanor and sheer physical size. As the film's mailman foil, stand-up comic Sinbad is not utilized very well by the script, which never seems quite sure if he's a villain or not. Performances and clear character motivations are beside the point, however, as the script does its job, delivering the gift of many memorably amusing moments. Among them: scenes in which the star is attacked by a rogue band of elves, another in which he's attacked by angry mothers at a mall, and yet another in which he shudders to imagine his son growing up to be a boozing postal worker. There's also some fun with a rented reindeer and Schwarzenegger in a superhero costume, which is probably where he belongs. It's certainly not witty enough for the stage, but Jingle All the Way is a fun seasonal treat that will probably be popping up on cable TV as a December programming staple, one in which weary parental shoppers will grimace and guffaw to recognize themselves. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

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