Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Jake Lloyd, Rita Wilson, Robert Conrad, Jim Belushi
Written By: Randy Kornfield
Directed By: Brian Levant
Studio: 20th Century Fox
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At one time, this movie was a very sought after DVD….for some reason. Now it’s back on DVD with an extended cut and some special features in this “Family Fun Edition.” I don’t know what it is, I always seem to end up watching this movie before Christmas. I guess you can say it’s a guilty pleasure Christmas movie. Or maybe I just like to watch Arnold Schwarzenegger say “PUT THE COOKIE DOWN..NOW!”

Jingle All the Way takes places on Christmas Eve and it’s about Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who’s a father who promises a lot, but never follows through. The latest thing he promises is that he got a Turbo Man doll for his son for Xmas. But that isn’t the case and he goes on a search to find the fastest selling toy ever, on Christmas Eve no less. But he has a competitive mailman Myron who’s looking for the exact same toy. Those two battle each other the whole day, going as far to run away from the cops and make bomb threats. While all this is happening, Howard’s wife is getting hit on by Ted, the neighborhood single dad (played by the late Phil Hartman). So you got an action star who’s a bad father, a hilarious yet creepy Phil Hartman hitting on Tom Hank’s real-life wife and a badly acted, future Anakin Skywalker…what’s not to love!

I’m not sure why I like watching this movie so much around Christmas time. It is a funny movie and portrays how things really are from Black Friday til Christmas Eve. But what always ruins the movie for me is the very end, at the parade. The film goes from funny family Xmas movie to just laughable bad lame ass movie. Like do we really need to see Arnold dressing up like Turbo Man and battling Sinbad in some villain costume? What makes it even cheesier is when Arnold is flying in the jetpack as Turbo Man. Woof, talk about LAME! But what do you expect from a family Xmas movie. But what I like about this movie is the battles of Arnold and Sinbad have in the stores, and seeing how crazy people get during Christmas time. I’ve seen it happen and all I have to do is laugh at the people who get so nuts during Xmas. I just buy everything online now and avoid all that horsecrap. But something tells me if Arnold would have waited ’til the last minute to buy a Turbo Man online as well.

Special Features include a Turbo Man featurette, games, a featurette on Kids, and both the theatrical and extended cut of the movie. The extended cut doesn’t really have that much stuff included in the movie. You got a few more scenes with Jim Belushi, and some other minor scenes. They are really just scenes to make the movie longer since it was a short movie originally.

If you like Christmas movies and Arnold Schwarzenegger, you MIGHT like this movie. It has it moments but then it just gets ridiculously bad. I still can’t figure out why Jake Lloyd is/was an actor. The kid can’t act for anything, and not even sure why he was chosen to be Anakin Skywalker in Episode 1. He definitely made the movie extra bad. But anyway, The Jingle All The Way: Family Fun Edition DVD is worth buying if you like this movie.

Features:
Two Set-Top Games: Christmas Rush and Guess The Gift
The Making Of A Hero, Super Kids and Turbo Man Behind The Mask Featurettes

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Stereo
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Surround

Video:
Widescreen 1.85:1 Color

Subtitles:
English, Spanish

Favorite Scenes: Seeing Arnold and Sinbad battle each other in the stores.
Rating: PG
Running Time: 122 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: