Review of Jingle All the Way (1996) by Aodhan R — 20 Oct 2014

The popular action hero known for movies such as 'The Terminator & T2, Commando, Predator and Total Recall', has taken his acting ability to a movie with lighter tone and family-comedy humour. It's the holidays and Christmas is near, and Arnie must lay the guns aside and get into character as family man Howard Langston. Howard is like the less geeky version of Jim Carrey from Liar Liar. He promises his son he'll attend his karate class to see him off, which he fails and the following day promises his son he'll buy him a turbo man action figure for Christmas. The biggest problem: the action figure is the best-selling toy in town.

The script points in the Xmas and mayhem direction, as Howard's attempts to get his hands on the toy leads him to the point of hopelessness, as he battles his way through toy stores with angry parents and a mailman called Myron. Myron is played by comedian Sinbad and steals the show with his supreme comedic charisma and personal quality, all of which resemble ridiculousness, which makes him a significant part of the movie's genre.

Howard also repeatedly runs into an elderly police officer played by Robert Conrad. Conrad's take on the police officer is also a a laughable and plausible sensation of the movie as well. Brian Levant directs this movie with the finest approach the genre needs. And Schwarzenegger and Sinbad's performances are unreal and 'Jingle All the Way' will satisfy the audience in the best way the genre can.