“Jingle All the Way” is a movie of its time. 1996 was smack dab in the middle of peak Arnold Schwarzenegger, where he was putting out multiple movies a year. The film also features Sinbad, SNL great Phil Hartman, and a pre-”Star Wars” Jake Lloyd. It came out the same year as the Tickle Me Elmo craze, something the movie satirizes perfectly.
I love these types of Schwarzenegger movies. He is a great action star, but his comedies are just as great. Part of that is because he’s not the greatest actor to begin with, and his thick accent is what makes it so funny. Look at this, or “Kindergarten Cop” was proof that the man can be funny without even trying.
Through much of the movie, the battle between Sinbad and Schwarzenegger trying to get a Turbo Man doll is mostly harmless. Then we get to the end, and I would argue that Sinbad becomes the villain of the movie. He chases and threatens Jake Lloyd (a child!) to get the Turbo Man doll. It’s at that point that it goes from a man trying to get his son a toy to a man trying to harm a child. That’s villain behavior.
I wasn’t sure that this movie would hold up after all these years. It’s an easy movie for a kid to love; it’s silly, the violence is very slapstick, and no one really gets hurt. Minus some of the creepy undertones from Phil Hartman’s character, the movie is as enjoyable today as when I was a kid.
