Jingle All the Way Review

by Michael J. Legeros (legeros AT pagesz DOT net)
December 2nd, 1996
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
    A film review by Michael John Legeros
    Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros

(Fox)
Directed by Brian Levant
Written by Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, and Randy Kornfield Cast Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Robert Conrad, Rita Wilson, Jake Lloyd, James Belushi MPAA Rating "PG"
Running Time 96 minutes
Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC (22NOV96)

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    This big-budget Christmas comedy has a coarse and very obvious wit, which would be perfect for kids if this were a kid's movie. I'm not sure it is, even though the humor is as broad as the shoulders of its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Terminator plays a daddy desperate to find the most coveted toy in Minneapolis-- a Turbo Man doll-- on the day before Christmas. Sure, the wee ones will love seeing Arnie chased through a living room by a reindeer, pummeled by purses in the Mall of America, and all the roughhouse rowdiness between him and Sinbad, who plays his postal-carrying rival. But what will they make of the darker elements, like Phil Hartman's lecherous next-door neighbor? Or Schwarz- enegger slugging a Conga line of Clauses in a bootleg toy factory? Or, my favorite, the smoldering head of a wise man that gets drop-kicked into a crowd of carolers? (Heh. Who *hasn't* wanted to cause unrest among ye merry gentlemen?) Tolerating the rest of the movie, with its lazy plotting, frantic pacing, and a message that violence is a solution to everything, is a greater challenge. As is accepting the fantasy ending, which, while extremely upbeat, veers uncomfortably into LAST ACTION HERO territory. Stay through the credits for the final gag. Great soundtrack, too, with several swingin' tunes from the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

    Grade: C+

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Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC, USA, Earth
[email protected] (h) - [email protected] (w)
I'm also on the Web! http://www.pagesz.net/~legeros/

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