If youre looking for the movie that helped knock Arnold Schwarzenegger off his superstar throne, look no further than Jingle All The Way. In the wake of this flop, Arnie could do no right, appearing in Batman & Robin, End Of Days and Collateral Damage. Described by The Austin Chronicle as yet another scary, mean-spirited holiday comedy thats about as much fun as a stocking full of dead spiders, JATW is the one about the dad whos too busy to spend time with his son, so he attempts to make up for it by buying him that seasons must-have toy, a Turbo Man action figure. Except its Christmas Eve and all the stores have sold out, which leads to a hilarious race against time to locate the last toy in town. Thats enough plot for a Simpsons episode, but even at 88 minutes (including credits), JATW feels stretched and padded, a one-note idea the filmmakers decided to drag out ad infinitum. If you truly want to suffer this Christmas, watch it on a double bill with the sequel, which stars Larry The Cable Guy.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
