The late 1990s and early 2000s were a weird era for films. There is definitely an influence from Y2K, and it seemed like there was an attitude that anything goes from some and a tightening of the belt from others. The world was in an odd place, and this influenced everything in culture like music, television, and films. 2002 gave us a wide variety of horror, like Queen of the Damned, Fear Dot Com, Cabin Fever, Bubba Ho-Tep, Dog Soldiers, and Bloody Mallory. This was the end of an era and the start of another for David Arquette it seemed. A time when he tested the “leading man” waters. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go as planned as box office bomb after box office bomb came. Films like Ravenous, Ready to Rumble, 3000 Miles to Graceland, See Spot Run, and The Grey Zone all featured Arquette in some form but...
- 1/9/2024
- by Emilie Black
- JoBlo.com
Back in 1996, movie titan Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most notable ventures away from laying waste to camouflaged aliens, gunning down police stations and impaling mad Aussies, was in the comedies Kindergarten Cop and Twins. They were both decent movies, but Twins in particular was an unusual and surprising move for the Austrian Oak. However, it did ultimately turn out to be a fairly good movie, mainly thanks to the unlikely chemistry between Arnie and the great Danny De Vito. Twins was a financial success but the relative critical bashing Arnie’s next movie would get, the admittedly decent Eraser from 1996, meant he was in need of career resurgence.
So, what better way to go about kickstarting his slightly stuttering career than to throw himself head first into very unfamiliar territory: the Christmas movie. On the face of it, it probably seemed like a good idea; after all, both Twins and Kindergarten Cop...
So, what better way to go about kickstarting his slightly stuttering career than to throw himself head first into very unfamiliar territory: the Christmas movie. On the face of it, it probably seemed like a good idea; after all, both Twins and Kindergarten Cop...
- 12/17/2023
- by Adam Walton
- JoBlo.com
The holidays are all hustle and bustle, and Arnold Schwarzenegger has it all compacted into Christmas Eve day as he dashes and crashes through a last-minute obstacle course to find the perfect toy for his young one. Like fast food, this fast film -- under 90 minutes with a thin story center but heaps of slapstick garnishes -- should hit the spot among young holiday viewers, chiefly elementary schoolers, and fill 20th Century Fox's boxoffice cup with a merry bit of cheer.
As one would expect with "Home Alone" director Chris Columbus listed as one of the producers, "Jingle All the Way" doesn't exactly dawdle along in its storytelling. In fact, narratively it's akin to a two-reel silent, one of those madcap ditties that Hal Roach or Mack Sennett might have cranked out at their laugh factories. "Jingle" is, essentially, a frantic race against time as the story's straight man careens along in his quest on a course completely booby-trapped by banana peels and obstructing oddballs.
The star and straight man in this outing, of course, is Schwarzenegger, who hunkers down into the role of Howard Langston, a workaholic father whose booming business has left him little time for his wife (Rita Wilson) and young son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd). Unlike Ozzie Nelson, good-hearted Howard seems never to be around the house and, as he realizes, he's down to his last chance with his wife and child. If Howard doesn't get Jamie the Turbo Man toy for Christmas (he white-lied to his wife that he had bought it ages ago) he might as well pack it up and take a permanent cot down at his factory. Naturally, the Turbo Man has slipped his mind and now he's down to the day before Christmas to get one. And, of course, all the stores are sold out.
For modern-day warrior Howard, the Turbo toy is the Golden Fleece and Holy Grail rolled into one. Quite sagely, screenwriter Randy Kornfield has pitted Schwarzenegger against an array of obstacles where neither his brawn nor his brain are assets: feisty female shoppers; a dastardly mall Santa (James Belushi); a disconsolate postal employee (Sinbad) and a role-model neighbor (Phil Hartman), who gets an A+ in dad-stuff. Borrowing from the classic farces, there's a running-gag authority figure, a cop (Robert Conrad), as well as a cute reindeer who doesn't take kindly to him. Most winning, the story has its heart in all the right places.
Director Brian Levant's ("Beethoven") expert wrapping, including its tightly drawn slapstick and zesty pacing, decks "Jingle" out with all the right trappings. That much of the slapstick mauling takes place in Minneapolis' gargantuan Mall of America, as Arnold is bedeviled by cute kids and irate moms, adds a fittingly spectacular toy-store look to the holiday hilarity.
As the frazzled suburbanite, Schwarzenegger is well-cast as the well-meaning but overworked Everyman. Admittedly, the part is not sprinkled with as many characteristic ticks and quirks as, say, the well-intentioned but neurotic Clark Griswold in the "Vacation" movies, but Schwarzenegger's sincere vexation and earnest tenacity are well-suited for the role. The remainder of the cast is similarly well-selected, including Wilson as his exasperated wife and Lloyd as their confused kid.
Like the tinsel on a tree, the supporting cast adds the perfect shine, namely Sinbad as a pent-up postal worker, Conrad as the running-gag cop and Hartman as the unctuously "perfect" neighbor. The technical contributions are also fitting ornaments, highlighted by Leslie McDonald's warm and spirited production design and David Newman's jaunty, shimmering score.
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
20th Century Fox
A 1492 Picture
A Brian Levant Film
Producers :Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan
Director :Brian Levant
Screenwriter:Randy Kornfield
Executive producer:Richard Vane
Director of photography:Victor J. Kemper
Production design:Leslie McDonald
Editor: Kent Beyda, Wilton Henderson
Co-producers:Jennifer Blum, James Mulay
Associate producers:Paula DuPre'Pesmen
Music :David Newman
Costume design:Jay Hurley
Casting :Judy Taylor
Visual effects supervisors:Gregory L. McMurry, Glenn Neufeld
Visual effects supervision:Rich Thorne
Sound mixer:Edward Tise
Color/stereo
Cast:
Howard Langston:Arnold Schwarzenegger
Myron Larabee:Sinbad
Ted Maltin :Phil Hartman
Liz Langston :Rita Wilson
Officer Hummell:Robert Conrad
DJ :Martin Mull
Jamie Langston:Jake Lloyd
Mall Santa: James Belushi
Johnny: E.J. De La Pena
First Lady: Laraine Newman
Billy :Justin Chapman
President :Harvey Korman
Running time -- 82 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
As one would expect with "Home Alone" director Chris Columbus listed as one of the producers, "Jingle All the Way" doesn't exactly dawdle along in its storytelling. In fact, narratively it's akin to a two-reel silent, one of those madcap ditties that Hal Roach or Mack Sennett might have cranked out at their laugh factories. "Jingle" is, essentially, a frantic race against time as the story's straight man careens along in his quest on a course completely booby-trapped by banana peels and obstructing oddballs.
The star and straight man in this outing, of course, is Schwarzenegger, who hunkers down into the role of Howard Langston, a workaholic father whose booming business has left him little time for his wife (Rita Wilson) and young son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd). Unlike Ozzie Nelson, good-hearted Howard seems never to be around the house and, as he realizes, he's down to his last chance with his wife and child. If Howard doesn't get Jamie the Turbo Man toy for Christmas (he white-lied to his wife that he had bought it ages ago) he might as well pack it up and take a permanent cot down at his factory. Naturally, the Turbo Man has slipped his mind and now he's down to the day before Christmas to get one. And, of course, all the stores are sold out.
For modern-day warrior Howard, the Turbo toy is the Golden Fleece and Holy Grail rolled into one. Quite sagely, screenwriter Randy Kornfield has pitted Schwarzenegger against an array of obstacles where neither his brawn nor his brain are assets: feisty female shoppers; a dastardly mall Santa (James Belushi); a disconsolate postal employee (Sinbad) and a role-model neighbor (Phil Hartman), who gets an A+ in dad-stuff. Borrowing from the classic farces, there's a running-gag authority figure, a cop (Robert Conrad), as well as a cute reindeer who doesn't take kindly to him. Most winning, the story has its heart in all the right places.
Director Brian Levant's ("Beethoven") expert wrapping, including its tightly drawn slapstick and zesty pacing, decks "Jingle" out with all the right trappings. That much of the slapstick mauling takes place in Minneapolis' gargantuan Mall of America, as Arnold is bedeviled by cute kids and irate moms, adds a fittingly spectacular toy-store look to the holiday hilarity.
As the frazzled suburbanite, Schwarzenegger is well-cast as the well-meaning but overworked Everyman. Admittedly, the part is not sprinkled with as many characteristic ticks and quirks as, say, the well-intentioned but neurotic Clark Griswold in the "Vacation" movies, but Schwarzenegger's sincere vexation and earnest tenacity are well-suited for the role. The remainder of the cast is similarly well-selected, including Wilson as his exasperated wife and Lloyd as their confused kid.
Like the tinsel on a tree, the supporting cast adds the perfect shine, namely Sinbad as a pent-up postal worker, Conrad as the running-gag cop and Hartman as the unctuously "perfect" neighbor. The technical contributions are also fitting ornaments, highlighted by Leslie McDonald's warm and spirited production design and David Newman's jaunty, shimmering score.
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
20th Century Fox
A 1492 Picture
A Brian Levant Film
Producers :Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan
Director :Brian Levant
Screenwriter:Randy Kornfield
Executive producer:Richard Vane
Director of photography:Victor J. Kemper
Production design:Leslie McDonald
Editor: Kent Beyda, Wilton Henderson
Co-producers:Jennifer Blum, James Mulay
Associate producers:Paula DuPre'Pesmen
Music :David Newman
Costume design:Jay Hurley
Casting :Judy Taylor
Visual effects supervisors:Gregory L. McMurry, Glenn Neufeld
Visual effects supervision:Rich Thorne
Sound mixer:Edward Tise
Color/stereo
Cast:
Howard Langston:Arnold Schwarzenegger
Myron Larabee:Sinbad
Ted Maltin :Phil Hartman
Liz Langston :Rita Wilson
Officer Hummell:Robert Conrad
DJ :Martin Mull
Jamie Langston:Jake Lloyd
Mall Santa: James Belushi
Johnny: E.J. De La Pena
First Lady: Laraine Newman
Billy :Justin Chapman
President :Harvey Korman
Running time -- 82 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 11/20/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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