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Jingle All the Way (PG, 1996)

common sense media says

Ahnold terminates the holiday spirit.

parents & educators say
See all 9 reviews | Review it

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this film offers nothing in the way of genuine family fun. Young kids may enjoy the action, car chases, and explosions, but they aren't worth it for the miserable messages about consumerism and buying your child's love.

Positive messages: Harold yells at his son and neglects him but eventually redeems himself by dressing up like a superhero and procuring the prized holiday gift. Jamie learns that the gift is less important than the love of his father, but only after parents and kids obsess over getting the gift.
Violence & scariness: Lots of punching, kicking, threats, and one explosion. While pervasive, the violence is comic, and no one actually gets hurt.
Sexy stuff: Some brief kissing between parents. Ted is constantly hitting on Liz. Some unwitting double entendre by Jamie.
Language: Liz utters "damn" once, but other than that, it's mostly clean.
Consumerism: Gumby, the Cat in the Hat, and Crayola are all prominently displayed during a holiday parade. Two dads go to extremes for a toy.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Harold and Myron sneak liquor into their coffee after a long day of toy hunting. In a fantasy sequence, Jamie drinks liquor from the bottle.
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More on Jingle All the Way

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the movie's message. Is Christmas really all about getting THE toy? How do parents make time for their kids and show their love without gifts? What are your favorite things to do, especially during the holidays, that don't require spending money?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Harold Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a workaholic dad who doesn't spend enough time with his son, Jamie. In order to win back Jamie's love, Harold offers to buy him anything he wants for Christmas. Jamie knows what he wants immediately. In an excited voice, he recites the TV ad for the new TurboMan toy. Just days before Christmas, Harold sets out to find the toy, but it's sold out everywhere. He roams from store to store, chases ping pong balls for toy lotteries, visits a creepy shop of stolen and broken gifts, and rushes to a radio station to try to win a TurboMan contest. Along the way, he becomes rivals with a mail carrier dad, Myron (Sinbad), who quite literally goes postal. In an even ickier subplot, a womanizing next door neighbor (Phil Hartman) uses his good-dad persona to try to seduce Harold's wife, Liz (Rita Wilson).

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
If you don't have to watch Jingle All the Way, don't. It's everything that's wrong with the holiday season: It's competitive, it's stressful, it's desperate, and it's all about consumerism. In short, there's no one in this movie for kids to look up to. And what that means is that, despite being about getting toys, this is a movie for adults who've been in Harold's position and who desperately want to be their sons' heroes. But it's not fun to watch for anyone.

Movie themes & details

Themes
holidays
Movie Details
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Director: Brian Levant
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 85 minutes
Theatrical release: November 21, 1996
DVD release: October 12, 2004
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: action violence, mild language and some thematic elements
This review was written by Heather Boerner
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

DisneyChannelFan
kid, 10 years old
3
 
Jingle All The Way!
A Comedy Hit!!! Arnold Schwarzenegger Steals The Show With His Performance.I Think Good For Ages 8+ Is Dumb.Its A Great Holiday Season Movie For All Kids.
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DavidJ
teen, 13 years old
8
 
Good, Funny Movie
"Put that cookie down, Nao." This movie is a very funny Arnold Schwarzenegger flick, in which his character (Howard Langston) is in hunt to find a turbo man action figure for his son. There are various bad words such as H*LL, D**N, and A*S. In one scene Arnold is mistaken for a pervert. Other then these few parts, this movie is bery good.
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OldManStauf
parent of 4 year old
4
 
Classic Christmas movie not to be overlooked.
Great Christmas movie and truly a classic. It is peppered with a few mild curse words such as d***, hell and a**, but it's not often, but certainly not what I want my son saying so I generally watch it with them, rather than let them watch alone. Other than that, the mild sexual content is way to far over the younger audiences head to be a concern.
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KidWhoReviewsStuff
kid, 13 years old
5
 
Schwarzenegger cranks up the goofiness in this rotten turkey
Delightfully terrible holiday movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a father who is desperatley trying to get a toy for his child. Tons of dysfunctional moments filled with goofy humor that is incredibly weak. The movie feels like one big advert.
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Poison Ivey
teen, 17 years old
8
 
Let me set things straight. It isn't funny.
Well, in science class we were supposed to be working on our element projects but the computers arent working so it was either watch this or work on chapter 3 vocabulary so the choice was obvious. I thought this movie to be very vulgar, unrealistically rehearsed, and stupid. I'm very sissapointed because not once did I open my mouth and laugh. So yeah, dont waste your time on this. But hey, dont get me wrong, it's better than sitting in a small room reading communistic books for three long days. ~ P.I.
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mkalv
teen, 17 years old
6
 
Funny ans cool.
I do not agree with Common Senses review. It was funny and worthwhile. Who knew that Arnold Swarchneggar could be funny?
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Poetic
teen, 17 years old
 
The Common Sense Review Made Me Sick!!!
I read the CS review... I gasped... I checked the movie title... I gasped... I had no idea that only yesterday I had exposed my self to "commercialism", and "violence"... This is without doubt THE BEST X-mas movie I have ever seen... No... I do not have the mentality of "young children"... This movie was just an all-around feel GOOD, heart WARMING, HILARIOUS movie!
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tommysportsgirl
adult
 
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baseballrockz
teen, 13 years old
7
 
good movie
really good movie funny but there is some violence but thats it
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