| “ | PUT THAT COOKIE DOWN! NOW!! | ” |
— Howard, delivering the film's most famous line | ||
Jingle All The Way is a Christmas comedy movie released in 1996, directed by Brian Levant and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad, with Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Jake Lloyd, James Belushi and Robert Conrad. Inspired by real-life Christmas toy sell-outs for products such as the Cabbage Patch Kids and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the film was written by Randy Kornfield. Producer Chris Columbus of Home Alone fame rewrote the script, adding in elements of satire about the commercialization of Christmas, and the project was picked up by 20th Century Fox. Delays on Fox's remake of Planet of the Apes allowed Schwarzenegger to come on board the film, while Columbus opted to cast Sinbad ahead of Joe Pesci as Myron. The movie was set and filmed in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul at a variety of locations, including the Mall of America. After five weeks filming, production moved to California where scenes such as the end parade were shot. The film's swift production meant merchandising was limited to a replica of the Turbo-Man action figure used in the film.
Synopsis
Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a hard working employee at a mattress company, and is stuck doing extra work on the day his son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd), is earning a new belt in karate. Despite his promise to make it, he runs into trouble with a traffic jam and a sadistic cop from hell and misses the karate class. In order to make it up to Jamie, he promises to get him anything he wants for Christmas. What he wants is the immensely popular "Turbo Man" action figure. Unfortunately, Howard forgot to get that for him earlier, and his wife, Liz (Rita Wilson), has informed him that, at this point of the year, they are impossible to find.
Not wanting to disappoint Jamie again, Howard sets off on a wild goose chase all over the city to find the doll. At the first store he gets to, he meets Myron Larabee (Sinbad), a post office worker who's looking for it too. However, it is soon revealed that this is going to be a "no holds barred" scavenger hunt, with lots of shoving, fighting, arguing, and worse. However, the many stores he hits and the chaos that ensues at each one ultimately results in nothing. He even resorts to trying to buy one from a group of con Santas running a counterfeit operation, who, unsurprisingly, rip him off to the point where he ends up fighting the entire gang. When the cops show up to bust the ring, he manages to get out of trouble by taking advantage of a toy police badge.
An attempt to call home and explain things to Liz, however, gets Howard chewed out by his own son. Distraught, he seeks solace in a nearby cafe, where he meets Myron again. They share their woe stories, but are interrupted by a disc jockey reporting a chance to call in and win a Turbo Man doll! They quickly barge into the radio station, only to be informed that all they can get is a gift certificate. The cops soon arrive, but Howard and Myron escape when he threatens them with a mail bomb (which turns out to be real, unlike the fake one he tried to use to make the disc jockey hand over the doll).
Desperate, Howard returns home to try to explain what happened, but finds his neighbor, Ted (Phil Hartman), (who seems to always be horning in on Liz when he's not around) in HIS house, putting HIS star on HIS tree! Enraged, he breaks into Ted's house to steal the Turbo Man doll he got for his son, Johnny. Unfortunately, he's pinned inside by carolers at the front door and an enraged reindeer at the back. Ultimately, he gets busted, and Liz finally has had enough and storms off. Royally mad now, Howard takes out his frustrations on the reindeer. ("You picked the wrong day.")
Broken, Howard finally decides to keep the one promise he can, and makes his way to the Holiday Wintertainment Parade anyway. Through a mix up, he ends up becoming the stand-in for the Turbo Man who's supposed to appear! And best of all, he gets the opportunity to pick a child to give a special Turbo Man doll too! Who else does he pick but Jamie? However, trouble strikes in the form of Myron showing up, dressed as Turbo Man's arch nemesis, Dementor! A fierce battle ensues for possession of the doll, but in the end, Howard/Turbo Man defeats his nemesis and saves both the doll AND his son! Jamie is sad that his dad wasn't here to see it...until Howard removes his helmet, revealing his true identity!
Meanwhile, Myron is being hauled off by the police, dismayed by his ultimate failure to retrieve the doll and not giving his son the toy for christmas. However, Jamie willingly gives him his, because this would make his son really happy. Myron also apologizes to Howard for fighting with him earlier and finally becomes friends with him. After all, who needs the doll when he has the REAL Turbo Man in his own house? Howard is then declared a hero.
At home, Christmas Eve is finally spent right, as the star is mounted on the tree, and everyone's happy. Liz is so happy that Howard was willing to do so much to get a present for Jamie, that it has her wondering what he got for her. The shocked expression on his face tells the whole story. Uh oh!
Notes
- The costumed characters seen in the parade include Barbie, a Cabbage Patch Kid, the Cat in the Hat, Ernie and Bert, Gumby, Hello Kitty, Leonardo, Madeline, Paddington Bear, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Sonic the Hedgehog, Snoopy, and the Tick.
Songs
Soundtrack
TVT Records released the film's soundtrack album on audio CD on November 26, 1996. It features only two of composer David Newman's pieces from Jingle All the Way, but features many of the songs by other artists that are included in the film, as well as other Christmas songs and new tracks by the Brian Setzer Orchestra. The track listing for the soundtrack is as follows:
| # | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jingle Bells | The Brian Setzer Orchestra | 2:18 |
| 2 | So They Say It's Christmas | Lou Rawls, The Brian Setzer Orchestra | 4:05 |
| 3 | Sleigh Ride | Darlene Love, The Brian Setzer Orchestra | 2:36 |
| 4 | Run Rudolph Run | Chuck Berry | 2:44 |
| 5 | It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year | Johnny Mathis | 2:47 |
| 6 | Merry Christmas Baby | Charles Brown | 4:47 |
| 7 | Back Door Santa | Clarence Carter | 2:09 |
| 8 | The Christmas Song | Nat King Cole | 3:10 |
| 9 | Jingle Bell Rock | Bobby Helms | 2:12 |
| 10 | Father and Son | David Newman | 3:00 |
| 11 | Finale | David Newman | 4:02 |
| 12 | Deep in the Heart of Xmas | The Brian Setzer Orchestra and Darlene Love | 2:52 |
Score album
On November 3, 2008, Intrada Records released the full score of Jingle All the Way on audio CD as the 80th volume of the Intrada Special Collection album series. The CD was a limited edition of 10,000 units.
| # | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main Title | 1:58 |
| 2 | Traffic | 1:48 |
| 3 | Howard & Hummel | 1:34 |
| 4 | Turbo Man Commercial | 0:32 |
| 5 | Howard & Jamie | 3:07 |
| 6 | Abusing the Help | 2:08 |
| 7 | Late Delivery | 0:47 |
| 8 | Nutcracker Mall | 2:09 |
| 9 | Riot in the Workshop | 5:27 |
| 10 | Here's To You Dad | 2:53 |
| 11 | Music Box Bomb | 2:01 |
| 12 | Bomb #2 | 1:24 |
| 13 | Breaking & Entering | 2:57 |
| 14 | Drinking With Reindeer | 1:48 |
| 15 | Howard in the Taxi | 1:40 |
| 16 | Show Time | 1:33 |
| 17 | Turbo Tom Marching Band #1 | 2:05 |
| 18 | Turbo Tom Marching Band #2 | 2:10 |
| 19 | Dementor Arrives | 1:31 |
| 20 | Howard Saves the Day | 5:01 |
| 21 | Rescue Jamie and Finale [Original Version] | 4:01 |
| Bonus tracks | ||
| 22 | Turbo Tom Marching Band #1 [With Guitar] | 2:05 |
| 23 | Rescue Jamie and Finale [Revised] | 3:59 |
See also
External links
- Jingle All the Way at the Internet Movie Database
- Jingle All the Way (1996) at TV Tropes
- Satirical video review of the film by the Nostalgia Critic (WARNING: Contains foul language.)
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