Jingle All the Way: A Brief Analysis of the Most Underrated Christmas Movie of All Time
I am not one who gets super into the Christmas spirit come December. People have even gone so far as to call me a Grinch. However, every December I get excited about one aspect of the Christmas season...being able to watch Jingle All the Way.
When you hear about Christmas movies, you often hear about Elf, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, and so on, but you never hear about Jingle All the Way. Those other films were widely loved by critics and audiences, but Jingle All the Way was lambasted, earning an insanely low 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 37% audience score. But why? I only know a handful of people who have seen this film, but I know that the majority of them are as passionate about it as I am. Below are the musings of a life-long fan, who is patiently awaiting Jingle All the Way's rise out of obscurity into the twinkly spotlight of the Christmas movie elites.
The first thing that Jingle All the Way has on its side is an elite frontman, Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is not strange to see Arnie's movies with poor critical reception, however it is shocking to see that it does not have a cult following. One of my biggest complaints about Christmas movies is that the characters are too nice or too evil without much in between. It is either the Christmas loving do-gooder or the Christmas-hating devil-worshipper who ends up having his heart of ice melted, embracing the joy of the season. But Arnold's character in this film is different. He is very real and complex. He is a man who is often too focused on work to consider his family, but when it comes down to it, he will do anything for them to be happy. That is a real man. And Arnie doesn't need a Christmas miracle to help him realize this, he is already a loving, albeit conflicted, man.
To counter Arnold is the "villain" of the film, played by Sinbad. Sinbad, the comedian who no one remembers, really puts on a performance to remember. He is perfectly cast, and his lines grow funnier and funnier the older I get. Even today, watching it for what I'd say is about the 25th time ever, I noticed a line I had never heard before from him that was hysterical. He is rapidly firing jokes left and right and most of them hit hard. Another "villain" is played by Phil Hartman, who also provides a few amazingly memorable lines. Rounding out the cast is Jake Lloyd, in a performance that somehow wooed George Lucas into thinking "Yep, that's Darth Vader!"
Now to my strongest point of defense in this film. Jingle All the Way captures the spirit of Christmas better than any other movie in existence. No, don't give me the Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life crap. None of those movies address the TRUE meaning of Christmas....consumerism. The "classic" holiday films are the ones that are supposed to make you remember the "true reason for the season", but Jingle All the Way actually addresses it. It has people fist fighting over toys, scrambling to buy presents last minute because they are shitty people. Doesn't ring a bell? Drive by any mall a week before Christmas. Go to Best Buy on Black Friday. Jingle All the Way addresses the consumerist nature of Christmas, while still including the importance of family aspect in the end. That's Christmas. And that's why Jingle All the Way is the ultimate Christmas movie.
But if you're still not convinced, here is a short list of some of the amazing things you will see if you watch this perfect film:
When you hear about Christmas movies, you often hear about Elf, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, and so on, but you never hear about Jingle All the Way. Those other films were widely loved by critics and audiences, but Jingle All the Way was lambasted, earning an insanely low 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 37% audience score. But why? I only know a handful of people who have seen this film, but I know that the majority of them are as passionate about it as I am. Below are the musings of a life-long fan, who is patiently awaiting Jingle All the Way's rise out of obscurity into the twinkly spotlight of the Christmas movie elites.
The first thing that Jingle All the Way has on its side is an elite frontman, Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is not strange to see Arnie's movies with poor critical reception, however it is shocking to see that it does not have a cult following. One of my biggest complaints about Christmas movies is that the characters are too nice or too evil without much in between. It is either the Christmas loving do-gooder or the Christmas-hating devil-worshipper who ends up having his heart of ice melted, embracing the joy of the season. But Arnold's character in this film is different. He is very real and complex. He is a man who is often too focused on work to consider his family, but when it comes down to it, he will do anything for them to be happy. That is a real man. And Arnie doesn't need a Christmas miracle to help him realize this, he is already a loving, albeit conflicted, man.
To counter Arnold is the "villain" of the film, played by Sinbad. Sinbad, the comedian who no one remembers, really puts on a performance to remember. He is perfectly cast, and his lines grow funnier and funnier the older I get. Even today, watching it for what I'd say is about the 25th time ever, I noticed a line I had never heard before from him that was hysterical. He is rapidly firing jokes left and right and most of them hit hard. Another "villain" is played by Phil Hartman, who also provides a few amazingly memorable lines. Rounding out the cast is Jake Lloyd, in a performance that somehow wooed George Lucas into thinking "Yep, that's Darth Vader!"Now to my strongest point of defense in this film. Jingle All the Way captures the spirit of Christmas better than any other movie in existence. No, don't give me the Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life crap. None of those movies address the TRUE meaning of Christmas....consumerism. The "classic" holiday films are the ones that are supposed to make you remember the "true reason for the season", but Jingle All the Way actually addresses it. It has people fist fighting over toys, scrambling to buy presents last minute because they are shitty people. Doesn't ring a bell? Drive by any mall a week before Christmas. Go to Best Buy on Black Friday. Jingle All the Way addresses the consumerist nature of Christmas, while still including the importance of family aspect in the end. That's Christmas. And that's why Jingle All the Way is the ultimate Christmas movie.But if you're still not convinced, here is a short list of some of the amazing things you will see if you watch this perfect film:
- Arnold punching a reindeer then giving it beer
- Arnold fighting WWE superstar Big Show
- Arnold being taken into an underground world of toy-bootlegging mall Santas
- Arnold fighting a candy-cane-striped nunchuk wielding mall Santa
- Arnold jogging while chanting the names of Santa's reindeer
- A parade featuring a superhero with a functioning jetpack
- Arnold chasing a little girl through a playground to get a bouncy ball
- Arnold angrily demanding his neighbor to drop his cookies
I feel like I don't need to go on. If you read that list and thought "Meh, that doesn't sound that special", well then I think I have identified the true Grinch.
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