For me 'Jingle All The Way' was unfairly panned by critics and is similarly overrated by general audiences who consider it to be the Christmas classic it is not.
I think it has a strong premise about consumerism and the need for guilt ridden parents to buy their children's love. It delivers a plethora of crazy shenanigans en route to a fun climax. However, so much of the humour and character moments either irritate or do not work for me. I appreciate comedy is in the eye of the beholder so others may appreciate the humour more than me.
I have always found Arnold Schwarzenegger to be an enigmatic personality. When you see him out of character being interviewed he can be incredibly charismatic and funny, yet when the cameras roll on a movie set he can be wooden and with little timing. 'Kindergarten Cop' worked better as he was a straight man to the children, but as Howard he struggles to play the clown. He is better at the more heartfelt family moments, but they feel somewhat forced at times.
I find the antagonist character played by Sinbad pretty annoying and does not work in combination with Howard. Their banter, feels quite forced and awkwardly timed.
The positives for me include the characters played by James Belushi and Phil Hartman, who lift the quality of their material with strong performances. I also like how outlandishly it shifts in tone as the story unfolds. This might be unintended, but when you take Howard from his rock bottom Grinch moment to his action packed Turboman finale in a matter of minutes you have to enjoy the ridiculousness for what it is.
I think young Jake Lloyd struggles with some of the dialogue but do not blame him at all. With child actors the onus is on the script to be suitable and the director to draw out performances.
I think it has a strong premise about consumerism and the need for guilt ridden parents to buy their children's love. It delivers a plethora of crazy shenanigans en route to a fun climax. However, so much of the humour and character moments either irritate or do not work for me. I appreciate comedy is in the eye of the beholder so others may appreciate the humour more than me.
I have always found Arnold Schwarzenegger to be an enigmatic personality. When you see him out of character being interviewed he can be incredibly charismatic and funny, yet when the cameras roll on a movie set he can be wooden and with little timing. 'Kindergarten Cop' worked better as he was a straight man to the children, but as Howard he struggles to play the clown. He is better at the more heartfelt family moments, but they feel somewhat forced at times.
I find the antagonist character played by Sinbad pretty annoying and does not work in combination with Howard. Their banter, feels quite forced and awkwardly timed.
The positives for me include the characters played by James Belushi and Phil Hartman, who lift the quality of their material with strong performances. I also like how outlandishly it shifts in tone as the story unfolds. This might be unintended, but when you take Howard from his rock bottom Grinch moment to his action packed Turboman finale in a matter of minutes you have to enjoy the ridiculousness for what it is.
I think young Jake Lloyd struggles with some of the dialogue but do not blame him at all. With child actors the onus is on the script to be suitable and the director to draw out performances.