Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) tries to be the hero type father that every kid hopes for, but because he’s a workaholic he’s far from the hero and oftentimes more the grumpy villain. But this Christmas he has a chance to turn it all around, his son wants a toy called Turbo Man and Howard will go out of his way to try and track one down, even if it is Christmas Eve and all the stores read Sold Out.
This isn’t a movie that I’d choose to ever watch again. Keep in mind, I’m a thirty-something year old mom who oogles over teenage vampire movies. I hate to be this way, but if he walks like a bad actor, and talks like a bad actor, well then…I’ll just say it, he's probably Arnie Schwarzenegger. His acting is atrocious! He does OK in movies like terminator but feel good family movies are not his strong suit. Also the humor of this one is akin to what I can only imagine takes place in a guys locker room! Just not my cup o’ tea, but if you like Schwarzenegger, lots of potty humor, and mayhem galore, then perhaps it’s your cup o’ tea.
Motherly Advice: I watched Jingle All The Way with my filters set on medium. The beginning scene is a work Christmas party and includes lots of very scantily clad women, short dresses/skirts, low cut tops, bare shoulders, etc. Later, Howard’s wife wears a piece of negligee that is tasteful but is still low cut. Part of the “said” humor of this movie includes a recently divorced bachelor who flirts with all of the married women by doing household favors that their husbands don’t have time to do. This leads to him luring Howard’s wife to him and even tries kissing her. I’m not particularly a fan of this type of humor. Now for violence. There are a handful of scenes that include fist fighting, kicking, trying to electrocute each other, etc. but one scene in particular sticks out because it is between a bunch of corrupt Santas and Howard. If you have kids watching with you, this could be a pretty detrimental scene! Lastly, throughout the film, Howard is competing with a mailman vying for the same Turbo Man toy. This mailman on two occasions, threatens to blow up a bomb, yeah, poor taste! This Family film may be rated PG, but I would say it’s only appropriate for ages 13+.