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Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1996 Christmas Movie Becomes A Streaming Hit On Prime Video - SlashFilm


Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1996 Christmas Movie Becomes A Streaming Hit On Prime Video - SlashFilm

After spending the '80s and early '90s becoming the pre-eminent action star of his generation and feuding with Sylvester Stallone over the title, Arnold Schwarzenegger spent the latter half of the '90s trying to prove he could front charming family-friendly fare -- and wouldn't you know it, he could. Of course, a man who hailed from a small Austrian township and conquered bodybuilding, married a Kennedy, became a movie star, and launched a successful career in U.S. politics was never really going to struggle with something as trivial as a career rebrand. So, '90s kids were treated to all manner of surprisingly decent family comedy, from "Kindergarten Cop" to the Christmas favorite "Jingle All the Way."

Don't let that 20% score on Rotten Tomatoes score fool you: "Jingle All the Way" not only had kids of my generation enraptured, it also had something for the adults, tapping into the rampant commercialism that had turned Christmas from a time of peace and togetherness into a frantic scramble for the latest toy. In my time it was Power Rangers and Pokémon, not to mention Tickle Me Elmo. For Schwarzenegger's Howard Langston, it was Turbo Man -- the latest action figure that his son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd), simply must have for Christmas. In order to make up for being a somewhat neglectful father and husband, Howard makes it his mission to track down the in-demand action figure and hilarity and hijinks ensure.

As well as Schwarzenegger's surprisingly adept comedic performance, "Jingle All the Way" also featured the late, great Phil Hartman as Howard's brilliantly smarmy neighbor Ted Maltin. In all, this 90s Christmas classic stands as yet another reason not to take Rotten Tomatoes all that seriously. Now, Prime Video subscribers are attesting to that fact, sending "Jingle All the Way" into the most-watched charts for the festive season and reminding us all that it remains one of the best Christmas movies of all time.

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