Jingle All the Way 2 (2014)

Overrated

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Jingle all the Way 2 is a belated sequel to the 1996 film that starred Arnie and this has nothing to do with the first film apart from the basic plot line of going after the most sought after toy for Christmas.Noel is an eight year old girl whose mum has just remarried to Victor who is wealthy and runs a successful business. Victor wants to be a good stepdad to Noel and wants her to love him as much as she loves her dad.Larry is her dad, he is a little laid back, a little dim but well meaning who spends much of his time in the diner. Once he gets an inkling that Noel wants the season's hottest toy, The Harrison Bear he goes looking for it everywhere but Victor has sent his crony round to buy them all up first.This is really a cheap looking and corny film but somehow I actually laughed and tittered several times to my surprise. I have sat through bigger budget and high concept comedies stone faced so at least the film got something right.Larry just about keeps the film moving along with some slapstick as the well meaning dad who loves his daughter and prepared to put up with her new stepdad. Victor is the slimy one wanting to get one over Larry and wants the genuine love from Noel. Strangely the film makes a valid point about stepfathers feeling left out in this new family arrangements.All I can say is that this pointless sequel is actually a lot better than expected.

Laid-back dad Larry is having an awful time finding the perfect Christmas gift for his eight- year-old daughter, Noel. The season's hottest toy, The Harrison Bear, is all sold out, and Noel's new stepfather wants to keep it that way, so he can be the one to make her wish come true. When Larry learns all Noel wants for Christmas is the bear, he'll stop at nothing to make his little girl happy and get her the toy of her dreams......Jingle All The Way was lambasted when first released, the reviews were terrible, and it was released at a time when Arnie's Star power was dwindling rapidly. But nearly twenty years on, it's become staple viewing for lots of families over the holidays, because it's not really that bad, and Arnie gets a deer drunk.This however is probably the most pointless sequels made since Hollow Man 2, and it has nothing to do with the original, apart from the last minute gift thing.Larry The Cable Guy, wow, here in England is unknown, spends the entirety of the film feeling sorry for himself in a diner, his home, or the one toy shop in his town, whilst the rich step dad spends the entirety of the film being bitter and miserable.They hate each other, but hey, it's Christmas, so let's smile through gritted teeth to each other.Its a miserable film, blatantly cashing in on a Christmas favourite just to get people to watch it.They may have well called it Scrooged 2, Fred Claus 2, because it doesn't really matter, the greedy studio couldn't care less...

WWE Studios has had an abnormally prolific year, getting one of their films in theaters (Oculus), resulting in respectable box office numbers, and churning out three direct-to-DVD efforts, all of which sequels or some sort of continuation of another preexisting entity. In just a little over two months, WWE Studios has released a prequel to the Leprechaun franchise, a sequel to See No Evil, and, perhaps the strangest release in their catalog thus far, a sequel to the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Jingle All the Way starring Larry the Cable Guy. One takes a look at the DVD cover art for the film and regards it with a certain disdain, as they see a thrown together, and slightly disturbing image of Larry the Cable Guy and Kennedi Clements, before cringing and, likely, passing by it with no further comment or thought. I simply couldn't leave it alone.For starters, I always hear the complaint about some actors never leaving their comfort zone or sticking to being typecast in certain roles, like Michael Cera in the awkward schoolboy roles and Channing Tatum in the man-candy ones. However, home come few address Larry the Cable Guy's inability to be anyone besides his one-note joke character in films? He has found ways to appear in a Madea film, a sequel to The Rock's Tooth Fairy, and two Cars films, plus an abundance of short films, playing no one other than his redneck archetype and consistently showing how a cute idea descends into tedium if not properly carried out. My personal problem with Larry the Cable Guy is a newfound one, for I used to find him amusing, is the fact that he is a man entirely made out of a joke that has been stretched threadbare for years and it was a joke that wasn't worth more than momentary amusement.Larry the Cable Guy plays none other than a character named Larry in Jingle All the Way 2, a ne'er-do-well father, who is desperately trying to be his daughter's favorite male figure now that, following what we can see was a fairly mild divorce brewed from minor inconvenience, Victor (Brian Stepanek), a wealthy businessman, has now entered in her life as her stepfather. Larry's daughter Noel (Kennedi Clements) is anticipating Christmas a lot this year because, judging from her private letter to Santa Claus, she wants a stuffed teddy bear named Harrison, which happens to be the season's hottest toy. Upon discovering this, Larry makes it his mission to not only give Noel a memorable Christmas but to find a Harrison Talking Bear, which proves difficult once Victor realizes his plan and begins to buy out each store's stock of Harrison bears.The original Jingle All the Way was never a holiday favorite of mine, as it offput me with its materialistic mindset and massively contentious story given it's a Christmas film, but Jingle All the Way 2 finds ways to be even more offputting given its lack of any redeemable characters and ridiculously overblown story. As we constantly see Larry being beaten by Victor seconds after he acquired an entire store's lot of Harrison bears, we question why he doesn't just order the bear online or ask the store manager to reserve one for him. In addition, watching two grown men fight like children for ninety minutes does not make for a good film whatsoever. If we're not seeing Larry breathlessly race around and passive-aggressively speak with Victor, we must endure the same kind of jokes that Larry the Cable Guy has made a career out of making, only this time, set in the context of a Christmas film.Jingle All the Way 2 isn't frustratingly bad, because, if you sit down to watch it, you've already questioned "why?" numerous times, regarding the film's production, existence, and thought-process, but it completely avoids any and all likability when you watch the year's frothiest ending conclude such an awful picture before your very eyes. If there's one thing Jingle All the Way 2 has going for it, at least it's consistently bad and has an ending that effectively lives up to the standards the film has set for itself.Starring: Larry the Cable Guy, Brian Stepanek, Kennedi Clements, Santino Marella, and Kristen Robek. Directed by: Alex Zamm.

Those who loved Jingle all the Way and those who hated it.... finally they have something they can agree on... and that is that this movie was a train wreck that should have never happened. I personally loved the first one... it wasn't a great story but it had a charm to it, funny moments and over the top silliness.... This movie basically had a similar event involving a super popular toy, thats where the similarities end as any attempts at humor fell flat. WWE was the movie company behind this so its no surprise that no one in the movie made any effort to act (Much like in Leprechaun: Origin), I find it amazing that professional wrestlers are more convincing actors then the actors they get for their movies. I'm still wondering how after watching this movie Larry is considered a comedian, nothing he said in the film was funny, in fact a few of his jokes made an already unfunny scene... well... uncomfortable. Basically the plot is Larry is the dad of a girl whose mom married some other guy who has it out for him so there both trying to get this toy bear that records the person's name and says it. Then Larry (pretty lazily compared to Arnold) spends the majority of the movie doing stuff trying to get the toy. The big thing missing was direct cut throat competition though the way Arnold had with Sinbad, Brian Stepnek wasn't going head to head with Larry at all. The fact that Larry was divorced also left the whole conflict with an affair brewing the way their was in the original with Arnold's wife and Phil Hartmen. The attempts at over the top humor just weren't there and the movie was boring almost to the point of being a sleep aid. Anyway if your looking for a movie for really young kids, it has nothing really offensive in it (unless you consider a movie pretending to be a comedy and then turning out to be a tedious watch offensive)