[[foldercontrol]]

!!The film series:
[[folder:Jingle All the Way]]
* AccidentalAesop: Keep your promises. It's how you let others know they can depend on you.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Even though Arnold was the focus, imagine the whole movie on Creator/{{Sinbad}}'s POV? Then you have the movie about a down-on-his-luck father trying to buy a Turbo-Man doll to atone for not being a good father to his son. Not only would it make the movie more interesting but put it into, perhaps [[UncleTomFoolery literal]]), BlackComedy territory.
** Does Ted actually care about his son and was he genuinely mad when Howard tries to steal the Turbo Man doll, or is he feigning outrage to manipulate Liz? Johnny mentions Ted became a better man after the divorce. Is Ted's spoiling of Johnny him trying to overcompensate for a failed marriage?
* AssPull: Myron mugging the Dementor actor to take his place in the parade. There's no way Myron could have made it to the roof, attacked the actor, and then gotten his costume off and put it on himself in the few minutes that Howard was up on the float. The only way it works is if one assumes Myron was planning to take the actor's place anyway and was going about it before he realized Howard was on the float as Turbo-Man, but that raises even more questions.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** The heroic Turbo-Man theme is actually pretty cool when played live during the parade.
** Music/DavidNewman's extended version of the "Russian Dance" from [[Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky Tchavikovsky]]'s ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' Suite that accompanies Howard chasing his lottery ball for a Turbo-Man figure through the mall.
** Shame an album of David Newman's score wasn't released until years later.
* CatharsisFactor: Liz punches Ted with a thermos of eggnog after showing his true colors of wanting to seduce her and move in on [[ManipulativeBastard being her new husband]]. After watching Ted put up a [[BitchInSheepsClothing front as a]] GoodSamaritan (with Howard being the only person who sees through his loving neighbor act), it's all too satisfying to see Liz let Ted down '''''the hard way'''''.
** Quite a few retail employees love the performances of the various store employees in the film as they wish they could be as blunt and candid with entitled, obnoxious customers as the workers are here.
* CriticalDissonance: The film was predictably hated by critics when it was first released, but it has since become such a holiday classic that every attempt by modern-day critics to bash it gets drowned out by nostalgia for the film.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: The fake bomb package Myron tricked the cops with ''actually'' exploding? Kinda funny. Myron pausing to look back, horrified it was actually a bomb, and cursing "this is a sick world we're living in!" Hilarious!
* CultClassic: The movie's a pretty odd Christmas flick but is so off the wall and full of NarmCharm that many fans couldn't help but love it ''because'' of how goofy it was, firmly cementing it into this trope.
* DirectorDisplacement: Creator/ChrisColumbus was a producer, yet Brian Levant directed.
* EsotericHappyEnding: A minor one for Myron. Okay, he can give his kid the Turbo-Man doll. Hurrah. The downside is that he might face prison time and will still be considered an absentee father. Oops.
** It's highly likely that Turbo Man figure will be heading straight for the evidence locker for a while.
* HamAndCheese: Arnold, Sinbad, Creator/JamesBelushi and Creator/PhilHartman all know that the film’s message isn’t very serious and they all waste no time [[LargeHam giving everybody a tasty and over the top ham sandwich.]]
* HarsherInHindsight:
** A running gag in the film is how Booster is TheScrappy for ''Turbo-Man'' in-universe, at least as far as the fans are concerned. Creator/JakeLloyd, who plays Jamie, would eventually be regarded as TheScrappy himself, to an even worse degree, after appearing as Anakin Skywalker in ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
** Howard has an ImagineSpot of Jamie ending up cynical and embittered like Myron. Jamie's actor, Jake Lloyd, would later [[ArtistDisillusionment suffer similar feelings]] from his performance in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
** Store employees getting trampled by an entire swarm of impatient customers, which occurs early in the film. It may have been very funny at the time (due to being over-the-top), but Black Friday has caused people in [[https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/article/black-fridays-most-gruesome-injuries-and-deaths-through-the-years/amp/ real life have actually gotten seriously injured or killed from being trampled]], so it's certainly not as funny anymore.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Howard almost giving [[Creator/JakeLloyd the future]] [[Film/ThePhantomMenace Darth Vader]] the "I Am Your Father" speech.
** Done before the advent of "Black Friday" (which ironically takes place the month before Christmas) which had stories similar to what happened in this film, only replace toys with various other items (clothes, electronics, video games, etc).
** This [[Film/BatmanAndRobin wouldn't be the last time]] that Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger would wind up in a campy superhero battle -- except next time, he'd be playing the villain.
* JerkassWoobie:
** Myron. Despite his flaws, the audience can't help but feel kinda sorry for him, as it is implied that [[spoiler:he lives a relatively crappy life--he works long hours to no reward or recognition, has no family, his wife cheated on him repeatedly and took custody of his son during their divorce, money is tight as a significant chunk of his income is sent to the aforementioned cheating wife for child support, and he seems to be generally treated unfairly by everybody in his life]]. So despite being an antagonistic character in the film, the viewer can't help but understand and empathize with his cynical attitude and animosity for the holidays, even though he can be a bit annoying for the way he jabbers too much about rhetoric and even if it doesn't justify the shady and even illegal things he does.
** The Motorcycle Cop also is on account of always falling victim to [[BumblingDad Howard]] and [[{{Jerkass}} Myron]].
** Ted's son Johnny counts as one, since he's InnocentlyInsensitive and his father is spoiling him just to hit on other women.
* LoveToHate:
** Ted. Yes he is a [[BitchInSheepsClothing sex crazed creep and egomaniac masquerading as a doting and loyal father]] but Creator/PhilHartman's very charismatic performance makes up for a lot of his shady behavior.
** Creator/JamesBelushi as the sleazy Santa also qualifies.
* MemeticMutation:
** "Put dat cookie daughn! NAUGHH!" Thank Swede Mason for the mix.
** Less memetically, "It's ''turbo time''!"
* {{Narm}}:
** Most of Jamie's lines, due to Creator/JakeLloyd's wooden acting.
** Also, Howard's wife gets a very narmy scene. The line itself is simply "Damn you, Howard", but it really cannot be stated how terrible the delivery is.
** Creator/RitaWilson clearly shoving her head down after asking Howard if he actually has the toy, so the camera can zoom over her.
* NarmCharm: Everything about Howard's Turbo Man costume is ridiculous even for this movie, from what it can do to the supposed logistics of a city parade being able to afford such a piece of technology. It's no less charming because of all that.
* OneSceneWonder: Creator/MartinMull as the hapless radio DJ who gets assaulted by both Howard and Myron, the mattress company secretary who uses cue cards to remind the {{Workaholic}} Howard about his family commitments, and the main members of the mall Santa ConMan gang (the leader, Tony the elf, Hugo the GiantMook and his "little buddy", and the man with candy cane nunchucks) are all only in one or two scenes but provide some very memorable parts of the movie.
* RetroactiveRecognition:
** Jamie is [[Film/ThePhantomMenace 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker]].
** One of the kids in the Turbo-Man commercial is Spencer Klein, otherwise known as [[WesternAnimation/HeyArnold Arnold Shortman]].
** Creator/ChrisParnell, two years before he joined ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', is a clerk at the first toy store that Howard goes to.
** Creator/VerneTroyer is the Little Santa who gets punched by Wrestling/BigShow.
* SoBadItsGood: The movie isn't too rooted in reality and the scriptwriters clearly didn't think out the plot, but the wackiness and the sincerity of some scenes make it a real guilty pleasure.
* SpecialEffectFailure:
** Howard flying around in the Turbo-Man costume reeks of mid-90s digital compositing.
** The guard reindeer that attacks Howard is a blatant animatronic in the closeup shots.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: Myron's critical views on the Christmas season and the points he makes on how the marketing divisions of toy companies stir up these major "crazes" for a new toy during the Christmas season for their own profit are rather valid.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The filmmakers claim that the film is an anti-capitalist social commentary, but these aspects could have been expanded on more.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: While this film hasn't dated horribly, there are a few elements that date it square to the mid-1990s. The biggest one is how the film uses Myron threatening people (including the police) with mail bombs for comic effect. Not only would this be considered inappropriate in today's terrorist-fearing society - not to mention how just ''making'' the threat would be enough to get Myron a lengthy jail sentence today - but it is also a reference to the Unabomber, one of the most notorious terrorists of the 1980s and 1990s, who was captured shortly before the film's release. Additionally, the Christmas parade depicts many 1990s fads, including WesternAnimation/TheTick, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, and Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog (in the US version of his classic design, no less).
* UnintentionallySympathetic: Myron. The man is an incredible asshole not adverse to faking having a bomb to get the Turbo-Man doll (an ''[[TimeMarchesOn even bigger]]'' no-no nowadays) and chasing after a kid to steal the doll from him (which gets him arrested), but his life has been complete hell and considering we are following another man willing to go through all kinds of (equally borderline and ''actually'' illegal) mayhem to make his son happy...
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
** Jamie acts like a SpoiledBrat to Howard at every turn, rebuffs his attempts to make amends, and only shows love for him when Howard plays to his materialism and promises him the Turbo-Man doll. This is not helped by Jake Lloyd's awful acting and the clichéd WhenYouComingHomeDad trope being in full effect. Even the scene where Howard gets annoyed at Jamie talking about Turbo Man over the phone is supposed to be treated as him crossing the line except after a already rough day, hearing his son hammer on about what a tv show character would do, would be grating and its not like Howard was even yelling or snapping on him. At worst he just came off as mildly frustrated and had even tried to apologize to Jamie instantly. Even when Jamie does later feel guilty over it, the sympathy feels unearned.
** Howard's wife Liz isn't exactly super-likable either. She spends much of the film acting just as nasty towards Howard as Jamie does and is pretty much this close to leaving him for Ted. In fairness, Liz does discover that Ted's a scumbag and realizes that Howard means well, but like with Jamie its not enough.
** The ''WebVideo/HonestTrailers'' riff goes further and says that ''none'' of the characters have any redeeming values. Even the always-likable Creator/ChrisParnell plays a character who is such a jerk that punching his face would be more redeeming.
* ValuesDissonance:
** The way Liz casually accepts Ted's unwanted advances screams of a product set before the Me Too era. And the evidence implies that he has been creeping on her for a while too; look at the complete lack of surprise on her face when she bats away that arm he puts around her shoulder.
** Myron ([[AccidentalTruth unintentionally truthfully]]) claiming a package contains a bomb is treated fairly lightheartedly by both the characters and the narrative. Not only would he be in deep, ''deep'' trouble if he tried that stunt today, but such a scenario being PlayedForLaughs in a family film would be downright unthinkable nowadays. [[ValuesResonance On the flip side]], he's [[IWasJustJoking genuinely appalled]] that such a package really would contain one.
** When [[TheScrappy Booster]] gets [[spoiler: beaten up by a bunch of kids]], one of the kids call him a fag. While this was still an insult back in Main/The90s, it wasn't as bad as it is today. But in Main/TheNew20s, it would probably be ''heavily'' frowned upon.
* TheWoobie: Howard goes through absolute ''hell'' to get his son the toy he wants for Christmas, a plight every parent can sympathize with. When he finally gets the doll during the parade and picks it up in awe, then holds it up in triumph and cheers, it's not hard to cheer with him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jingle All the Way 2]]
* {{Sequelitis}}: Pretty much got this distinction no sooner than the day it was announced. The fact that it starred Larry the Cable Guy, already infamous for making a DTV sequel to the ''Film/TheToothFairy'', didn't help matters.
[[/folder]]
----