Movie Review: Jingle All the Way 2 (2014)
Synopsis: Even though his 8-year-old daughter, Noel, loves spending time with him, truck driver Larry Phillips is fearful her wealthy new stepdad, Victor, will eventually steal her away. Hoping the perfect Christmas gift will prevent that from happening, Larry reads Noel's letter to Santa and is determined to buy her the Harrison Bear she wants. However, Victor, who doesn't like the idea of coming in second to Larry, finds out about his plan and hires a henchman, Welling, to buy out all the bears first.
Who's in it? The movie stars Larry the Cable Guy, Brian Stepanek, Eric Breker, Kennedi Clements and Lauren K. Robek.
Review: I had completely forgotten someone made a sequel to the 1996 movie Jingle All the Way until my wife and I came across Jingle All the Way 2 yesterday afternoon. I wasn't really expecting a whole lot from this movie when we first started watching it and, as it turns out, those lowered expectations were justified.
I'm not going to say this is a terrible movie because it wasn't. Larry the Cable Guy is a comedian I still feel is better in small doses, but he did an OK job as the main protagonist, seeming genuine as a father and pulling off the comedic parts of the film. I especially liked the mechanical reindeer scene, especially with the twist involving the Harrison Bear prize. Oh, and the ending has an admittedly funny twist as well.
Plus, unlike the original movie, which relied on Arnold Schwarzenegger being an all-time worst father (and Rita Wilson as a mom who should have known better than to trust him with such an important task), Larry was a guy who didn't wait until the last minute. He, along with dozens of other parents, were being screwed over by his rival at every turn.
My biggest problem with this movie is it is very predictable. It's clear from the beginning it is going to be one of those movies where Larry and Victor (Stepanek) start out as rivals but will eventually work things out for Noel's (Clements) sake. This makes the rest of the film seem almost pointless as a result.
I'm also not a fan of the villainous way Victor is portrayed throughout the majority of the film. Let's be clear about this, he was a man who was spending a great deal of money to sabotage a father's relationship with his daughter. There's no other way to describe it. I don't care how happy the ending is, it is very hard to get past that and frankly made me wonder what exactly Noel's mother (Robek), saw in him in the first place, other than his money.
Even Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life wasn't that evil.
Final Opinion: I didn't hate it, which was a pleasant surprise. However, while the original is far from a great movie, this one is still a step down.
My Grade: C+
__________________________________________________________________
Here are some reviews of other Christmas movies:
Movie Review: Sugarplummed (2024)
Movie Review: A Christmas Carol (1938)
Comments
Post a Comment