Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is known as the bonafide action star of the 80s and the 90s. He starred in classic action films such as Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, True Lies, Total Recall, and Commando. The actor had also branched out to comedy films such as Twins, Junior, and Kindergarten Cop.
Schwarzenegger starred in Jingle All The Way, which saw him play a father trying to get a Christman gift for his son at the last minute. The film is considered to be a Christmas classic and was also a huge success upon release. However, lead actress Rita Wilson seems to not be a fan of the film as she feels her character was ‘too stupid’.
Arnold Schwarzenegger In Jingle All The Way
The Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer Jingle All The Way is a Christmas classic that has been a necessary watch every year during the holidays. It follows the story of a workaholic father, played by Schwarzenegger, who has to buy his son a superhero toy called Turbo Man at the last minute. He tries to find the toy on Christmas Eve but finds the toy to be sold out everywhere. He also develops a rivalry with another father who is in the same situation, who is played by comedian Sinbad.
The film was created by screenwriter Randy Kornfield after being inspired by the ‘Cabbage Patch Riots’ of 1983. The riots were caused by a shortage of Cabbage Patch Kids toys for Christmas and customers fighting over it, with some even hitting other customers with baseball bats. Producer Chris Columbus came on board as he had faced a similar situation when he tried to get a Buzz Lightyear toy.
Columbus incorporated the commercialization of Christmas into the story as he claimed that he was always attracted to the dark side of the happiest time of the year. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the cast in 1996 after plans for a Planet of the Apes reboot were delayed, making him free for the film. Schwarzenegger was reportedly paid $20 million for the role.
Why Does Rita Wilson Hate Jingle All The Way?
Actress Rita Wilson stars opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film, playing his wife Liz Langston. Wilson has made appearances with her husband Tom Hanks in many romantic comedies such as Sleepless In Seattle, That Thing You Do, and Volunteers. However, the actress seems to have many issues with Jingle All The Way, especially with how her character is depicted by the climax of the film.
Talking to Insider about the film, she said,
“This is the movie that haunts me…Why did my character not know that her husband Howard, who talks like [Arnold Schwarzenegger] and is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, was Turbo Man? How did she not know that? Let’s see: He has an accent. he looks exactly like him. He’s wearing a half-mask, but my character does not know. And it made me just feel like, that’s just a little too stupid.”
While acknowledging the huge fan following the film has, which she attributes to her co-stars Schwarzenegger and Sinbad, she said that she prefers her other Christmas film Mixed Nuts to be a better Christmas film.
The comedy starred Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Adam Sandler, and Rob Reiner. However, the film was a box office bomb while Jingle All The Way earned over $129 million. Critics, however, seem to agree with Wilson as the Schwarzenegger film was panned upon release.
Source: Insider
