Jingle All The Way 2. Yes, a sequel to the Arnold Schwarzenegger holiday classic does exist for some reason! Starring Larry the Cable Guy, it follows a similar premise of a father trying to find a particular Christmas toy for his kid by all means possible. A sequel that no one asked for, the straight-to-video film obviously didn't generate much buzz among fans and received negative reviews. But a renewed interest in the film generated afterward among some who began to view it as a guilty pleasure. A review sums it up best as 'it's so good at being so bad.'
Here are ten things everyone missed about Jingle All The Way 2.
WWE Studios Handled Production
There was a time when the film division of World Wrestling Entertainment was just involved in making action films starring their wrestlers. But now, WWE has ventured in various genres like horror (Oculus), neo-noir (Dead Man Down) and in family-friendly comedies too.
20th Century Fox and WWE Studios were hence involved in the production of Jingle All The Way 2. It's funny to imagine the WWE endorsing a film starring Larry the Cable Guy. The film also received on-air promotions in weekly WWE events.
The Director Voiced Harrison Bear
Turboman was the action figure which all kids crave in the first film. In this second installment, the toy in question is a talking teddy called Harrison Bear. The Bear looks pretty much like any other teddy bear but then the protagonist's daughter is just eight years old. Kids can be fascinated with anything!
The film's director Alex Zamm himself provided the voice for the Bear's talking parts. In terms of filmmaking, Hamm has had a reputation making infamous straight-to-DVD sequels and reboots of Inspector Gadget, The Little Rascals, Dr. Doolittle. It comes as no surprise that he directed Jingle All The Way's sequel.
Lasting For A Second
Santino Morella stars as Larry's friend Claude. The professional wrestler (who worked with WWE for eleven years) has had a particularly notorious moment in the Royal Rumble a few years back when he lasted for just one second before being eliminated.
He seems to carry on the tradition in a scene where Claude and Larry ride a mechanical bull. Claude lasts on the bull for just one second.
Punching Cardboards
In the original film, when Arnold Schwarzenegger finds out all the Turboman dolls have been sold out, he decides to let his fists do the talking. He punches a Turboman cardboard cutout and then rips it apart.
Larry The Cable Guy decides to offer tribute to this scene. When he too finds out all variants of the Talking Bear have been sold out, he releases his rage by punching the head of a cutout of the bear and beheading the cardboard cutout eventually. That's how PG-rated movies show violence!
No Appearances Of The Original Cast Members
Not Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not Sinbad. Not even Jake Lloyd, that kid who went on to become Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace! The sequel does not feature any of the original cast members, unfortunately. There weren't even any surprise cameos or name drops to connect this film with its predecessor.
The reason might be mainly because of the fact that it was released directly for home release and not the box office.
Zack And Cody's Arwin Is In The Cast
This detail might have still been noticed by some. Larry The Cable Guy's character is estranged from his wife and competes with her current beau Victor to be a good family man. Fans of the nostalgic Disney series The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody would notice that Victor is played by the same actor who played Arwin in the show. He's the Tipton Hotel's engineer; a character that was so beloved by fans that he was about to get his own spin-off series.
Brian Stepanek, the actor who plays these characters, also appeared in small roles in movies like Green Book, and Transformers.
The Pop-Culture References
While there are no mentions of the original Jingle All The Way, there's a reference to A Charlie Brown Christmas. This is when in one scene, Larry sees a pair of extremely small Christmas trees and exclaims 'That's one of them Charlie Brown trees.'
References to other movies include The Matrix. It seems that Brian Stepanek's Victor is shown to be such a nerd that he has watched The Matrix 37 times. We hope he's just talking about the first part and not the sequels!
Santino Marella's Film Debut
A reason for why WWE Studios might have come on board with this film might probably be launching Santino Marella's film career. However, like many other wrestler-turned-actors, the C-list WWE wrestler also gave an act that was described as bland and uninteresting in reviews.
In the same year as Jingle All The Way 2's release, Marella also appeared a small role in the animated crossover movie Scooby Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery. He hasn't done any acting ever since.
Illegal Toy Deals
There's a scene in the film where Larry indulges in an underground deal with a toy store owner for getting his hand on a Harrison Bear. However, this deal is left unfinished as cops barge in.
This scene which mocks the portrayal of drug deals in movies is a subtle tribute to the original Jingle All The Way which features a similar underground dealing of Turboman.
Noel Got A Role In Poltergeist
Larry The Cable Guy kept on presenting his usual brand of comedy and appeared in small films, ever since the film's release. Kennedi Clements who played the role of Larry's eight-year-old daughter Noel went on to be cast as Madison Bowen in the reboot of Poltergeist.
She played one of the children of the Bowen family who gets possessed by mysterious apparitions. The reboot didn't receive rave reviews but it was still a huge step away from Jingle All The Way 2 for young Kennedi.