By Geno McGahee
Is it crazy that Larry the Cable Guy is in a sequel to an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? Yes. Is it crazy that I rented it for 6 dollars off of cable? Yes. Do you know what the craziest part of this is? I actually really enjoyed JINGLE ALL THE WAY 2.
In 1996, Arnie came out with his Xmas adventure and the people at the WWE (or WWF as it used to be known), have produced a sequel with Larry (Larry the Cable Guy) as a divorced father of a young girl, Noel (Kennedi Clements). He lives in a trailer and lives the simple life. He doesn’t work that many hours and takes all the time he can to spend with his daughter. His ex-wife, Trish (Kirsten Robek) has remarried and is hitched to the super rich, Victor (Brian Stepanek), who is looking to win Noel over and sees Larry as a threat. The father and the stepfather at war.
Larry feels threatened by the money Vic has in the bank and begins figuring a way to compete with him. He figured the only way to do so was to get her the one thing that she wanted most, a Harrison talking teddy bear, the biggest selling toy since Turbo Man. Unfortunately, they are sold out everywhere. To make matters worse, Vic has sent his henchman to go out and buy any remaining shipments to ensure that Larry fails at making his daughter happy.
Despite the best advice of his friend, Claude (Anthony Carelli or Santino Marella in the WWE), Larry continues his war with Vic and it is a welcomed war by the new stepfather. The two are constantly focusing on each other but eventually realize that they are missing the point of the holiday. When they get locked in a storage facility together, the two realize that they actually like each other and can exist together to make things work for Noel and each other.
We have a happy ending with the family uniting over Xmas and understanding that the biggest gift they have is each other, but you know what’s weird? I’m not a big fan of rednecks. OK, call me ignorant or whatever, but that cowboy hat, spurs, Nascar, etc…etc…just irks me. The weird thing is that I actually really like Larry the Cable Guy. He is great in this film and his antics are genuinely funny. He has no reservations about being laughed at as much as he’s laughed with. At one point, he gets flipped over by an elf and says to Claude “I pooped my pants a little when he flipped me over.” It was hilarious because of his delivery. He really shined in this.
I also liked Anthony Carelli as the friend. Although I do not follow the WWE anymore, his character “Santino Marella” was as old school funny as anything I’ve seen and he brings that silliness into this role. He and Larry the Cable Guy worked well off each other.
JINGLE ALL THE WAY 2 is actually better than the original. I know, I know. You want to grab me by my jingle balls and rip them off, but hear me out. I like it better. There, you heard me out. I said my piece. JINGLE ALL THE WAY 2 was silly and fun and they utilized Larry the Cable Guy’s charm and natural comedic gifts in this. That is something that they didn’t do with Arnie in the original. I highly recommend this. It was good holiday fun!
Rating: 7/10
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