Howard Langston, a salesman for a mattress company, is constantly kept busy at his job, disappointing his son. After he misses his son's karate exposition, Howard vows to make it up to him by buying an action figure of his son's favorite television hero for Christmas. Unfortunately for Howard, it is Christmas Eve, and every store is sold out of Turbo Man. Now, Howard must travel all over town and compete with everybody else to find a Turbo Man action figure.
Here's Arnie, of all people, playing a bedraggled suburbanite, and his perversely amusing casting boosts a crass, sometimes nasty and finally funny celebration of holiday mass-merchandising and greed.
– Andy Seiler,
USA Today,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
I liked a lot of the movie, which is genial and has a lot of energy, but I was sort of depressed by its relentlessly materialistic view of Christmas, and by the choice to go with action and (mild) violence over dialogue and plot.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
In this formulaic star vehicle, Schwarzenegger gets to fly like Peter Pan, act like Superman--and fulfill all the fantasies kids may have about their fathers.