I'll Be Home for Christmas is a 1998 Christmas film starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, produced by Mandeville Films, and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.
Synopsis[]
A few days before Christmas Eve, Jake Wilkinson's dad offers to give him a vintage 1957 Porsche if he is home in by 6pm on Christmas Eve (when his family has Christmas dinner) in New York. He prepares to go; however, a group of bullies leave him stranded in the middle of the desert dressed in a Santa Claus suit. They do this as punishment for not getting an exam cheat sheet from him, not knowing that it was their leader, Eddie Taffet, who prevented it, to get him out of the way and claim his girlfriend, Allie Henderson, for himself. While he is stuck in the desert, Eddie is giving Allie a ride to New York. Now, Jake has only three days to make it to Larchmont, New York if he wants both her and the car.
Jake stumbles upon a few obstacles such as a man named Nolan who is driving kitchen goods to his dealer near New York so he hitches a ride with him, unbeknown to him that he is a thief. A police officer named Max pulls them over for speeding and becomes suspicious of them, so Jake lies and says that Nolan is his elf and they are donating the goods to the children's hospital. Max offers them to follow him since he is heading in the same direction. At the hospital the children remind Jake, Nolan, and Max about the importance of family, and Nolan decides to win back his girlfriend, Marjorie, who is headed in the opposite direction. Max buys Jake a bus ticket to New York.
Meanwhile, Allie and Eddie are heading for New York and decide to stay at a pretend village hotel and are caught kissing under some mistletoe on camera by Jake. Hesitant to speed the bus up, he uses a cooler and a week-old meat sandwich saying that it is a liver one for a little girl at the hospital. He finds the village and Allie and Eddie's room; he sees him walk out of the shower in a towel and assumes that he had slept with her (he didn't, she made him sleep in a sleeping bag). She and Jake eventually make up but he blurts out that Eddie prevented him from getting his dad's car. Upset that he had come there to get the car and not herself (which he actually did), she takes his seat on the bus and leaves.
Jake and Eddie drive off. He tells him that he will go home, win back Allie, and get the car. Eddie, jealous that Jake will get Allie, throws him out but is soon arrested. Jake decides to enter a Santa Claus race to win a $1,000 prize so he can buy a plane ticket to New York. He meets a nice man whom he beats and wins the prize, but on his way to the airport he learns that the man is actually the mayor who uses the prize money to buy turkeys for the needy. Jake reluctantly gives it to the him and calls home. His sister arranges for a plane ticket for him but he is not granted it since he has no identification, so he decides to stow away in a dog kennel in a cargo plane. When he reaches New York he apologizes to Allie, purposely waits in front of his house so he'll get the car deal, and even refuses to take it when his dad says he's only a few minutes late.
Songs[]
| Title | Performed by |
|---|---|
| "Cool Yule" | Cherry Poppin' Daddies |
| "Over the River and Through the Woods" | The Dons |
| "I Walk in Circles" | Daisyhaze |
| "I Won't Be Home for Christmas" | Blink-182 |
| "One More Night" | Amber |
| "White Christmas" | The Drifters |
| "Christmas Carols by the Old Corral" | Tex Ritter |
| "What's New Pussycat?" | Tom Jones |
| "Blue Christmas" | Buddy Guy |
| "Here Comes Santa Claus" | Elvis Presley |
| "Doctor Jones" | Aqua Jessica Biel (uncredited) |
| "Deck the Hall" | The Accidentals |
| "I'll Be Home for Christmas" |
|
| "Up on the Housetop" | Jessie Dayton |
| "Oira Oira Polka" | The Polka Kings |
| "Let's Get It On" | Marvin Gaye |
| "Clarinet Polka Yodel" | Mary Schneider |
| "I Got Rolled" | Jimmy Ray and Jonathan Taylor Thomas (uncredited) Adam LaVorgna (uncredited) |
| "Run Rudolph Run" "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" |
Five Easy Pieces |
| "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" | NSYNC |
| "Silent Night" | |
| Uncredited | |
| "O Majorie" | Sean O'Bryan |
| "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" | |
| "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" | |
Broadcast history[]
The film aired on ABC a few times, before and after it aired on the Starz/Encore premium channels. The Disney Channel originally aired it in 2002, but due to unresolved conflicts, it is no longer shown on there as of {{{CURRENTYEAR}}}. It aired on the Hallmark Channel in 2009, ABC Family (later Freeform)'s 25 Days of Christmas line-up in 2011, 2013, and 2018, and on Starz Kids & Family in 2012.
Home video releases[]
1999
2002
2018
Cast[]
| Actor/actress | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Jonathan Taylor Thomas | Jake |
| Jessica Biel | Allie |
| Adam LaVorgna | Eddie |
| Gary Cole | Jake's dad |
| Eve Gordon | Carolyn |
| Lauren Maltby | Tracey |
| Andrew Lauer | Nolan |
| Sean O'Bryan | Max |
| Lesley Boone | Marjorie |
| Amzie Strickland | Mary Tom Tom girl |
| Natalie Barish | Darlene (Tom Tom girl) |
| Mark De La Cruz | Esteban |
| Kathleen Freeman | Gloria (Tom Tom girl) |
| Jack Kenny | Gabby |
| Celia Kushner | Mama (Tom Tom girl) |
| Blair Slater | Ian |
| P.J. Prinslow | The Brandt-Man |
| Kevin Hansen | The Murph-Man |
| James Sherry | The Ken-Man |
| Alexandra Mitchell | Little Girl at Hospital |
| Eric Pospisil | Little Boy at Bus Station |
| Cathy Weseluck | Wendy Richards |
| Peter Kelamis | Conway the Bus Driver |
| Betty Linde | Older Lady in Bus |
| Awaovieyi Agie | Service Man |
| Brendan Beiser | Bellhop |
| Graeme Kingston | Pizza-eating Santa |
| Ian Robison | Mayor Wilson |
| Ernie Jackson | Kenyan Santa |
| Kurt Runte | Taxi Driver |
| Nicole Oliver | Tickets Agent |
| Tasha Simms | Parade Manager |
| Dmitry Chepovetsky | Angel |
| Delores Drake | Fraulein Maid |
| Chris Willes | Race Official |
| Nick Misura | Groundskeeper |
| Mark Acheson | Sandwich Passenger |
| Bart Anderson Tom Heaton Eileen Pedde |
Turf 'n Turf Customers |
| J.B. Biven | Santa in a Port-a-Potty |
| Annette Dreeshen | Nose-strip Girl |
| Manami Hari | Edelbruck Clerk |
| Sarah May | Sierra |
| Alexander Milani | Wet Lap Boy |
| Ron Timms | Party Guy |
| David Neale | Running Santa |
| Paul Norman | Bushick |
| Michael Northey | Freight Handler |
| Melissa Sauer | Busmom |
| Mike Battie | Santa in Stilts |
| Uncredited | |
| Elizabeth Friedman | Friend |
| Paul McMichael | Student |
| Bonnie Smart | Yelling Nun |
External links[]
- I'll Be Home for Christmas at the Internet Movie Database
- I'll Be Home for Christmas at Rotten Tomatoes
- I'll Be Home for Christmas at RetroJunk.com
content from Wikipedia (view authors). |
|