Move over Jimmy Stewart and Bing Crosby.
America is well used to the annual appearance of what have become Christmas classics over the decades. Whether it’s Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) or Bing Crosby’s White Christmas (1954) or little Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) in 1983’s A Christmas Story — not to mention today’s Hallmark daily Christmas extravaganza — new soon-to-be-annual Christmas classics are always welcome. (READ MORE: Getting Into How Do We Get Out of Here?)
Fox’s Sean Hannity has stepped up to the plate big time to executive produce just such a Christmas film with writers Bart Scott and Logan Sekulow. Creating a hilarious Christmas comedy that is itself an instant Christmas classic.
The film is Jingle Smells, and it can be pulled up over there at Rumble. Released over the Thanksgiving holiday, Sean’s website had this to say:
Due to overwhelming audience demand, Rumble has released the new family comedy Jingle Smells a day early. Their first feature film starring John Schneider, Eric Roberts, and Ben Davies with executive producers Logan Sekulow and Sean Hannity, is the first non-documentary film to premiere exclusively on the Rumble platform.”
Sean himself added:
We’re breaking away from mainstream Hollywood and doing something totally different,Jingle Smells is a hilarious and heartwarming story filled with a great message and void of all the crazy agendas being presented by those other entertainment platforms. Jingle Smells is a movie that your entire family can enjoy together this Christmas season.
Rumble CEO & Chair Chris Pavlovski noted in his own statement:
We are thrilled to further expand our pay-per-view with the first feature movie launching on the platform, in partnership with Logan Sekulow and Sean Hannity, we are excited to see a significant turnout of viewers for this Christmas movie event.
All of which is to say that Jingle Smells is an instant hit.
And with reason.
The story in the film is described this way:
The film features war vet Nick Gutman (Ben Davies) who is forced to take a job with his dad’s (John Schneider) quirky garbage men buddies, who are hired to conduct a wild secret mission — destroying perfectly good toys by Christmas Eve. These popular toys were pulled from the shelf after the film star (James Storm) they are based on is “canceled” for his patriotic views. Instead of destroying them, Nick takes on the secret identity “Jingle Smells” and becomes a Robin Hood of the Holidays.
Jingle Smells also stars Jim Breuer (Saturday Night Live), Victoria Jackson (Saturday Night Live), Dylan Postl (WWE), Brad Stine, Jaclyn Stapp, and features a special appearance by the Jay Sekulow Band and a special voice appearance by Gov. Mike Huckabee.
[And, yes, Sean Hannity is in there too.]
Jingle Smells hails from ACLJ Films in association with Laugh-O-Gram Studios, Logan Sekulow Originals, and Keystone Films. Daniel Lusko directed from a script by Bart Scott and Logan Sekulow.
There is no spoiler alert here beyond saying this: Like Jimmy Stewart’s It’s a Wonderful Life, Jingle Smells delivers the up-beat, loving message that, in spite of ups-and-downs, life is a gift — and helping others is a central and important gift to give to others. And yes, there are Americans aplenty who will not bow to vicars of cancel culture or social media.
Notably, the film was not just executive-produced by Hannity. As noted, the film was written by Logan Sekulow and Bart Scott. Seriously talented film makers, they are also conservatives. And they have had no hesitation here in taking on the Hollywood/left-wing cancel culture in focusing on the story of a famous actor beloved by children who is abruptly out of a job because he dares not to hide that he is a believer in patriotism, God, and country. With him quickly denounced by social media, a large toy company, which manufactures toys endorsing the star, cancels all the toys with his image — and the fight is on.
In its own way, the movie reminds of a 21st-century George Bailey, Jimmy Stewart’s character from It’s a Wonderful Life. This time the hero is garbageman and returned-from-Afghanistan veteran Nick Gutman, played by Ben Davies. Veteran stars John Schneider as Nick’s dad and Eric Roberts as the head of the toy company also play central roles.
Movies, for obvious reasons, are products of the times in which they are made. In an era where legendary films like 1939’s Gone with the Wind, made in a different time, are cancelled or removed from circulation today because they have offended the cancel culture gods, Jingle Smells stands out because it is utterly unafraid to take on cancel culture. Not to mention it produces a hilarious story that is all too welcome in the deadly serious times the world is currently living through.
So.
Pull up a seat, turn to Rumble, and enjoy the holiday spirit that makes an instant classic of Jingle Smells.
Santa would approve.
Merry Christmas.