I'll Be Home for Christmas
WALT DISNEY Pictures
Release Date: November 13, 1998
MPAA rating: 'PG' for some mild language and some rude humor
Somewhere between L.A. and N.Y.
Jake found the true meaning
of Chirstmas.
This Yule, be cool
JONATHAN TAYLOR THOMAS
stars as Jake Wilkinson, a self-absorbed college student, who, just days before
Christmas awakens to find himself stranded in the middle of the California
desert - wearing a Santa suit and a white beard glued to his face.
The butt of a pay-back by the football team who thinks he double-crossed them by
not providing the correct answers to a finals exam, Jake has to find a way to
get to New York by 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve - and catch up with his girlfriend
Allie (JESSICA BIEL) who is on the road with the school stud Eddie (ADAM LA
VORGNA) - or risk forfeiting the vintage Porsche his father (GARY COLE) promised
if his son comes home for the holidays.
As Jake desperately hitchhikes his way east, everyone he meets unwittingly sets
into motion a comedy of errors as they look to Santa for help and advice, in
Walt Disney Pictures' comedy, "I'll Be Home For Christmas."
Anyone who's ever tried to travel across the country during the Christmas
holidays can sympathize with the plight of 18-year-old Jake Wilkinson (Jonathan
Taylor Thomas). Who of us cannot recall our "holiday joy" at the
memory of icy highways and snowbound airports? Or of being gathered in some
crowded terminal with hundreds of fellow travelers, all weary, anxious and
short-tempered, listening to a harried attendant explain for the umpteenth time
that our flight's been overbooked, and someone will have to be bumped? And all
the while, Christmas Eve is closing fast.
Jake's situation is similar -- but with a few new twists. Mere days before
Christmas, he finds himself stranded in the middle of the California desert with
no wallet, I.D. or cash.
The first twist is, it's Jake's own fault. How he ended up in the desert is the
result of a plan he had for some of a few of his fellow students that went awry.
The second twist is, as part of his victims' retribution, he's been dressed in a
Santa Claus suit with a white beard glued to his face. The third twist is that
the mastermind behind Jake's desperate situation, his arch-rival Eddie, has
taken advantage of our hero's "absence" to put the moves on his
girlfriend Allie, offering her the ride home for the holidays that Jake failed
to provide.
As he hitchhikes, freeloads, cons, flies, crawls, races and bullies his way
east, Jake sets in motion a comedy of errors involving a series of eccentric and
amusing characters who both help and hinder him on his way. Will he make his
deadline to New York City -- and also, at the same time, manage to save Allie
from the clutches of the nefarious Eddie?
Does Rudolph have a red nose?
When it comes to wheeling and dealing, charming Jake Wilkinson is the king, is a
con artist extraordinaire. His scams and scheming ways have him running the
show.
Unfortunately, he's also run afoul of the former "king," an older
student named Eddie, who is displeased, to say the least, about having Jake take
over what used to be his turf. It's your basic collision course -- and only a
matter of time before the two have it out.
That time is now -- the upcoming Christmas holiday.
It all starts when Jake's father David, a successful New York lawyer, sends Jake
a first class plane ticket to ensure the boy's arrival home in time for
Christmas Eve. But going home hadn't been the same for Jake these past few
years, ever since the death of his mother. Things haven't been helped, either,
by his father's remarriage so soon after Jake's mother died.
Looking to avoid the awkwardness and unhappiness he associates with a holiday
visit to his father and stepmother, Jake swaps his ticket home for two tickets
to Cabo San Lucas, where he plans to spend Christmas with his girlfriend Allie.
Unfortunately, he doesn't clear the plan with Allie first, and she rejects his
invitation to spend "Christmas in paradise," preferring instead to
spend the time with her own family.
David also confronts Jake about the ticket swap, and the boy can only offer lame
excuses for his behavior. Desperate to have his family together for Christmas,
David bribes his son with the only thing he can think of to bring him home --
the vintage Porsche the two of them had spent so much time rebuilding together,
before they'd become estranged. There's one catch, however: Jake must make it
home no later than 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, in time for dinner. Jake agrees,
goes off to tell Allie of his "change of heart," and the two of them
make plans to travel east together.
Then, along comes Eddie -- who has just sabotaged one of Jake's scams, this one
to sell the answers to a final exam to members of the school's football team.
Led by Eddie, the angry jocks set a trap for Jake. The trap is sprung, and the
next thing Jake knows, he regains consciousness in the middle of the desert,
alone, wearing a Santa suit and a glued-on beard and hat. Jake is stranded, with
no money and nary a reindeer in sight -- much less any other mode of
transportation. And when Jake fails to pick up Allie, it's Eddie to the rescue.
Dressed in his Santa suit, broke and desolate, his girlfriend traveling
cross-country with his arch enemy, Jake is nonetheless determined to make it
home in time to claim the incredible gift his father has offered.
But when Jake inadvertently learns that Eddie and Allie may be falling in love,
his priorities change. Getting the car takes a back seat to tracking down his
girlfriend and saving their relationship, before it's too late.
Production Information
The Main Cast
Jake Wilkinson........................... JONATHAN TAYLOR THOMAS
Allie.................................... JESSICA BIEL
Eddie.................................... ADAM LAVORGNA
Max...................................... SEAN O'BRYAN
Marjorie................................. LESLEY BOONE
Carolyn.................................. EVE GORDON
Nolan Briggs............................. ANDREW LAUER
David Wilkinson.......................... GARY COLE
Directed by.............................. ARLENE SANFORD
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