Arnold Schwarzenegger Once Directed A Christmas Movie
These days, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a beloved icon for his performances in classic high-octane action films and his illustrious role as a public servant, working as the governor of California for eight years. Long before the bodybuilder-turned-actor decided to pivot his career into politics, he attempted to break into the film industry in a behind-the-camera role as a director.
The result of Arnold’s one and only feature film as a director is 1992’s Christmas In Connecticut, a bizarre take on an old classic that is available to rent or stream through JustWatch.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has only directed on movie, Christmas In Connecticut, a 1992 made-for-TV remake.
After successfully navigating the director’s chair for a single 1990 episode of the hit horror series Tales From The Crypt, Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed primed to helm a feature film of his own. Unfortunately, his made-for-TV debut Christmas In Connecticut, didn’t pan out to be a springboard into giant theatrical blockbusters like he may have planned. The film is a modern retelling of the 1945 film of the same name and has been widely forgotten by most audiences.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Christmas In Connecticut stars Dyan Cannon as the host of a televised cooking show, in spite of the fact that she can’t actually cook. Instead, the show utilizes a number of cheap television tricks and editing techniques to construct visual lies for the audience at home cleverly.
Meanwhile, Kris Kristofferson appears as a noted fan of the cooking show, whose home burnt down in the midst of a wildfire that started as Kristofferson heroically saved a stranded hiker.
Critics and fans avoided Christmas In Connecticut, making it one of the biggest flops of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career.
In an effort to boost ratings and create a media sensation, a producer on the cooking show, played by Tony Curtis, resolves to bring Kristofferson’s character on for a holiday special which will air live. This prompts Cannon’s host to panic at the thought of organically crafting a Christmas dinner without using any movie magic or slick editing techniques.
Though the film’s plot sounds interesting on paper, it should come as no surprise that the subject matter was a bit out of left field for Arnold Schwarzenegger to direct, given his past acting credits in intense action films and sci-fi thrillers.
Many of these issues could likely have been ironed out later in the director’s career, but Arnold Schwarzenegger never directed again following the film’s release
If Arnold Schwarzenegger had taken on the task of directing a film like this today, it would likely have aired on the Hallmark channel in a sea of similarly forgettable holiday films. Unfortunately, Schwarzenegger’s camera choices seem odd and out of place throughout much of the film, as many scenes contain jarring editing cuts and shot composition that makes the visual language of Christmas In Connecticut a confusing mess.
The film’s screenplay contains a host of problems as well, with the overly complex and meandering plot straying far from the simplicity that made the 1945 original so memorable. Many of these issues could likely have been ironed out later in the director’s career, but Arnold Schwarzenegger never directed again following the film’s release.
The former Mr. Universe champion rarely comments about his brief stint as a director, refusing to acknowledge it in his autobiography Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, nor his recent Netflix docuseries titled Arnold.
