Young Jamie (Jake Lloyd) wants two things for Christmas. He'd like his dad, Howard (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to spend more time with him, and he'd also like to get a Turbo Man doll.
Howard would like to spend more time with Jamie, but his job keeps him so busy that he just can't seem to find the time to do it. Luckily, his wife Liz (Rita Wilson) is on the ball. She asked him to get Turbo Man weeks ago. Now they're sold out everywhere, so there's no chance he'd be able to find one. Unfortunately, it seems that Howard forgot to actually pick up a Turbo Man doll when his wife asked him to, so it's going to be a long day.
His first stop is, naturally, a toy store, where he and dozens of other parents are looking for that last-minute gift. Only he and Myron (Sinbad) think that they might actually find a Turbo Man at this late date, however. All those other parents are out picking up accessories to go with the Turbo Man that they managed to get previously. Still, when the door finally opens, they rush in like animals and tear the place apart. Howard and Myron especially sock it to one another, and thus the adventure begins.
For the next few hours, Howard and Myron tear across the Twin Cities, looking for a Turbo Man, and it seems that everyone except for them had the good sense to either find a Turbo Man weeks ago, or decide that they weren't going to get one this year, for there are none to be found. One toy store does get a last-minute shipment in, but when they go to distribute superballs to those who may be able to get a doll, a donnybrook ensues and Howard chases down a poor child who picks up the ball and wants to play with it. Several mothers beat him and he gets chased from the mall.
This, however, leads to a revelation of sorts. It seems that an unscrupulous Santa (James Belushi) and his henchman have a Turbo Man at their secret lair and will be only too happy to sell it to Howard for a small fee. So they head out of town to a warehouse, and they provide the secret password (Jingle Bells, Batman Smells) to get in. There, Howard sees the entire operation - what seems to be dozens of Santas and Mrs. Clauses who are counting money by trading in hard-to-find gifts for the year. They have to be raking it in. Finally, Howard gets the Turbo Man, and to make sure he isn't being ripped off, he opens it up.
It would seem, however, that that is a bad idea, for when he does, the signature phrases are spoken in Spanish, and the arms and other pieces fall off. When he demands his money back, the Santas gang up on Howard and it's like a massive Battle Royale. Before Howard is completely beaten to a pulp, the police come in to break up the ring, and Howard gets out only by pretending to be undercover (he used a fake police badge that he found).
On his way back to town, Howard runs out of gas, and ends up in a diner. When he gets there, he finds none other than Myron, who also has been unable to get a doll. While they are waiting, a radio station comes on, announcing that they are giving away a Turbo Man doll. But before Howard can win the contest, Myron rips the phone out of the wall, so they take off down the street to get to the station itself.
Somehow they get into the station, and Howard convinces the DJ that he knows the answer to the trivia question, but before he can get his Turbo Man, Myron shows up with a "bomb" - really it's just a package from his mailbag. But it's enough to scare the DJ, who has already called the police because he thought he was being robbed. At this point, Howard and Myron find out that there is actually no doll here, but there is a gift certificate for one when they come in, so Howard grabs it and they take off before the police arrive. Myron gets cornered and pulls out another package, while Howard heads out another way. It seems that this package is actually a bomb, and the police get a surprise when they open it.
Meanwhile, the Christmas parade is starting, and Howard has been drafted into service on one of the floats. As it comes out, he finds out that he has actually become Turbo Man. Even better, he is to give out a special edition Turbo Man doll, and his son Jamie is there with his wife, so he'll get his doll! But before he can, Myron shows up as Turbo Man's nemesis Dementor, and they have to duke it out.
In the end, of course, Howard wins as Turbo Man, and when he reveals himself as Turbo Man to his son, Jamie is so happy that he gives the defeated Myron the doll, because he has the real thing - he doesn't need any doll.
Rated PG for action violence, mild language and some thematic elements.
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