A Carol Christmas (2003)

i must have seen a different film!!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I saw the title and instantly knew this TV made film was going to be a modernised version of the classic Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol, and with one or two names in the cast being good I gave it a go. Basically Carol Cartman (Scary Movie 2's Tori Spelling) is the conceited, cynical, selfish and cold sensationalist TV chat show host who has been moulded by her dead Aunt Marla (Dinah Manoff). It is Christmas Eve, and with her mean behaviour at its tether, her dead Aunt comes to haunt her and tell her she is making a big mistake being like she is, she could become what she has in the afterlife. Marla also tells Carol that she will be visited by three ghosts to see the error of her ways, and hopefully change her attitude towards family, work and Christmas. So the spirit to visit is the child star Ghost of Christmas Past (Diff'rent Strokes' Gary Coleman), who takes her back to see her childhood growing up with Aunt Marla, how she got her break to becoming a star of stage and then screen, and ultimately how manipulative her Aunt really was to get her any career at all. After returning Carol is next visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present, in the form of TV nice guy Dr. Bob (Star Trek's William Shatner), who shows her what her nastiness is doing to the people in her life, including work employees and family. Finally the silent and cold looking chauffeur Ghost of Christmas Future (James Cromwell) who shows Carol how her life will turn out if she doesn't mend her ways and make amends, including of course her death. So when she wakes up she is a reformed person, starts being nice to Jimmy Fields (Final Destination 2's Michael Landes) and assistant Roberta (Nina Siemaszko). In the end, live on her show she ultimately expresses her newfound heart saying she will give loads to charity and take her crew on holiday to Hawaii, and finally spends time with her niece and sister. Also starring Paula Trickey as Beth, Jason Brooks as John Joyce and Holliston Coleman as Lily. Spelling makes a slightly cheesy but near good Scrooge figure, the supporting cast members do alright as well, particularly Coleman and Shatner, the modern day showbiz satire is amusing at times, I agree it is like a pantomime most of the time, but a not too bad seasonal comedy fantasy. Okay!

When I first saw this DVD in a bargain bin for three dollars, I really couldn't believe my luck: a Christmas movie starring Tori Spelling, William Shatner, AND Gary Coleman??? Needless to say, I snatched it up immediately and considered it a worthwhile investment.The movie itself was just as bad as any movie you'd expect to be combining Christmas and the three aforementioned "celebrities." The dialogue was inane, the characters were one dimensional, and Carol's character arc was completely unbelievable. The movie itself was a lifeless piece of boring that refused to end and made me feel used as a human being when the end did finally come.My advice: Don't watch this movie unless you have to and then only under the influence of some serious holiday eggnog.

The whole plot..a updated version of Christmas Carol in which the Scrooge character is someone in the media intent upon exploitating the Holiday for business purposes,and gets their comeuppances...was already done,and done much better in Scrooged with Bill Murray. Tori Spelling is not very good as the Carol of the title. Spelling has actually done some good work in a few Indie films,she is not without talent....but every time she gets some cred from her work in small indie films she throws it away on garbage like this. The whole Bill Shanter/Star Trek bit was about as funny as a funeral. Attempts to modernize the Dickens classic are a dime a dozen,and this is one of the weaker efforts. All in all,a waste of time.

I especially loved seeing Jason Brooks in this film. I think he is a wonderful actor (miss him from Days and Baywatch Hawaii). He and Tori also did a movie called "Alibi" together in 1997.Not really a big fan of Tori but she did a good job and the movie puts you in a good holiday frame of mind. I thought the blonde hair was a BIG improvement over the old RED.