Karroll's Christmas

I just saw this movie last night and I thought it was really sweet. It doesn't seem like a major movie, it seems that not very much money was spent on making it.. and I really don't mean that in a bad way, I think it was a really cute story. I thought it was a very good cast and story line, I realised it had a similarity to A Christmas Carol, which I'm guessing was kind of the point. I like the fact it has some funny, sad and sweet moments. I felt so sorry for Wallace Shawn's charatcer, especially the scene when his wife dided, I actually started to cry. I will definitely will be watching it again and make sure to have the tissues ready.

Review Date 2/7/2018

PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. I HAVE OVER 400 REVIEWS OF "CHRISTMAS RELATED FILMS & SPECIALS" WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

Now Someone keeps reporting my reviews. I guess they are jealous because I do tell the truth. I want to point out that I never make snide remarks about actors weight or real life sexual orientation. If there acting is terrible or limited "I talk about that". If a story is bad "I will mention that" So why am I being "picked on"? IMDB? When one of my reviews gets deleted IMDB will not even tell me what someone found offensive. Well on to this review.

Allen Karroll hates Christmas ever since his ex-girlfriend humiliated him in front of thousands of people one Christmas. As a man who writes greeting cards for a living, this proves to be a hindrance. He also hates the man who lives across the street, Zeb Rosecog, played by Wallace Shawn, who seems to take delight in tormenting him.

This is lots of fun and film worth seeing

Nice premise but... extremely poor execution. The movie didn't know whether it wanted to be a comedy, a drama, a romance or Porky's Revenge with a foul mouthed ghost of the future lewdly commenting that there "wasn't a dry seat in the house" after Karroll's bended knee proposal to his girlfriend. The acting oscillates between cardboard stiff caricatures to over the top emotional extortion. The sets look like they snuck onto the soundstage of "Christmas With The Kranks" after hours and had movie-making 101 students do the lighting for free. The sloppy joke writing makes fun of everything from Sodomy in Hell with the Turkish guard from "Midnight Express" to a fat naked man wiping his face on a Magi's robe with the comment "we gotta lay off the myrrh." Don't watch this with your kids unless you're prepared to explain to them what is meant by the "open my ankles" line by a negligee modeling Carrie straddling her boyfriend on his bed.

This one is one real waste of time so don't bother.

When my wife saw the advertisement for this and asked me to record it, I first found the Tori Spelling wreck, A Carrol's Christmas. I am glad I clarified with her, and with TiVo's search tools found the right one.

This is a great spoof of the classic story remade countless times. The execution was good but probably not good enough to be rerun every Christmas. The bits are mostly great but occasionally fall short, primarily by being slightly predictable. It has good mix of comedy and seasonal tugs at the heartstrings, but rings just a bit as an after school special. Still I look forward to seeing it next year.

If you liked this at all, especially the occasional tendency to stray toward innuendo, I would highly recommend another Christmas film, Bernard and the Genie (1991) (TV) with Lenny Henry, Alan Cumming and Rowan Atkinson.

I got a real kick out of this funny and touching treatment of Charles Dickens immortal classic. I even liked Wallace Shawn in it whom I usually cringe to watch with that awful big-tongued lisp of his, but here, everyone is used to their best advantage. (I must admit I liked him as an old Ferenghi Yoda-type on "Deep Space Nine" but I digress several light years.)

Tom Everett Scott whom I only knew from Tom Hanks film "That Thing You Do" prior to this is a lovable wholesome schlub who mistakenly gets visited by the three ghosts instead of his Scooge-y next door neighbor. Larry Miller is always fun to watch and here, he truly shines with some excellent one-liners

The love interest is also charming and the other two ghosts are a scream, especially Verne Troyer's Christmas future in a delightfully twisted version of the original. There is also Marley's ghost, but to tell you the delicious take they did on HIM would ruin a sweet surprise that should make you laugh long and hard unless you are already dead yourself.

There are some extremely emotional scenes that may make you reach for the Kleenex and they are not at all heavy handed nor do they hurt the overall effect of this "Carol." Slapstick, pathos, one-liners and fun characterizations mixed well and blended thoroughly make this worthwhile viewing to be sure.

Check this one out and avoid at all costs the Tori Spelling version from Hallmark. Director (and sometimes actor) Dennis Dugan balanced Karroll's Chrismas" all so well and adroitly. You may remember him as "Richie Brockelman, Private Eye" from the old "Rockford Files" series or one of his other quirky TV performances in the 1970's or 80's. Anyway, the man sure knows how to direct a great, fun holiday movie. And some great rocking music to boot.

And after all the