Buon Natale, Ebbie

I have seen a 'classic' film version of A Christmas Carol, set in Dickensian times and starring Patrick Stewart and Richard E. Grant. I have also seen a funny children's version, starring Michael Caine and Jim Henson's excellent Muppets. 'Ebbie' is the first modernised version I have seen. It is always interesting to watch modernised versions of classic tales, even if they are not always good. The thing I wasn't sure about was the decision to make nearly all the main characters female, not a feminist thing as the IMDB tells me it was written by two men. It is interesting to see Scrooge as a woman, this was a good decision. It was also necessary to make Scrooge's nephew into a niece, to make her more similar to her beloved sister, even using the same actress (budget problems? - the spirits are also played by other characters from the film). But I wondered if it was pointless to have Roberta Cratchett, a single parent, as well as most of the spirits being female. Brilliant acting from Susan Lucci, an excellent actress whose only other notable role seems to be on the soap 'All My Children'. Look out for Wendy Crewson from 'Air Force One' as Roberta.