A Carol Christmas

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.

The story was a relatively faithful adaptation to the modern era with no surprises or anything to set it apart.

The acting was fair at best. Most of the main parts didn't come off as natural. This story didn't need any overacting yet it was there for some of the parts. I wasn't impressed with Tori Spelling, but it was about the norm for her.

Carol (Tori Spelling) is the star of an afternoon talk show. Unhappily, she is quite the diva and makes life miserable for those around her, especially her assistant Rebecca (Nina Siemaszko). Rebecca, a single mother, needs the job desperately and works far harder than she should to keep getting a paycheck. Now, its Christmastime, a holiday Carol hates, so she is very testy. After sending Rebecca shopping for meager presents for the staff, Carol lays down to take a nap. But, ho, ho, ho! First, she gets a visit from her deceased aunt's ghost (Dinah Manoff), the pushy woman who once acted as Carol's manager. Auntie warns Carol that she better change her ways and be kinder, for she herself has to wander the earth as a ghost, due to her past behavior. Then, just as Carol recovers from this shock, she gets a visit from Christmas Past (Gary Coleman), Xmas Present, Dr. Bob (William Shatner), and, naturally, ghastly Christmas Future. Past takes Carol back to her childhood, where her aunt manipulated the young girl into school play stardom, by hook or by crook. Then, its on to her early acting days, where Carol had a nice boyfriend but got "too busy" in her career to see him anymore. Carol also makes an invisible trip to Rebecca's very humble home, to her sister's abode and to her, Carol's, funeral, where few folks come to mourn. Will the talk show hostess change her ways? You bet! This is really a nice film, even though it is one of many modern takes on Dickens classic story. Spelling does a fine job as the insufferable Carol and the rest of the cast is very good, too, including Coleman, Shatner, Manoff, Siemaszko, and others. Two romantic male roles are filled by real lookers, although they are not household names. Originally on Hallmark, the movie also boasts nice sets, costumes, script, direction, and camera work. All in all, if you love romantic dramas or uplifting Christmas flicks, take time to find this one. Just like carol singers, the movie will put you in the right mood and attitude for the holidays.

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE. THE REASON WHY I REVIEW THEM IS TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN!

Every year there seems to be 2-3 new versions of "A Christmas Carol". Since the original property is in public domain (Meaning anybody exploit material at no cost) I am afraid that we will forever see new spins on the story however I hope that are not as bad as this version.

Tori Spelling is front and center in this edition. She plays a cheap self centered talk show host who abuses her staff and has very little to do with her own family,

The screenplay here is just awful. There is not a consistent tone to any of it. The tweaks from the original book are just not good.

Because the story of " A Christmas Carol" is well known to everyone its a problem that this film can not solve. Because we all know the story we know what is going to happen. There is no surprise element. Because there is huge lack of discovery. The film seems to run longer than the 85 minutes that it is.

I will say Tori does an okay job. I have seen this story now told too many times now.

If anybody wants to watch a good adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" then watch the 1938 Version. Its b/w and it is the versions that all further adaptions used as a template.

Though they used a ton of B-List actors, the movie, in my opinion was a pretty decient movie. It was actually a very nice spin on the original and wasn't too sappy. I am also not a very big fan of Tori Spelling, but she was actually pretty good in this movie as the self centered Talk Show Host. Granted, it is not the greatest adaptation of it, but it gets its point across without being too dumb. The acting and adaptation was actually what made it for me!Others include Gary Colman and William Shatner. I know I know, cheesy actors, but their characters of the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present were actually pretty endearing characters. In my opinion, this is a lot better than Vh1's take on the tale in a Diva's Christmas Carol. The movie also stayed close to the main message that the original tale had. This is definitely better than the stars it has right now. I mean, I should have hated this movie, and I actually loved it! Tori Spelling did well!!