Another re-hash of Dickens' classic the has some interesting points but, as Don Adams used to say in the old "Get Smart" TV series, "Missed it by that much". I am a "Carol" lover and I own more than 20 versions so I can comment on this with a clear conscience. The idea of having Eve, Carol's old (and dead) boss take the place of Marley is understandable. The idea of her also taking the place of the three ghosts is less so. As in all the re-tellings of the story the protagonist, Carol, is Scrooge-like and pretty well hated by all the people who work for her. Again she sees the past, present and future but, unlike other tellings she doesn't gradually realize how nasty she is until the last moment and then she suddenly switches and is a nice person. This alone makes her transformation less than believable. Not a really bad movie, but it lacks the heart of several of the other versions. For the best see the Alastair Sim version with the George C. Scott and Patrick Stewart versions running a close second.
Add a Review
-
rdfarnham25 November 2012
-
sajin_kc7 December 2012A very good family movie.I loved it.A good attempt by Hallmark to reignite the essence of A Christmas Carol.
The movie is about Carol who portrays our favourite Scrooge in the movie.Her deceased boss Eve is the person who tries to warn and save Carol from the fate that awaits her.She is visited by three ghosts(the ghost of Christmas Past, ghost of Christmas present and the ghost of Christmas future).As a twist to the original A Christmas Carol by Sir Charles Dickens her deceased boss Eve gets to play all three ghosts which turns out to be funny and interesting though i love the idea of three different ghosts as created by Sir Charles much more.
The essence of the story i believe is kept alive in the movie by the just and beautiful portrayal of the point that heartless acts tend to take our life to eternal poverty(loneliness) and nobody on Earth wishes for or desires for a lonely end.Carol realizes her mistakes, she is reminded about the girl she used to be, her priceless Mother, the things she believed in and most importantly the love of her life but will he give her a second chance ?.To find out please watch. -
Jackbv1235 November 2017We all know the story once we figure out where all the new players fit. Carol is obviously Scrooge. But one of the first new things is there is only one Christmas ghost, and it is Carol's late partner, Eve. The real treat though is that it is Carrie Fisher. She even makes a Star Wars joke.
There is some good humor here and there. The story follows the general lines of the original so we won't be terribly surprised by much. The acting is good, especially Fisher. -
Last year I sat down for a Christmas movie marathon with my family, and "It's Christmas, Carol!" happened to be one of the movies that we got around to watching. None of us had heard about the movie, much less had any familiarity with it in any way.
It turned out that "It's Christmas, Carol!" actually was quite a nice surprise of a movie, and it actually was rather entertaining for everyone in the family. So yes, this is indeed a Christmas movie that is quite suitable for a family viewing during the holidays.
"It's Christmas, Carol!" is actually a different approach to the Charles Dickens "Christmas Carol" story. So one might ponder if meddling around with a classic is a particularly good idea. It turned out that writers William Penick and Chris Sey actually managed to pull it off quite nicely.
Carol Huffman is a busy publishing executive, whom is visited by her former boss on Christmas Eve, as Carol has lost track of what is important and lost perspective on what truly matters. Initially Carol was supposed to have a visit from three ghosts, but because of budget cutbacks Eve, Carol's former boss, is in charge of the visit to the past, present and future.
Sure, this is a predictable movie, and you know exactly how it will turn out from very early on in the storyline. And you are already more than well familiar with the Dickens tale, be it from the book or from one of the many movie adaptations available.
But at the same time, it is the familiarity in the story that makes it a good story, and the rewriting just adds a new twist on the classic. So on that account director Michael Scott pulled it off quite well.
The cast in the movie was fairly good and people did good jobs with their given roles and characters. It was, for me at least, Carrie Fisher who stole the screen with her role as Eve. And Olivia Cheng also did a good job, just a shame that her role was only a minor supporting one.
All in all, then "It's Christmas, Carol!" was actually a wholehearted and entertaining movie, and definitely a movie that is worth sitting down to watch during the Christmas season. However, it is not likely that this is a movie that you will watch more than just once. -
jewelch15 November 2020I liked this modern telling of A Christmas Carol. Yes I Recommend it. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas. 11/14/2020
-
Modernizing and slightly rewriting the Charles Dickens classic Christmas Carol is an oft used formula, and this Hallmark offering is one of the more awkward in attempting it.
First, the idea of merging all four ghosts (Marley, Past, Present, and Future) into one character doesn't seem to work as well as the movie makers hoped. This latter day Scrooge is a toxic publishing exec named Carol (get it?), who is visited by her deceased predecessor, who also has a Christmas reference name: Eve (Carrie Fisher). Fisher plays it well, but an immediate problem develops as we see little if any change in Carol's demeanor. Faced with only ghost visitor throughout the story, someone she knew personally, their banter becomes a stalemate where Carol persistently demands to go home to bed; Eve talks down to her with sarcastic tolerance like she would talk to a child. Scrooge had different reactions as the various ghosts got through to him--each in their own way, and this story misses that.
The life story of Carol really has none of the human interest of her 1840's counterpart, either. She just stepped on people's faces her whole life, and doesn't seem to be touched emotionally when confronted with this. It's difficult to identify with someone this deep into denial and lacking in empathy, and the character does not change in a logical or believable manner.
The acting of the cast in general rises above the script, although some of them are stuck with tiresome and annoying stereotypes.
There are many versions of the Scrooge story out there. Among the best are George C. Scott's and Alistair Sim's. Catch one of those if you can this Christmas season. Carol is OK only if you have nothing else to do. -
VetteRanger12 December 2023The movie has a great theme, even if it is yet another 'reimagining' of A Christmas Carol, this time with a female Scrooge and a comma.
Emmanuelle Vaugier plays a detestile boss. It's ridiculously unbelievable that she doesn't give her employees Christmas off? I didn't buy that. They could have scripted something unlikeable but believable. Even the original Scrooge gave Bob Cratchett Christmas Day off.
However, Carrie Fisher comes in and saves this movie. He personality makes up for the lack of personality Vaugier produces. Frankly. Fisher makes an otherwise unwatchable film watchable to the point my gut said 7 Stars when I went to click the rating. -
Zoooma3 June 2014Yet another Made-for-TV movie from the Hallmark Channel and this one is 2012's take on A Christmas Carol. Carrie Fisher has the role as all three ghosts showing Emmanuelle Vaugier her life in three different ways. I knew I'd seen her somewhere before -- ah yes, Mia in Two and a Half Men and she was also in many eps of CSI: NY.
One scene in particular was kind of interesting when in a library, a Star Wars book was seen on a nearby shelf in the background. There was also a Star Wars mention. Those were kind of the highlights, it's sad to say. Other than that this tele-film lacks charm. Many versions of a Christmas Carol do... not very Christmasy. Ah well. Still, for some twisted reason, I'd actually maybe watch it again someday.
5.4 / 10 stars
--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener -
Greetings, salutations, and a seasonal welcome to all you movie aficionados. Here are my considerations and recommendation for It's Christmas, Carol!
Story: 1.25/2 - Direction and Pace: 2.50/4 - Performances: 1.25/2 - Enjoyment: 1.50/2
Total 6.50/10
I enjoyed this reworking of Chuck's classic morality tale, "A Christmas Carol". The best element in the movie is Eve - The Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future - which Carrie Fisher joyfully portrays. The delight Eve feels as she toys with her prey, Carol (Emmanuelle Vaugier), as she imparts her wisdom upon her is tangible and infectious. Vaugier does well as the straight woman who takes all the pratfalls and fights against Eve's life lessons. Of course, filmmakers have done this style of story to death. There are over twenty-five "Christmas Carol" listed on IMDb alone. Let alone all the movies with a wordplay on the title, like this one. So what do you do when you want to breathe freshness into a stale story? You pep up the narrative with interesting characters, situations, and twists. The writers give the audience a decent set of individuals and circumstances to keep them amused and entertained. I especially liked the "Revolting" Fred, played charmingly by Carson Kressley. It would've been nice to have more meat on his cohorts in La Revolution, as they come across a tad flat next to Kressley. And one of my favourite scenes is when Carol, after realising her wrongs, attempts to rehire a fired employee. The employee's daughter answers the door. After exchanging pleasantries, the young girl asks if Carol's the one who fired her mother. Awkwardly, Carol confesses, and the girl slams the door in her face. It's a simple scene, dipped in realism, that makes the viewer giggle, "Yeah, Go Girl!" as the door bangs firmly into its frame.
The movie isn't the most charming or heart-warming of its type, but it possesses its own enjoyable allure. It could be down to the solid cinematography and decent pacing of the picture, the performers' portrayals of their characters, or the story itself. But whatever it is, I always find myself drawn towards the movie whenever I see it playing. Moreover, I always enjoy it: And this's the fifth time I've viewed the picture. As such, I can only recommend that you give it a look-see. It's not too terrible a way to spend an evening while waiting for Santa's nightly visit.
Please check out my HO! HO! HO! Christmas Belles list to see where I ranked the movie.
Take Care, Stay Well, And Best Wishes For A Merry Christmas. -
A Christmas Carol is my favorite Christmas story and I love seeing the various on-screen incarnations of it, both traditional and contemporary. Somehow, this particular retelling missed the mark, though.
It certainly had potential. Emmanuelle Vaugier was perfect for the role of the beautiful but venomous Carol, the Scrooge-like character. Carrie Fisher did fine as the only ghost in this movie, her deceased boss Eve, though, unlike others, I didn't think it was an exceptional performance, just adequate. Since Carol and Eve had been friends in real life, you had ample opportunities for amusing banter between them, unlike the interactions between the original Scrooge and his ghosts. I also liked that, instead of just showing the dismal future that would await an unrepentant Carol, they also showed the rich, full future that awaited her as a happy mother and grandmother if she changed her ways and went back to her one true love, Ben.
What was really a miss for me was the transition between the old evil Carol and the new nice one. For pretty much the whole time she was with Eve in their various journeys, she was still the same mean, soulless, cynical person, a person that was extremely difficult for us to like, even with hints of backstory that indicated she was once much nicer. Then, at the last scene in the graveyard, she suddenly has this epiphany and makes a complete 180 degree turnaround into this sweet angel. Her hair and makeup are even different, as if that would change overnight. The change was just too abrupt and there was nothing believable about it. I liked the new, repentant Carol, but I just wished they had found ways to make her character more likable, or at least relatable, before that transition.
I also thought her breakup with her boyfriend Ben was handled badly, and, to be honest, I kind of agreed with her reasoning a bit. If he was just working on his novel, had no other job and was having her support him, and wasn't even writing a novel that would be financially successful, I can see how she might not be happy about it. I hate it how screenwriters for these movies always push the "you've gotta follow your dream" message when it comes to being a writer (or any job in the arts or performing arts). Those screenwriters have achieved their dream and they act like it's easy for anyone to do the same, as long as they "believe in their dream" enough. In the real world, it's extremely hard to make a living as a writer, artist, actor or singer. It's not unreasonable for the significant other of such a person to become tired of that person sitting on their butt and not contributing to the couple's finances while they ostensibly pursue their "dream".
The relationship between her and Ben was kind of a miss for me, too. Not much chemistry and no real indication why they should be a couple, let alone why both would still be in love with each other after 10 years apart. It might have spiced things up a bit if he had moved on and gotten another girlfriend, even if his heart was really still with Carol.
Sad that this Christmas Carol reimagining wasn't handled better. A little less sloppy a script would have gone a long way toward making this retelling memorable rather than forgettable. -
fbm7275115 December 2020The first 15 minutes can be hard to stomach--Carol is an absolute tyrant with the corporate bottom line mentality to the max. She even looks the part (Emmanuel Vaugier is perfect for the part) And yet in the last 15 minutes when she's a transformed woman to a compassionate and caring lady, she looks like that as well. I don't know if it's just me or if it were studio miracles but I could fall in love with that. Carrie Fisher, sadly only four years away from leaving us is perfect for her part as Carol's late boss. At 56, Fisher looks older due to the ravages of her personal life and bears no resemblance to her young Princess Leia days, yet delivers a great performance. Starting with going back to 1985 was a good one (Vaugier was 9 in 1985 so that made it a proper year for the back in time part) The film doesn't stay in the past for too long and it even briefly ventures into the future but the part of Carol having three kids by then was probably not likely as she was in her mid 30s at the present, plus even a great corporate boss will likely still be married to their job more than anything. All & all after the initial start I enjoyed this film and I hope anyone who has such a Scrooge personality in real life has watched this and maybe learned a lesson or two about people.
-
docm-3230413 December 2021I was hoping this would be so much better, but it was bad right from the start. The music volume was way too loud in relation to the rest of the audio and didn't get corrected until well into the film. But that was the least of the problems. The acting was out and out terrible and there was not a likable character in the whole film. Ben the writer/exboyfriend would lose an acting competition with a piece of lumbar and Fred, the over the top drama queen I just wanted to slap silly. The writing was poor and how does a publisher not know The Christmas Carol? How was this a comedy? It was like watching bad community theatre.