É Natal, Carol!

The movie has a great theme, even if it is yet another 'reimagining' of A Christmas Carol, this time with a female Scrooge and a coma.

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. She 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.

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.

I liked this modern telling of A Christmas Carol. Yes I Recommend it. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas. 11/14/2020

I 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.

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.