Des fantômes pour Noël

My husband and I stumbled on this movie last year, and just loved it. Wallace Shawn as the crotchety Scrooge-like character is a joy to watch (although the scenes when he was supposed to be younger were a little painful due to the poor make-up job). He plays sweet, wistful, mean, and nasty with such dexterity. Truly a gifted performance.

The ghosts are a blast, particularly Larry Miller (whose comedy routines I love!). Tom Everett Scott does a very good job as the unwitting recipient of the ghost-visits - a man who is on the verge of becoming just like his Scroogy-neighbor.

The casting of the children in this story, however, seems like an after-thought. Only one little boy actually shines in his portrayal. The others are wooden, and they mumble through their horribly written lines. Thankfully, they don't have much screen time.

This isn't the greatest re-telling of A Christmas Carol, but it is a very sweet and fun way to get into the Christmas "Spirit".

Karroll's Christmas is one of 2004's Christmas TV gems amid an onslaught of holiday specials this year. Tom Everett Scott (ER) is engaging as the lead in this modern and extremely funny retell of Dicken's Christmas Carol, and Wallace Shawn (Princess Bride) is both charming and funny as Scrooge.

The twist this time around is that the ghosts have gotten the wrong address and they take the wrong guy (Allen Karrol, played by Scott) through his crotchety neighbor's life (Wally Shawn).

Along the way, Karrol learns how his neighbor got so crotchety and becomes sympathetic to a man whom he abhorred, prior. Well directed (Dennis Dugan) and cleverly written, (Drew Daywalt & David Schneider), this one is bound to become a perennial. Five stars out of five.

I have to agree with the posting from cyberdoc-6 - this warped version of the well-loved Dicken's tale is just a waste of valuable time. It seems to be a amalgamation of scenes or ideas from different movies patch-worked together to make something akin to Bill Murray's "Scrooged" (1988). The jokes are feeble or just plain crude and the characters have no depth (except for the portrayal by Wallace Shawn).

There are better reasons for disliking Christmas than your girlfriend saying "No Thanks" to an engagement ring. Why set yourself up for failure by proposing in a hugely public place (scene pinched from 1988s "Working Girl") where either she feels pressured for a positive response or you feel humiliated if you don't get the answer you want?

Give this one a miss. One star out of five.

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

Tom Everett Scott and a strong supporting cast spice up what could have been just another made for TV three ghost visit movie.

This movie pokes fun at all those Christmas Carol rip-offs and finally points out that sometimes we humans have to take responsibility and solve our own problems.

This one is a true feel good film.

Larry Miller, Alanna Ubach and Verne Troyer are outstanding as the bumbling ghostly trio! I loved the twist on Jacob Marley as well.

Just a fun tongue in cheek look at Charles Dickens' classic!

This one is worth seeing! I just hope it shows up with the Ghost of Christmas future during the next Yule Time Season!