Well Deserved Praise

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A Carol Christmas is a modern version of scrooge. An egotistical presenter learns the error of her ways via some spirits of Christmas past, present and future. Despite a relatively high profile cast ( cameo performances from William Shatner and Gary Coleman)for a TV movie this one falls a bit flat. Tori Spelling does a decent job as the lead but the terrible dialogue and production is just too mushy and it just seems the film is going through the motions. To be honest the only emotion this film evoked from me was boredom.Whilst it's not horrendous and is at least watchable I'd save your mulled wine for better Christmas films.

Can someone please explain to me why Tori Spelling keeps on getting roles? Actors - and actresses - get work for one of two reasons (a) they have talent, or (b) they are beautiful/handsome/cute/etc. Tori Spelling doesn't even come close to qualifying on either criterion - she has all the talent of Hulk Hogan and the looks of, well, Hulk Hogan. So what is going on here? However, imagine my surprise when I watched this film - it is actually not too bad. My assessment has nothing to do with Tori Spelling - she is just as dreadful in this as she has been in everything else I've seen featuring her. The upside of this effort is a surprisingly good performance by another perennial disappointment - William Shatner. He may be an icon due to his role in the Star Trek series but William has, in my view, always been a terrible ham - overacting painfully whenever the opportunity has presented itself. But in this film his performance is clever and sharp. In fact, it is watchable almost solely due to his surprisingly witty contribution. Even Gary Coleman, definitely a contender for the worst actor of all time, manages to outshine Spelling with some reasonable delivery. So, if you are looking for a way to kill 90 minutes or so - and can turn a blind eye to Tori Spelling's trade mark incompetence - this movie is probably an option.

I saw the title and instantly knew this TV made film was going to be a modernised version of the classic Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol, and with one or two names in the cast being good I gave it a go. Basically Carol Cartman (Scary Movie 2's Tori Spelling) is the conceited, cynical, selfish and cold sensationalist TV chat show host who has been moulded by her dead Aunt Marla (Dinah Manoff). It is Christmas Eve, and with her mean behaviour at its tether, her dead Aunt comes to haunt her and tell her she is making a big mistake being like she is, she could become what she has in the afterlife. Marla also tells Carol that she will be visited by three ghosts to see the error of her ways, and hopefully change her attitude towards family, work and Christmas. So the spirit to visit is the child star Ghost of Christmas Past (Diff'rent Strokes' Gary Coleman), who takes her back to see her childhood growing up with Aunt Marla, how she got her break to becoming a star of stage and then screen, and ultimately how manipulative her Aunt really was to get her any career at all. After returning Carol is next visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present, in the form of TV nice guy Dr. Bob (Star Trek's William Shatner), who shows her what her nastiness is doing to the people in her life, including work employees and family. Finally the silent and cold looking chauffeur Ghost of Christmas Future (James Cromwell) who shows Carol how her life will turn out if she doesn't mend her ways and make amends, including of course her death. So when she wakes up she is a reformed person, starts being nice to Jimmy Fields (Final Destination 2's Michael Landes) and assistant Roberta (Nina Siemaszko). In the end, live on her show she ultimately expresses her newfound heart saying she will give loads to charity and take her crew on holiday to Hawaii, and finally spends time with her niece and sister. Also starring Paula Trickey as Beth, Jason Brooks as John Joyce and Holliston Coleman as Lily. Spelling makes a slightly cheesy but near good Scrooge figure, the supporting cast members do alright as well, particularly Coleman and Shatner, the modern day showbiz satire is amusing at times, I agree it is like a pantomime most of the time, but a not too bad seasonal comedy fantasy. Okay!

Needless to say, I am a big fan of Dicken's story, and have seen many versions. Susan Lucci did the best "female" portrayal in Ebbie, but I would not dismiss the fine performance of Tori Spelling, someone I initially would not consider worth watching.I am a little biased in this one as her love interest (Jason Brooks) is a social worker.The story does not need retelling, as most are familiar with it. It is a story that embodies the real spirit of the holiday. How could anyone not "reform" after being visited by the Ghosts of Christmas, played comically and wonderfully here by Gary Coleman and William Shatner.A very interesting twist here substituting Tiny Tim's affliction with a custody battle. It was nice seeing Nina Siemaszko (Ellie Bartlet from "The West Wing") again.