A musical version of the traditional Christmas story where old humbug Ebenezer Scrooge (Kelsey Grammer) learns the true meaning of Christmas from three spirits.
Quick Review: With so many version of A Christmas Carol to choose from, I can be discriminating. There’s always another to switch to, and I suggest doing so when this is on.
Except for some special effects (primarily when Marley and the ghosts come through the walls), this version is directed like a stage musical. The scenes are on confined sets and the performances are broad, played for the 30th row, not for the intimacy of the screen. Even the over-dense makeup is applied for the stage. Not that a filmed stage musical can’t work, but this one fails where it really counts, the music. There’s nothing hummable here, nothing you’ll remember. I’ve heard comics improvise better songs. And as the songs take up time, the story is cut. If everyone on Earth didn’t know the plot, that would be a huge problem. As is, it just makes it abrupt. The first two spirits are done well, with Jane Krakowski making a sexy Ghost of Christmas Past and Jesse Martin putting real warmth into the Ghost of Christmas Present, but they can’t save the film.