A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000)

A remake of the Dicken's classic, "A Christmas Carol" featuring a very nasty pop singer who gets a reality check by three Christmas spirits.

Director:

Richard Schenkman

Writer:

Richard Schenkman

Stars:

Vanessa Williams, Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas, John Taylor

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vanessa Williams	...	Ebony Scrooge
Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas	...	Marli Jacob (as Chilli)
John Taylor	...	Ghost of Christmas Present
Brian McNamara	...	Bob Cratchett
Kathy Griffin	...	Ghost of Christmas Past
Stephanie Biddle	...	Terry Freeman
Richard Jutras	...	Ernie Hoskins
Linda Goodwin	...	Kelly Cratchett
Joshua Archambault	...	Tim Cratchett
Michelle Anne Lipper	...	Tina (as Michelle Lipper)
Amy Sloan	...	Patrice
Christian Paul	...	Lance
Amanda Brugel	...	Olivia
Henri Pardo	...	Matt
Marie Turgeon	...	Attendant

Storyline

Ebony Scrooge is a one of the world's most successful pop singers. Yet her cold hearted soul and nasty attitude makes her lack a lot of holiday cheer and makes her band and manager, anything but happy. While in New York, Ebony is visited by her former singing partner, Marli Jacob, who claims that she will be visited by three spirits: Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present, and Ghost of Christmas Future who will hopefully turn Ebony's life around.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | ghost | singer | singing | song | 

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Taglines:

Christmas can be such a bitch!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Fantasy | Romance | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein ganz besonderes Weihnachtsfest

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

VH1 Television, Viacom Entertainment, Viacom Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Ebony wakes up on Christmas morning, she calls down to the man with the horse-drawn carriage and asks what time it is; he tells her its 6:15am. However, it is very brightly lit outside - on December 25 in New York City, it should still be dark at 6:15am.

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Quotes

Marli Jacob: Well, where were you Christmas Eve 1990?
Ebony Scrooge: Where was I? I was just getting the news that you got yourself messed up and got your Porsche wrapped around a tree.
Marli Jacob: Yeah, and I took two innocent lives with me. And what did you do?
Ebony Scrooge: I cried all night long. I never really got over it.
Marli Jacob: The very night I died, you abandoned Terry and started planning your own solo act.
Ebony Scrooge: That's not true.
Marli Jacob: And I had to watch it. My hell is watching you mess up your life.
[...]

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Connections

Version of The Alcoa Hour: The Stingiest Man in Town (1956)

User Reviews

Another Delightful Remake of the Charles Dickens Classic - DIVA STYLE!!!

Ebony (Scrooge) (Vanessa L. Williams) is one of the world's most successful and popular female pop stars in the world. In a glamorous, luxurious world of fame and fortune, Ebony lives up to the title of "diva". Her too-hot-to-handle, fiery temper, and nasty attitude makes her band and manager feel bitter about her. Only a few days before Christmas, Ebony decides to put on a concert to raise money for the homeless, but her band and her manager are anything but excited. On Christmas Eve, Ebony is visited by the dead spirit of her former singing partner, Marli Jacob (Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas of TLC), who tells her that she will be visited by "three spirits". Little does Ebony know, that these "three spirits" will do anything to turn Ebony from nasty to nice.

Yep...same concept as the original by Charles Dickens of course. But I really don't know what it was about this movie that really captured my attention. I mean, I've seen A LOT of remakes of "A Christmas Carol" from "Disney's Christmas Carol" to "A Muppet's Christmas Carol" and the one with Patrick Stewart who played Ebenezer Scrooge.

Perhaps, "A Christmas Carol" is afterall a timeless classic story about a cold-hearted Englishman who gets a second chance in life. It's a touching story that kind of proves that even nasty and mean people have feelings and are surprisingly ....nice.

In this case, we have a modern-day "diva" starring song bird singing sensation Vanessa L. Williams ("Save the Best For Last", "Colors of the Wind"), playing one nasty woman. Like the original "Christmas Carol", Ebony (like Ebenezer) is wealthy, cold-hearted, and doesn't care about Christmas. Her manager is surprising named Bob Cratchett (played by Brian McNamira), and is also an ex-boyfriend of hers. Also, like the original character, Bob has a sick little boy named Tim (deleting the "tiny" part). Then of course, you have the three spirits:

Ghost of Christmas Past - played by Kathy Griffin -- who adds a bit of spark and humor in the movie and to her character.

Ghost of Christmas Present - played by former Duran Duran bassist, John Taylor -- whose version of the Ghost of Christmas Present makes his appearance the same way as the original, only the yummy Christmas food is replaced with groupies and booze. :)

Ghost of Christmas Future - which is supposedly the big surprise of the show.

So, put this all together, and here you have "A Diva's Christmas Carol". Apart from the amusement of the music bussiness and the stereotypes of female pop singers and rock stars, "A Diva's Christmas Carol" is like the original "Christmas Carol"....giving a single soul a second chance. But one things for sure, that this holiday tale still is very heartwarming....and not to mention, this modern day version of the Dicken's classic is very heartwarming.

There are emotional parts in the film (i.e. Ebony's journey with Kathy Griffin's Ghost of Christmas Past -- you'll see what I mean), a few funny and amusing parts (John Taylor's Ghost of Christmas Present and how he drags Ebony around NYC faster than a ray of light), and of course, lots of really great Christmas songs ("Heart of Christmas" and an up-beat, pop version of "Sleigh Ride").

I really enjoyed "A Diva's Christmas Carol". One of the greatest remakes of "A Christmas Carol" has been made and seen on VH1 during the holiday season!!! It may not be amusing to EVERYONE, but for those who just can't get enough of this classic holiday tale is will love it!!! :) I know I did!!! :D