Karroll's Christmas (TV 2004)

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... See full summary »

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers:

David Schneider (teleplay), Drew Daywalt (teleplay),

Stars:

Tom Everett Scott, Wallace Shawn, Verne Troyer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Everett Scott	...	Allen Karroll
Wallace Shawn	...	Zeb Rosecog
Verne Troyer	...	Spike
Alanna Ubach	...	Jodie McDougall
Deanna Milligan	...	Carrie Ford
Richard Kline	...	Bradley Carchet
Larry Miller	...	Barry Freedman
Sarah-Jane Redmond	...	Patricia Rosecog Montgomery
Dan Joffre	...	Jacob Marley
Brian Martell	...	Ken Steiner
Renée Amber	...	Ellen Williams
Brian Stollery	...	Bob Williams
Kade Phillips	...	Tim Williams (as Kade Philps)
Stacey Zurburg	...	Alicia Rosecog Montgomery
Taylor Huber	...	5 yr. old Patricia

Storyline

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 hinderance. He also hates the man who lives across the street, Zeb Rosecog, who seems to take delight in tormenting him, who also happens to be the former CEO of Karroll's greeting card company. One day, Karroll is visited by the ghost Jacob Marley (related to Bob Marley), as well as the ghost of Christmas present, past and future (in that order) who all happen to have come to the wrong address, and had actually meant to visit Rosecog. During this experience, Karroll learns a lot about himself as well as Rosecog, and discovers that he and Rosecog have a lot in common, and decides to help Rosecog to see the light, and rediscover the joy of Christmas.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | based on novel | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

A & E Television [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Des fantômes pour Noël

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cosgrove/Meurer Productions, Voice Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Near the end of the film, as Steiner is running towards Alan during the concert, he passes by the ghosts of Christmas Present and Future twice.

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Connections

Features A Christmas Carol (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Deck The Halls"
Written by Tom Erba
Performed by Tom Erba
Courtesy of Source In Sync

User Reviews

Fine reimagining of a classic

I'm usually up for seeing films that use A Christmas Carol as their source material, in particular the ones that go for a different interpretation of it(the BlackAdder version takes the cake, I'd have to say). Thus, when this aired, it wasn't a hard sell. It's pretty much worth it, if the tone that they set isn't maintained entirely(though almost) throughout, and it does contain at least its share, possibly more than, of sap. The acting is usually good, the children in this are by far worse than the grown-ups in it, but that is usually the case. The production value is reasonable, with some nice effects. The script plays around with the original story and characters the appropriate amount. The humor is probably the best thing about this, because in the positive end of the spectrum, there are great jokes and gags, including one or two memorable and even quote-deserving ones. There are, however, also times where they try far too hard, where it's juvenile, that it is downright stupid and/or where they fall flat. There is dark comedy herein, albeit relatively mild. Little tip? If you watch through the opening credits to this and find what occurs to be harsh and not funny, you're not likely to be in the target audience. I recommend this to those who can stand the holiday being taken a tad less seriously(for a stronger "anti" movie, look elsewhere). 6/10