How sad is this?

Best movie of this year hands down!

Admirable film.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Every now and then I watch back-to-back versions of Dickens classic. This year I watched Kelsey's version with renewed interest. I believe that this will survive the musical versions right along with Albert Finney. Seeing TV stars we know from other genre sing and dance gives us a taste of just how little of our favorite star's talents we get to see. Grammar himself is pretty convincing in a role that has been played in so many ways that it must be hard to own it in your own way. One thing that is noticeable right from the start is the smooth transition into songs in nearly every case. I disagree with the comment about Santa Claus on the back curtain. Upon doing some Dickens research I found out that his book "A Christmas Carol" literally redefined the celebration of Christmas in England from a mostly family only to public holiday. Also mentioned was the fact that the Ghost of Christmas Present was the model for "Father Christmas" (Santa Claus) although I do agree that the specific outfit on the curtain is American and not British. I suggest that you naysayers give it another try when you have time to relax and enjoy it.

Hello!Though I have visited the IMDb.com site for many years, this is my very first review here, because I felt a strong moral obligation to warn others about this movie.I have seen perhaps 15 movie versions of "A Christmas Carol".Without a doubt, this awful piece of garbage ranks dead last, even after bad half-hour animated versions.Everything is so appallingly bad, that it's difficult to point out anything in particular.Kelsey Grammar, who I have not hated before this movie, turns in one of the most dreadful performances I have ever seen, anywhere, in any movie! I was stunned by the ham ridden, exceptionally poor performance, in what should have been a drama. Don't expect much more from the other "actors", many of whom act as if they are on drugs (I blame this on the director, Arthur Allan Seidelman. SO many actors can't have turned in such bad performances, without the director being hugely at fault!).The script has been dramatically changed from the original story, every time, making this movie worse, and worse, and worse. Now, I understand that most stories or novels can't be translated directly into a movie without alterations, HOWEVER, that doesn't excuse the butchery of the original story that was done in this movie, with no point. AND, "A Christmas Carol", by Charles Dickens, READS almost as a screenplay. Many adaptations have stayed very close to the original source material, with sometimes very great results.The music varies from inane, to horrible. I know that Alan Menken has done decent stuff before, but this certainly has to have been one of his poorest efforts.Rather than continuing to harp on the vast shortcomings of this unwatchable piece of crud, I will list the versions of "A Christmas Carol", that I consider best, in order:1. "A Christmas Carol", George C. Scott, 1984, long version. 10 star movie. Brilliant performance by Scott, probably the best of his entire career, even better than in "Patton". He portrays Scrooge as a textured, real person, rather than the over-the-top performances you see by most actors. ALSO, this version is closest to Dickens original story "A Christmas Carol", of any of the movie versions that I have ever seen (and I sometimes READ the story, along with the movie, while it is going on!) Also, this movie has the strongest supporting cast of any of the movie versions. Particularly memorable, is Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas Present.2. "A Christmas Carol", George C. Scott, 1984, 101 minute version. Almost as good as the longer version.3. "Scrooge", Alastair Sim, 1951. Sims puts in a good performance as Scrooge, but not as good as Scott's.4. "Scrooge", Albert Finney, 1970, UK version, 120 minutes. I consider this the best musical adaptation of "A Christmas Carol". Finney, unfortunately, was too young for this role in 1970. He's probably the right age now, and I would suspect he would put in a better performance, now (2011)!5. "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol", Jim Backus, 1962, animated musical. I consider this the best version for children. The story has been simplified a bit for children, BUT, does not pull any punches. It also focuses on the children in the story a bit more. Good music by Jule Styne, that I understand was originally written for a Broadway show that fell through, but it found a good home here. Better music, I think, than in the Finney "Scrooge".6. "Scrooge", Albert Finney, 1970, US version, 113 minutes. The seven minutes cut from the UK version really butchers the ending.7. "A Christmas Carol", Patrick Stewart, 1999. 2nd best supporting cast out of any version I have seen. Unfortunately, Patrick Stewart was the weak link, here. He really did not seem to understand the character of Scrooge at all, and put in a remarkably flat and dull performance.My 2 cents worth.Hope this was helpful.Karl

Trying to catch the same fun of the 1970 musical "scrooge" but falls way short. Bad acting plus poor singing makes a bad movie. Kelsey grammar would have been OK if he took the role seriously but instead did an terrible overacting piece.visually not bad but still all around god awful. does no credit to the classic tale. ridiculous songs, poor acting make this very very hard to watch. perhaps instead of trying to come up with a different angle on the tale someone will make it as it is. this movie makes you say BAH HUMBUG when watching it, thats if you can stomach watching it. Kelsey grammar spends the movie looking like a confused pirate. not grasping the scrooge role at all. the ghosts look more like camp counselors than ones trying to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. but where this goes so wrong is the musical score. the songs are awful. they add no value to the story. its poorly done and written.

When the TV station played this in 2004, my mom watched it, but she didn't tape it. She didn't think it would be a good version. She loved it! It was not showed again that year. She was really sad about it. In October 2005, it came out on DVD. I wanted to get it for her for Christmas, but I knew that if she saw it in the store she would buy it. So she got a very early present. She ended up getting the soundtrack for Christmas. It is terrific. When you listen to it, it is like you are watching the movie. I knew every scene after the first time I saw it. I would like people to know that even if you don't care for musicals, you should take the time to see the movie. The cast is great and Kelsey Grammar was the best!