Cheap Diva's Christmas Carol (DVD) (Richard Schenkman) Price

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Customer Reviews of Diva's Christmas Carol

A Modernized Take On The Christmas Carol Story!
I like Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol story and I like all of the different movie adaptations of the story and I have several of them on DVD which includes about three that were modern takes on the tale and I must say that out of all the modernized versions this is my favorite and I think this movie was very good and had some scenes and lines that were very humorous and the special effects were pretty good too. Vanessa Williams was very good as Ebony Scrooge a pop star who has become a major diva prone to temper tantrums and treats her staff and everyone else with disrespect and has become greedy and miserly but on Christmas Eve night she is visited by the ghost of Marley her childhood friend and former member of her old singing group who had died a year earlier and has come back to warn her that unless she changes her ways she will be doomed just like she is and later on she is visited by the sassy Spirit of Christmas Past played by Kathy Griffin from the sitcom Suddenly Susan and then from the Spirit of Christmas Present played by John Taylor from the 80's rock band Duran Duran and then by the Spirit of Christmas yet to come which is actually depicted as a very humorous episodes of VH1's Behind the Music. This was originally shown on VH1 and I recommend this to any fan of the Christmas Carol story who is open to different interpitations of it and is not a diehard purist who can only enjoy a Christmas Carol movie if it's exactly like the book so if you are open to something different then I highly recommend this DVD! Also if you enjoyed this movie check out for TV listings for amovie called Ebbie starring Susan Lucci from the Soap Opera All My Children. Ebbie isn't as good as A Diva's Christmas Carol but Susan Lucci also plays a female Scrooge and it's pretty good. Unfortunately that version doesn't seem to be available on DVD or video so you would have to check for TV listings!

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The best version ever
I was begining to lose all hope on the christmas carol idea. It had been very overplayed. So I caught this on its first showing and immeadiatley fell in love with it. Its one of those movies you can watch a million times and never get tired of.Vanessa Williams brings great spice to this old and in some versions dry tale. Finally it was given a facelift.Does anyone know what hotel in NYC she stayed at?? And by the way the music in this movie is excellent.Heartquake should be a Vh1 classic.Very 80s though. But still excellent Sleigh ride was also given an excellent makeover making one of the best versions I have ever heard. And the Heart of Christmas was also a really great song. Buy this movie you won't regrit it!

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A Well Updated Classic
I thoroughly enjoyed this version of "A Christmas Carol" for many different reasons. The main reason being that I own several versions of "A Christmas Carol" and I find that this is the ONLY one that allows characters to act like real people.

Bob Cractchett DOES stand up for himself, though in a caring manner....Mrs. Cratchett is NOT happy that her husband spends so much time at work and lets him know this...Tim Cratchett is an ill child without being so saintly sweet that's he's unbelievable.

Many of the lines are gems...."Who the Dickens are you calling boy?" is my favorite, as it pays homage to Charles Dickens, and the tiresome "God Bless Us, Every One" isn't spoken by Tim but by a member of the band in a completely new way. I think that "A Diva's Christmas Carol" has some of the sharpest writing for a Christmas movie to come along in awhile.

While Vanessa Williams is good as Ebony Scrooge, the best member of the cast is Brian McNamara as Bob Cratchett. For the first time, you see Bob Cratchett as a real man, torn between his job and his family. McNamara's scene during "Christmas Future" almost brings a tear to your eye because he's superb at showing the depth of the character, without making it so syrupy that you don't care.

The cast is rounded out by various "Music Industry" personalities, none of whom are major stand-outs but play their parts adequately.

I gave this a 4 star rating rather than a 5 star for two reasons: The lack of special effects (when Marley removes her face, you're shown this from the back), and a heavy scene from Ebony's past showing her abusive father. If shooting Marley's face removal from the back was to shield children from a potentially gross scene, it was incongruous along with all of the "*itch" comments. If it was due to budget constraints, it's a shame.

Even with these notes, I highly recommend "A Diva's Christmas Carol" mainly for Brian McNamara, for the great script, for Vanessa Williams, and for some good singing and cute tunes. I wore out my VHS tape, and replaced it with the DVD.