A Carol Christmas (2003)

Tori Amos carried the brunt of A Carol Christmas almost as well as Brittany Murphy singlehandedly carried the whole of Little Black Book. Tori plays the obnoxiously conceited (and b-i-t-c-h-y) talk-show host Carol Cartman, whose ambitions-on-estrogen career-trammeling Aunt Marla (Dinah Manoff) returns from the grave for a Marleyesque chat with her protege. It's the weakest scene in a movie that, as an updated A Christmas Carol spoof, doesn't take itself entirely seriously anyway. The writing is pretty good and the cast makes this Hallmark production, which could have been a disaster, succeed. Gary Coleman plays the former-child-star angle as a reflective Ghost of Christmas Past; William Shatner plays the on-air blowhard Dr. Bill and a Monk-like Ghost of Christmas Present; and a sadly uncredited Lurch-like chauffeur plays the Ghost of Christmas Future. (Blogger Jim Hill notes that William Shatner's career was a joke at this point and it was specifically this show's light touch and what Bill did with the role that won him his Emmy-winning lead role on Boston Legal.) The ending is as intuitively happy as one could hope for -- no one really wants a Christmas grouch and "it is better to give than to receive"! This script on its own strength carried me from the opinion that everyone has of Tori Amos to, by its end, a fond affection for her big red moue of a pout. 3 stars.