''A Diva's Christmas Carol'' is a 2000

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

-original

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

television film starring

Vanessa L. Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas,

Brian McNamara Brian McNamara is an American actor. His first major role was in the film ''The Flamingo Kid'' (1984). He then went on to appear in a few films, such as ''Short Circuit (1986 film), Short Circuit'' (1986), ''Caddyshack II'' (1988), ''Arachnopho ...

and

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...

. The film is based on

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' classic, ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

'' (1843), and features an ego-driven popular singer who gets a reality check by three Christmas spirits. The film premiered on December 13, 2000.

Plot

Ebony Scrooge (

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

) is one of the world's most successful popular singers. However, with her cold-hearted soul and nasty attitude, she lacks a great deal of holiday cheer and makes her underpaid manager Bob Cratchett (

) and her band anything but happy. In addition, she also neglects her niece Olivia (

Amanda Brugel Amanda Brugel (born March 24, 1978) is a Canadian actress. Born and raised in Pointe-Claire (a suburb of Montreal), Quebec, she made her acting debut in the drama film ''Vendetta'' (1999). This was followed by roles in the comedy film '' A Diva's ...

), which makes her husband unhappy. While in New York for a charity concert, Ebony (who was once part of the 1980s trio "Desire") is visited by the ghost of one of her former singing partners, Marli Jacob ( Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas), who died in a car crash in 1990. She informs Ebony that she was unhappy with her for willingly abandoning her during her struggles with her drug addiction which ultimately led to the car accident that killed her. She also mentions that

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

knows Ebony took advantage of Marli's untimely death to plot her solo career, and the fact that she is using the charity concert as an excuse to add to her own wealth. Because of this, she is still earthbound and in chains. Marli warns Ebony that she may face a similar fate and informs her that she will be visited by three spirits: the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, who will hopefully turn Ebony's life around. The

Ghost of Christmas Past The Ghost of Christmas Past is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit from ...

(

) shows Ebony her tragic past with her abusive,

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

father (Warren "Slim" Williams), and how she partly became the cold person she is today because of this. The only person that made Ebony (Vanessa Morgan) feel loved was her brother, Ronnie (Ade Obayomi), and even he tried to continue to be positive for their family, even after the two were removed from their father's custody by their grandmother's call to child services, and separated in foster care. It was also revealed that even though Ebony had been adopted into a nice family and managed to keep in touch with Ronnie, she had refused to visit her father, whom she has never forgiven for the abuse he put both her and Ronnie through. While Ronnie (Nwamiko Madden) tried to give their father a second chance after he seemingly improved his ways by moving back home with him, he soon learned that Ebony had been right about their father not having changed after he began drinking again. Ronnie subsequently left home for good and later married straight out of high school and had Olivia, before dying of a sudden brain aneurysm. During her years as Desire's lead singer, Ebony had a relationship with Bob, who was a DJ at the time, and he was considering marrying her before she coldly broke up with him. Ebony had worked well with Desire until her coldness caused rifts, which, combined with Marli's drug problems, eventually broke up the band. Before leaving her, the ghost takes Ebony to Terry Freeman (

Stephanie Biddle Stephanie Andrea Biddle (born 23 August 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. Career Biddle was born in Quebec to jazz bassist Charlie Biddle and a French-Canadian mother. During part of her childhood she lived in Sainte-Agathe-des-Mont ...

), Desire's other singer and Ebony and Marli's once close friend, who is now a

destitute Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...

Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels is a programme that delivers meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home-delivered meals programmes, not all of which are actually named ...

client due to Ebony abandoning her following Marli's untimely death and crushing her financially in a lawsuit regarding the "Desire" name and brand. The ghost confronts Ebony over her maltreatment of Terry over the years, saying she should never had abandoned her friend when she needed her. Ebony tries to attack the ghost, only to be brought back to her suite. Ebony then finds a wild party in her suite, with a heavy metal rocker at the center of the chaos. He is the

Ghost of Christmas Present The Ghost of Christmas Present is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit ...

( John Taylor), who shows her how she is overworking Bob and her crew. She comes to learn just how much her band really hates her and that they insult her behind her back. Ebony shows sympathy and concern for Bob's ailing son Tim, slowly realizing just how strained his relationship with his family is. The ghost also shows Ebony her

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

Ernie Hoskins (Richard Jutras) is spending his Christmas with his girlfriend; Ernie lets slip to her that he has been able to pay for his lifestyle by secretly stealing money from her accounts over the years. This angers Ebony because Ernie was supposed to be her trusted accountant, and also makes her realize why he is always insisted on her staying on a tight budget – the less she spends, the more he can steal from her. The Ghost then takes Ebony to see the homeless people her concert is supposed to benefit, but whom she has never interacted with, showing her how they enjoy Christmas despite having nothing. Lastly, the Ghost takes her to the apartment of her estranged niece Olivia. Olivia informs her husband and friends that despite Ebony's cold attitude, she still loves her aunt. Ebony starts regretting how she treated Olivia in the past, and finally appreciates that she is the only living blood relative she has left. At this point, she starts to see everything in a new light and feels terrible about the way that she mistreated Olivia, Bob, and her band. Before leaving, the Ghost warns Ebony of the two main killers that could destroy her own life: Ignorance and Greed. Ebony reluctantly allows Bob to rush home to be with his wife Kelly (Linda Goodwin) and sick son Tim (Joshua Archambault). The last spirit (the

Ghost of Christmas Future The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a vis ...

) is the one that gets through to Ebony. The Ghost is depicted as a miniature television showing a tragic episode of ''

Behind the Music ''Behind the Music'' is a documentary television series on VH1. Each episode profiles and interviews a popular musical artist or group. The program examines the beginning of their career, their road to success, and the hardships they may have ...

'', which depicts many artists such as

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

commenting on the life and death of Ebony Scrooge. Her former bandmates use the show to air out their grievances about who she really is inside, ruining her public image in the process. The matter is made worse when one of her disgruntled former backup singers, Tina, theorizes that Ebony had planned to destroy Desire herself by setting up Marli to die in her car accident and deliberately financially ruining Terry, so she could take advantage and make her own solo career more successful. While Bob debunks Tina's theory in Ebony's defense, he also reveals how much he couldn't forgive her for making him work on Christmas; this led to both him missing Tim's death and Kelly divorcing him, a revelation that breaks Ebony's heart. It is also revealed that she died flat broke due to both Ernie draining her finances and her own career floundering in her last years. Ebony also discovers that Olivia was the only person who attended her funeral, while everyone else benefited from her death. The television then begins to pull Ebony into its black void as she screams for help. She begs God to grant her a second chance to make up for her cruelty and let her reopen her heart to Christmas once more. The next morning, Ebony awakens and opens her heart to Christmas once again. During an interview, she mentions that she will do all she can to help the homeless and is open to suggestions for how to alleviate the stress of poverty. Ebony also apologizes for allowing her latest CD to be overpriced. She hires a chef (revealed to be

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur. Early life and career Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname o ...

) to make a lavish Christmas dinner for her crew, and encouraging them to invite their families to her concert by buying up every ticket to the show that she can, over Ernie's protests regarding her budget. Ebony next reconciles with her niece Olivia, who reveals her pregnancy, and invites Terry to perform with her. She then makes one final stop before the concert by rushing to the airport and stopping Bob from boarding his plane, revealing that she has flown both his wife and Tim to join him in New York instead. After offering Bob an extended vacation to be with his family, Ebony reveals that she has pulled strings to get Tim into the best pediatric hospital in New York, and will personally fund his medical care to help him recover. That night, the concert is a big success. During the show, Ebony declares all proceeds and donations (which equate to over $1 million) will go to charity. She then fires Ernie and has him arrested for his embezzlement by the police. When he asks his girlfriend for help, she reveals herself to be an undercover

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

agent. Ernie protests his innocence as he is taken away to be booked, and Ebony apologizes for the inconvenience her ex-manager brought them. Now wearing angelic robes, Marli watches Ebony and Terry reunite and perform "

Sleigh Ride "Sleigh Ride" is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had formed the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946, and he finished the work in February 1948. The original recordings were instrumental ...

", an old song from their repertoire, and Ebony sees Marli blow her and Terry a kiss before departing for heaven. A year later, Ebony, Terry, Bob, Kelly, and a healthy Tim are seen with Olivia's family and her usual guests at her perennial Christmas party. Ebony and Terry reconcile their friendship while planning to reform the Desire group again in honor of Marli. She playfully orders her great-niece to not make a mess on her.

Cast

– Ebony Scrooge **

Vanessa Morgan Vanessa Morgan Mziray (born March 23, 1992), known professionally as Vanessa Morgan, is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Beatrix "Bird" Castro in the MTV teen drama series ''Finding Carter'', as Amanda Pierce in the Family teen ...

- Young Ebony ** Helena-Alexis Seymour - Teen Ebony * Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas – Marli Jacob *

– Bob Cratchett *

– Ghost of Christmas Past * John Taylor –

– Olivia *

– Terry Freeman * Richard Jutras – Ernie Hoskins * Linda Goodwin – Kelly Cratchett * Joshua Archambault - Tim Cratchett ** Ade Obayomi - Young Ronnie ** Nwamiko Madden - Teen Ronnie * Michelle Lipper – Tina *

Amy Sloan Amy Kathleen Sloan is a Canadian-American actress. She was born in Gladstone, Manitoba, raised in Whitehorse, Yukon and graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale d ...

– Patrice * Henri Pardo – Matt * Christian Paul – Lance * Warren "Slim" Williams – Ebony's Father *

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

- Record Label CEO * Jim Forbes - Himself *

- Himself

Soundtrack

Vanessa Williams sang the songs for the movie's soundtrack, including the original songs "Heart of Christmas" and "Heartquake" (featuring Rozonda Thomas). She also sings a remake of the 1948 holiday classic "

Release

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

released the film on DVD in Region 1 on November 19, 2002.

References

External links