''Karroll's Christmas'' is a 2004 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

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 ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Dennis Dugan Dennis Barton Dugan (born September 5, 1946) is an American director, actor, writer, artist and comedian. He is known for his partnership with comedic actor Adam Sandler, for whom he directed the films ''Happy Gilmore'', '' Big Daddy'', ''The Be ...

. It is based on the 1843 novella ''

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 ...

'' by

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 ...

. It aired on A&E on December 14, 2004.

Plot

Allen Karroll is cynical writer who hates Christmas yet works at a greeting card company. He also has an ongoing rivalry with his neighbor Zeb Rosecog, a grumpy and antisocial man who was the former CEO of Karroll's company. On Christmas Eve Karroll has a run in with Rosecog that results in him getting thrown off a bus and colliding with a child. Upset when the child calls him "grumpy", Karroll deliberately refuses to help the boy when he's accused of throwing a snowball at Santa. Karroll's bad day continues with a terrible presentation to his company's only main client that threatens his job and alienates his girlfriend, in the process ruining her secret plans to propose to him that night. After his girlfriend leaves Karroll is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley (related to Bob Marley), who mistakes him for Rosecog because he had the wrong address and tells him that he will be visited by the ghosts of Christmas Present, Past, and Future. The first ghost, Christmas Present, refuses to acknowledge that she has the wrong person and via a magical remote control capable of transporting them through space and time, shows him the impact that Rosecog has had on the people around him. He sees that Rosecog is trying to sue a family for improperly shoveled sidewalks, noting that the little boy from earlier that day is also part of the family and that he was harshly punished because Karroll didn't vouch for him. Curious about the remote Karroll tries to examine it, which results in him and the ghosts traveling to a past Christmas when he met Carrie, causing the realization that not all Christmases are bad. They also travel to the next day, where Rosecog's daughter talks about how he is a miserable person. The next ghost, Christmas Past, recognizes that Karroll is not Rosecog but persuades him to go on the journey anyway. They travel back in time, where it's shown that Rosecog was an idealistic family man until he became too obsessed with his job. This results in his estrangement from his daughter after he is unable to come to the hospital to visit his dying wife in time. They then see a now jaded Rosecog announce that he is selling the company, as he has lost both of the people he loved most in the world. The two also travel to Karroll's past, where they see him publicly propose to his then girlfriend Lisa while wearing a caribou costume. She rejects him and also informs him that she was cheating on him. The final ghost, Christmas Future, is also aware that Karroll is the wrong person but is equally willing to continue on with the façade. The two watch as Rosecog dies alone in a hospital room while all of his belongings are sold or thrown away. The man dies alone, mistakenly believing that his daughter wanted nothing to do with him, when in reality she was unable to come to his side in time. Karroll also learns that he has lost his job and that Carrie had broken up with him. Karroll wakes with new purpose on Christmas Day and decides to win over Rosecog. He unsuccessfully tries to use the remote to accomplish this, breaking it in the process. He instead manages to break through to Rosecog by humming the Christmas song that was playing near his wife's deathbed. The two men reconcile and are able to bring Rosecog and his daughter back together. Rosecog also drops the lawsuit and Karroll testifies to the child's innocence. With the help of the three ghosts, Karroll is able to steal a reindeer suit and sneak into his girlfriend's concert and propose. She agrees, in turn confessing that she was going to propose to him. Karroll is also able to save his job by using a popup card design that Rosecog had created.

Characters

Tom Everett Scott Thomas Everett Scott (born September 7, 1970) is an American actor. His film work includes a starring role as drummer Guy Patterson in the film ''That Thing You Do!'', the protagonist in ''An American Werewolf in Paris'', and notable roles in ...

as Allen Karroll *

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, playwright, and essayist. His film roles include Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), Vizzini in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), ...

as Zeb Rosecog * Larry Miller as Barry Freedman (

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 ...

) *

Alanna Ubach Alanna Ubach (born October 3, 1975) is an American actress, known for her roles as Serena McGuire in ''Legally Blonde'' (2001) & ''Legally Blonde 2'' (2003), Isabel Villalobos in '' Meet the Fockers'' (2004), Maria in '' Sister Act 2: Back in th ...

as Jodie McDougall (

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 ...

) *

Verne Troyer Verne Jay Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, YouTuber, and stunt performer. He was best known for his role of Mini-Me in the ''Austin Powers'' film series. He had cartilage–hair hypoplasia and was ...

as Spike Goldstein (

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 ...

) *

Deanna Milligan Deanna Milligan (born January 1, 1972, Vancouver, Canada) is a Canadian actress. She has appeared in numerous Canadian and American films and television shows. Career Milligan had a major role playing Dave Thomas' daughter in ''The Beachcomber ...

as Carrie Ford *

Richard Kline Richard Kline (born April 29, 1944) is an American actor and television director. His roles include Larry Dallas on the sitcom ''Three's Company'', Richie in the later seasons of ''It's a Living'' and Jeff Beznick in '' Noah Knows Best''. Early ...

as Bradley Carchet

Production

Filming for ''Karroll's Christmas'' took place in Calgary during the fall of 2004.

Reception

Critical reception was mixed. Walt Belcher of ''

The Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. Pe ...

'' panned the film, writing that "the laughs are thinner than an eggnog without eggs." Reviewers for ''

The Courier-News The ''Courier News'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Somerville, New Jersey, that serves Somerset County and other areas of Central Jersey. The paper has been owned by Gannett since 1927. Notable employees * John Curley, former presi ...

'' and the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' were more favorable.

References

External links