THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – EBBIE

 

Susan Lucci stars as ruthless business-woman and shopping store owner Elizabeth “Ebbie” Scrooge in this updated retelling of Dickens' “A Christmas Carol”.

The classic tale in which she is taught the true meaning of Christmas by three Spirits who visit her, has been brought into contemporary times.

It is refreshing in this version to have the main character of Ebbie played by a woman as indeed is her beleaguered employee Roberta 'Robbie' Cratchet played by the ever reliable Wendy Crewson.

The spirits are given some modern handling and the way Jake Marley communicates with God by cell-phone is very amusing and all in all it’s a very enjoyable adaptation.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – MS SCROOGE (1997)

 

Cicely Tyson stars as ruthless business-woman Ms. Ebenita Scrooge in this updated retelling of Dickens' “A Christmas Carol”.

The classic tale in which she is taught the true meaning of Christmas by three Spirits who visit her brought into contemporary times.

It is refreshing in this version to have the main character of Ebenita played by a woman as indeed is Marley played by the amazing Katherine Helmond whose portrayal of Maude Marley is a joy.

All in all it’s a very enjoyable adaptation and the final scene will be sure to have you reaching for the tissues.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – 40 BELOW AND FALLING AT CHRISTMAS

 

40 Below and Falling at Christmas tells the story of a teacher from a small, Northern Canadian town, Kate Carter (Jewel Staite), who is moving back to the big city for her wedding and she feels certain that this is the future she has always wanted.

But after quitting her job and packing up her life, her flight gets cancelled by a blizzard and all road travel is suspended, she meets a surly stranger named Redford (Shawn Roberts) and is forced to hop on the back of Redford's snowmobile and embark on an adventure that will leave her questioning the decision she has made about the man she is set to marry.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SANTA BABY

 

Mary Class (Jenny McCarthy) is a highly successful business executive - who just happens to be the daughter of Santa Claus (George Wendt).

But when her father falls ill, Mary returns to the North Pole and the life she left behind to take over from her Dad and implement her innovative ideas for running Christmas.

While she’s there she is reunited with her high school sweetheart Luke Jessup (Ivan Sergei) and their feelings are rekindled but when she’s put in charge of Christmas and starts implementing her modern idea’s things get out of hand and even threatens Christmas itself.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS LIST (1997)

 

Melody Parris (Mimi Rogers), is a works on the Perfume counter at a department store and feels like her life is in neutral.

 Her boyfriend is a cheapskate stick-in-the mud who won't commit and she gets passed over for a promotion at the store where she works. So after her friend Naomi (Enuka Okuma) suggests she makes a Christmas list she decides to give it a go.

After it's deposited in Santa's mailbox at the store, she starts getting everything she wanted, but it doesn't always turn out quite as she expected.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – NAUGHTY OR NICE

 

Krissy Kringle (Hilarie Burton) dislikes Christmas intently, mainly because she’s had to go through life with the name Krissy Kringle.

But she also suffered the indignity of having her street renamed “Candy Cane Lane” as a result of her name and the street name she gets regular deliveries of Christmas mail.

This particular year however was worse than normal when she is fired from the Ad Agency where she works instead of getting the promotion she was expecting and is forced to take a job as a present wrapper at the Mall and must dress as an Elf.

When she arrives home and forces open her front door, amidst the mountain of Christmas mail she finds a special delivery intended for Santa Claus, the Naughty or Nice book which he had left behind while visiting a child.

Krissy uses the power of the book to expose the naughty deeds of those around her, but soon finds that her newfound power can have devastating results.

Gabriel Tigerman is excellent as Krissie’s partner in crime at the Mall, Marco Webb and Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter put in a convincing performances as her parents Walter and Carol Kringle.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE MARCH SISTERS AT CHRISTMAS

 

Having long been a fan of Louisa May Alcott's classic “Little Women”, I approached this modern retelling of the tale with some trepidation.

But the March Sisters at Christmas is a pleasantly surprising adaptation and has been brought to modern times quite sympathetically.

In order to keep the family home from being sold, the four very modern March sisters, Jo (Julie Marie Berman), Meg (Kaitlin Doubleday), Beth (Melissa Farman) and Amy (Molly Kunz) must tackle home improvement on their own while their romantic entanglements involving the boy next door Teddy Lawrence (Justin Bruening), an old flame John Brooke (Charlie Hofheimer) and a new acquaintance Marcus Baer (Mark Famiglietti) become a distraction.