Ed's Review Dot Com

Indy Entertainment, Marvista Entertainment,

Shiri Appleby, Will Kemp, Elizabeth Mitchell, Judd Nelson, A. J. Langer, Hannah Marks, Michael James-Olsen, Debby Ryan, Courtney Henggeler, Deniz Akdeniz

Kristen (Shiri Appleby)’s life has not worked out as well as she planned. She’s alone in the city and falls asleep on Christmas Eve, and wakes up in her bed at home 17 years in the past. The hard part is though, that her 17 year old self (Hannah Marks) is also there with her giving them both a fright. They make up a story so she can stay, and she decides to spend the time trying to convince 17 year old Kristen to make different decisions so that their life in the future will be better. Of course, you can’t tell a 17 year old anything. Krisin and her mother hit it off pretty well as the agree pretty much on everything, but 17 year old Kristen doesn’t want to listen to either of them.

This was a rather unusual story. They typical back to the future movie doesn’t have to deal with someone interacting with their younger self. That’s what made this film rather interesting. Lifetime did a good job in bringing a rather unique approach to the story. You will really like both Kristen’s and at the same time, you probably won’t be able to pick a favorite. It was a refreshing story and one that is out of the ordinary. I enjoyed it and was pleasantly surprised. I think you will enjoy this one.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

August Heart Entertainment,

Taryn Manning, Lin Shaye, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Eric Roberts, Shiri Appleby, Beverly D’Angelo, Spencer Locke, Emily Alyn Lind

Cindy (Taryn Manning) is a single Mom with 3 kids from 3 different Dads. She’s trying to get by having fun, sleeping around, and isn’t doing very well for herself. Three ghosts come by to visit to try to make her realize the errors of her ways, and work toward a better future in this “white trash” version of A Christmas Carol.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am hooked on Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”. I have watched every version and every knockoff of this film that I have ever been able to find. I have always thought of this as the most absolutely perfect story ever written. I didn’t think it was possible to do a bad version of this story. I’ve been through the silent films, and watched everyone from the Jetsons, to the Flintstones, to Mr. Magoo, to the Muppets, to Mickey Mouse, and dozens more. Even Sam Kinison pulled it off on a Christmas episode of Married With Children. This is, I believe, the story that has been made into film more than anything else. I had my doubts about this version however. It was rather pathetic, in it’s own way. These people are such stereotypical white trailer trash cutouts that it had to be horrible. Well, it turned out not to be a awful as I thought going into it. After the first fifteen minutes or so I was debating on turning it off, but I kept up with it, and it somewhat redeemed itself as it went on. There are some good actors in this movie, and though the story is a bit thin, with this kind of talent, it worked out much better than I expected. I had to get into what they were really trying to do, and I realized that it was supposed to be lampooning the story. Once I caught on that they were not trying to make a serious film, but it was all tongue in cheek (No one can be that bad), I was able to get into it a little bit. If you’re a fan of the TV show “Raising Hope” (which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, trust me) you’ll probably get this movie as well, as the feel was very similar to that show. It a caricature of people living that kind of life style in the same way. Though I thought this film was more or less a waste of time, I guess it’s just like pizza. There’s no such thing as a bad Scrooge.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog