More than 170 years since its writing, the Charles Dickens novella A CHRISTMAS CAROL still looms large as the seminal text on how not to be a penny-pinching goon during the holidays. And why not? It’s mostly secular and it makes capitalism seem compassionate if you can spare a few shillings. This December, Noah and Chance watched three Hollywood spins on A CHRISTMAS CAROL to see which gimmicky retelling comes out best.

They start with 1992’s THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL and its rather classical baseline, save the singing puppets. And boy does Noah have some thoughts about those! At 14:00, they switch to 1988’s SCROOGED with complaints on just how deplorable Bill Murray’s Scrooge archetype is. At 23:00, they finish out with 2000’s THE FAMILY MAN, a movie in which Nicolas Cage is sort of transformed by Christmas, but isn’t it strangely aspiring to so much more? Thanks for listening, and happy holidays from our tiny BRG family.