Film

Ebbie

A 1995 gender-flipped take on A Christmas Carol where a ruthless department store mogul gets visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve. Susan Lucci anchors this earnest, mid-90s TV-movie retelling with surprising warmth. It's the kind of thing that shouldn't work but somehow does—sincere about redemption, unafraid of sentiment, and oddly moving beneath the made-for-cable trappings.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love gender-swapped reinventions of familiar stories, where a cold boss's redemption plays out in a department store setting and the Dickens bones show through a modern coat.

Skip it if you want a tight, fresh plot, since this follows the Christmas Carol template beat for beat, and the 1990s TV-movie polish can feel dated and sentimental.

What it asks of you: About ninety-six minutes of patience with a familiar arc, with a gentle, unhurried pace and a warm, mostly light tone rather than sharp edges.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Muppet Christmas Carol1992

Funny, heartfelt, gorgeously shot, and genuinely moving. Michael Caine's Scrooge feels real even surrounded by Muppets. It understands that the story works because we believe in the change, not because we're watching special effects.

But If you find Muppets cloying or the tone too whimsical, the film never leaves that register. It commits fully to joy.

The Muppet Christmas Carol poster

Scrooged1988

Bill Murray's cynical, fast-talking Scrooge McDuck update is genuinely funny and surprisingly dark. It updates the story to 1980s Manhattan and TV production with wit and real pathos underneath the comedy.

But It's aggressively 80s and relies heavily on Murray's rhythm. If his comedic voice doesn't land for you, the whole film deflates.

Scrooged poster

A Christmas Carol2004

Alan Rickman as Scrooge is restrained and magnificent. The songs by Alan Menken are clever without being saccharine. It's a legitimate musical adaptation that treats the source material with respect while finding new angles.

But It's over two hours and music-heavy. If you're not in the mood for singing or Menken's particular style, it drags.

A Christmas Carol poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Ebbie

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Poseidon Adventure1972

Both use a vertical journey through trauma to force moral awakening. Both hinge on a soul recognizing what it's chosen to become.

A disaster film where the inciting incident is a ship capsizing, and a ragged group—including a cynical, hardened reverend—must climb upward through hell to survive. Same structure as A Christmas Carol: a journey through suffering that forces spiritual reckoning and reveals who people really are.

But It's a 1970s disaster film with dated effects and a sprawling cast. If you want intimate character study, it's overwhelmed by spectacle and melodrama.

The Poseidon Adventure poster
More like this (5)

The Man Who Invented Christmas2017

Not a retelling but a story *about* writing A Christmas Carol. Dan Stevens plays Dickens wrestling with the novel itself. It's witty, warm, and offers genuine insight into creativity and why this story matters.

But It's a film about writing rather than the story itself. Knowing the ending doesn't help—you're here for the behind-the-scenes charm.

The Man Who Invented Christmas poster

Prancer1989

A genuinely affecting Christmas film about a young girl, a reindeer, and spiritual faith. It's quiet and sincere in ways that modern Christmas movies rarely attempt. Sam Elliott and Cloris Leachman ground it in real emotion.

But It's slow and contemplative. If you want plot momentum or comedy, this moves at a meditative pace that won't suit everyone.

Prancer poster

Miracle on 34th Street1947

Genuinely smart about belief and the necessity of faith, dressed up as a charming courtroom comedy. It respects both its audience's intelligence and their desire for a lovely Christmas story. Beautifully constructed.

But It's more interested in ideas than sentiment or action. The pacing is deliberate and the climax is conceptual rather than visceral.

Miracle on 34th Street poster

Schindler's List1993

Both are stories about moral transformation—a person who sees themselves as fundamentally selfish discovering they contain goodness. But this film makes that cost real and terrible, showing what redemption actually demands.

Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler—a profiteer and pragmatist forced by circumstance and conscience to become something greater. It's about a man recognizing his capacity for good and choosing to act on it, even at cost. Devastating and essential.

But It documents the Holocaust. The emotional weight is immense and unrelenting. This is not entertainment; it is witnessing.

Schindler's List poster

Ikiru1952

Like Ebbie, a story about someone near the end realizing they've wasted their capacity for connection. But where Ebbie gets a second chance with spirits, Ikiru shows someone making peace with finality—a far more difficult and human kind of redemption.

Akira Kurosawa's film about a dying Japanese bureaucrat who finally understands what his life should have meant. Quiet, profound, about a man achieving meaning not through business success but through seeing his smallness and acting with kindness. Absolutely devastating.

But It's a 1952 Japanese film in black and white with slow pacing. It requires patience and offers no comfort, only hard-won peace.

Ikiru poster

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A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol