John Grin's Christmas (1986 TV Movie) User Reviews

An all black cast does a modernization ( '80s anyway) of A Christmas Carol.

[jsasser · 10/10 · 20 December 2009]

We taped this one and watch it every year. It is one of our favorite adaptations of A Christmas Carol. The writing is very clever. Our family quotes the lines often. The actors are delightful, especially the three spirits. They have unique interpretations of their roles which may be a bit stereotypical of certain American black "types", but they are so joyously and good-naturedly portrayed and so downright "cool", each in their own way. And the choir at the end is worth watching it alone. Joyous, rocking Christmas music! The only criticism I have is it is too short. They hit the high spots of the familiar story and make every minute memorable. There is a slight plot twist with the addition of a teen trying to get a job with Scrooge, er John Grin, but it is a good one!

Excellent Adaptation

[jgarner136 · 29 September 2006]

I was lucky enough to catch "Christmas" the one time it ran on TV, and I wish it would be released on DVD. Of course, it is an adaptation of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol " with Robert Guillaume as John Grin, the Scrooge character. His son Kevin has a role as the Bob Cratchit character, with Geoffrey Holder and Ted Lange as two of the Ghosts. There are so many second-rate versions of "Christmas Carol" that seem to be around, and one of the few really good versions gets lost in a film vault somewhere. That's too bad, because this is truly a little gem of a TV movie. It was made on the heels of Guillaume's run as Benson and capitalized on that series' popularity. There is a bit of Benson's dry wit, but John Grin is not Benson. The writing is low-key and the characters well-done and interesting. Too bad we most likely won't see this one again. It's well worth the time.

Great movie!!!

[stevandupree · 6 August 2010]

We are looking for a copy of the movie!!!! Recorded it on VHS when it aired originally. My daughter left it in the VHS recorder at Oakland's children Hospital and we've never been able to recover it! Been looking for it VHS or DVD ever since!!! I discovered that Robert Guillaume holds the rights to the movie... and has not released it to be reproduced as a DVD. I want to repeat this.... We are looking for a copy of the movie!!!! Recorded it on VHS when it aired originally. My daughter left it in the VHS recorder at Oakland's children Hospital and we've never been able to recover it! Been looking for it VHS or DVD ever since!!! I discovered that Robert Guillaume holds the rights to the movie... and has not released it to be reproduced as a DVD.