John Grin’s Christmas is a rarely seen adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Tonight’s viewing was the first opportunity I had to see it in a few years. This is the first time I’m including it on the annual blog, making it the 3rd first-time entry of 2020. Originally an ABC network television special, it has never been released on any media for the home market. The only way to see it is to sometimes see it on AMC in the U.S. or watch someone’s old home-recorded VHS version. These home versions occasionally appear on internet video sites if you’re persistent searching for it.
John Grin’s Christmas was first shown in 1986. Its driving force is Robert Guillaume, done right after the ending of his long-running hit show Benson. Guillaume not only stars, he directed and produced. This little gem contains a cast of goods to greats; there is Guillaume, of course, along with Roscoe Lee Browne and Geoffrey Holder! It’s the cast that makes it a gem.
The scenario for this contemporary adaptation is a middle-class African-American community. John Grin (Guillaume) is our Scrooge equivalent, obviously. He is the owner of Kramer & Grin toy manufacturers. His partner is dead less than a year. A request for toy donations for hospitalized children sets the pace. The donations of broken toys that they cannot sell for profit is the usual offering. As this is John Grin’s first year fully in charge, he refuses to give the usual donation. He only offers the broken toys as a purchase instead of a donation. Grin has no time for Christmas, its charity or its merriment. He also shows himself to be not only greedy, but insensitive. He is indifferent when he receives a Christmas card signed by his employees. He forces his Bob Cratchit stand-in, Sam Oliver (played by Guillaume’s son, Kevin) to work late on Christmas Eve and he keeps the factory cold. The thermostat has a blatant Do Not Touch sign above it. His reply when he’s told the factory is cold: “It is 64 degrees. Anything more would be the tropics.”
The character of Rocky (Alfonso Ribeiro from Silver Spoons, Fresh Prince) is a young teenager working hard to save enough money to buy his mother a Christmas gift. Rocky serves as composite stand-in for Tiny Tim and Fred. Grin prevents him from taking trash from is dumpster and denies him a job when he inquires.
Grin arrives home on Christmas Eve with the ghostly visits beginning after he goes to bed. Despite the mention of his dead partner, there is no equivalent to Marley’s ghost or a forewarning. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Roscoe Lee Browne) is the first visitor. Browne is perfect for this version of the ghost. The Ghost of Christmas past is presented as a cultured and sophisticated spirit. He finds Grin to be insufferable and is glad when his time with Grin is through. There are some things in Grin’s past scenes that are similar to previous A Christmas Carol adaptations. In this version, Grin is an orphan who is eventually taken in by Kramer as an apprentice, leading to becoming his partner. This is very similar to 1979’s American Christmas Carol. Grin became an orphan when his family died in a fire. This is reminiscent of 1997’s Ms. Scrooge when that main character’s past showed how she lost her father in a fire (Note that Ms. Scrooge came a decade later)
The Ghost of Christmas Present (Ted Lange after 10 years on The Love Boat) is a mid-80’s yuppie. He appears complete in the image wearing a pink sweater draped over his shoulders.
The Ghost of Christmas Future (Geoffrey Holder) is an imposing spirit that removes his hood and speaks to Grin. Grin’s encounter with the Ghost of the Future is one of the most unusual (and refreshing) of any A Christmas Carol depiction. Grin is shown his future as a stylized theatre piece where Grin and Ghost are the only audience members. It’s this sequence that finally makes Grin turn over a new leaf.
There is the usual sequence of the newly reformed John Grin going out on Christmas morning to begin making things right. No surprises here.
This is enjoyable to watch but I always have the slight feeling that it needs more cohesion somehow. The most disappointing thing about this version is its short runtime of only 50 minutes. I contend that it’s worth a viewing if the opportunity arises.