On SCROOGE & MARLEY

 A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens. It's one of my favorite books and I've read it more than once. Always during the holiday season. We're coming up to the season where we will see film versions of the original story and spins on the story -- like SCROOGE starring Bill Murray, the animated MR. MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS CAROL, the gender bender MS. SCROOGE starring Cicely Tyson as Ebenita Scrooge and THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL.

I was invited to receive a screener for SCROOGE & MARLEY, a 90-minute modern day version of the Dickens fable that has made it to DVD and digital. This spin on the holiday tale has a gay sensibility. Apparently, SCROOGE & MARLEY had a very limited theatrical release in 2012. I'd never heard of it, so I decided to give it a look. It works! I was entertained and touched by its non-star cast. It's set in Chicago early in the AIDS crisis. Ebenezer is now a gay middle-aged man who has long called himself "Ben." David Pevsner is one of the meanest, angriest Scrooges I've ever seen -- and that's one key thing that makes it work. He commits to the character's soullessness and bitterness. There's no touch of sentimentality or comedy about his Scrooge. So, when he's redeemed, you really cheer for him. You feel that he's truly earned the hug he gets at the end. This adaptation opens with the Scrooge's late and equally mean business partner, in the Afterlife and up against three tough gay spirits. He's in non-leatherman bondage and has yet to learn that "..when you help others, it helps you." He will visit his earthly former business partner. Ben has yet to learn that "Business isn't life."

Not really a musical, SCROOGE & MARLEY has traditional Christmas songs and about a half dozen new tunes. Well...they were new to me. You see men kiss, but SCROOGE & MARLEY is a fairly PG feature I'd like to see on the Hallmark Channel. With the Ghost of Christmas Past, we see young and innocent Ben meet young Jacob Marley and hit the gay club scene. We also see how Ben's sexuality got him thrown out of his home by his father ("You're dead to me!"). We see his charitable first love and learn of the death of a relative. The festive Ghost of Christmas Present shows Ben how disliked he is in his gay community. Then there's the scary Ghost of Christmas Future. Here's a trailer.

 Judith Light does the narration and Bruce Vilanch is good in a supporting role as a gay senior citizen businessman who takes young Ben under his wing. I was pleasantly surprised by this adaptation of the famous Charles Dickens novella. I loved how it dropped in quotes from THE WIZARD OF OZ, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and AUNTIE MAME. Most of all, I loved the performance of David Pevsner as Ben Scrooge and the journey he takes us on as his spirit leaves the dark and comes into the light. There's a nice heart to this simple, clever production. Look for it on Amazon.

To coincide with the 10th anniversary release of SCROOGE & MARLEY, actor David Pevsner wrote a book that was published this year.  He's done movies, episodic TV shows, stage musicals and he's been a nude model for erotic photographs. His book is titled DAMN SHAME: A MEMOIR OF DESIRE, DEFIANCE, AND SHOW TUNES.