• ALL
  • NEWS
    • GAY MOVIE/ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
    • GAY FILM TRAILERS
    • GENERAL MOVIE NEWS & TRAILERS
  • GAY SHORTS & SERIES
  • REVIEWS
    • GAY FILM REVIEWS
    • CINEMA REVIEWS
    • DVD & BLU-RAY REVIEWS
  • BGPS BLOG
  • COMPS
  • ABOUT
    • Contact Us
    • Join The Team
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Gays On Film – A Short History

Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Scrooge & Marley (DVD/VoD)

December 16, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: David Pevsner, David Moretti, Ronnie Kroell, Drew Anderson, Megan Cavanagh
Director: Richard Knight Jr., Peter Neville
Running Time: 90 mins
Certificate: NR
Release Date: December 1st 2012

There aren’t that many festive gay movies. We got Make The Yuletide Gay a couple of years ago and now along comes Scrooge And Marley. To be honest it’s almost a surprise that nobody’s made a LGBT-themed version of A Christmas Carol before. It is, after all, the most adapted single story in the history of cinema (there are more Sherlock Holmes movies, but they’re based on a variety of tales), so the fact there hasn’t been a proper gay take until now has been a bit of an oversight.

But now that we’ve got one, is it any good? Well, yeah, it’s not bad at all.

The film sticks close to Dickens’ original tale but brings things up to date gives it a gay twist. Ebenezer Scrooge (David Pevsner) is the miserly owner of a rather staid nightclub and is known to everyone as one of the meanest and most unpleasant men around. He fires his staff for handing delivery men tips from their own pocket and treats his underling Bob Cratchit (The Lair’s David Moretti) with absolute disdain.

On Christmas Eve he’s visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, who tells him he must change his ways and will be visited by three spooks during the night. Through them we see how he was thrown out of his home by his homophobic father but found a new lease on life in the hedonistic gay world of the 1970s. He finds a boyfriend and goes into business with Marley, but soon he begins to become meaner and meaner. Can he ever find redemption?

Although you might expect a huge amount of changes to Dickens’ story to make it gayer, Scrooge & Marley sticks remarkably close to the original, but with slight alterations. His nephew Fred becomes lesbian niece Freda (Rusty Schwimmer), Bob Crachit gets a boyfriend and Tiny Tim is one of his adopted children, while Scrooge’s mentor Fezziwig becomes a gay disco owner who puts people before profit. All that may sound very different but it’s actually not that far at all from Dickens’ tale. Indeed there are moments when it might have been worth deviating a little more, as while the film suggests homophobia and withdrawal of family support from some gay people as a reason behind Scrooge’s meanness, it doesn’t really go too far with it.

Largely though it’s a fun take on the tale, with a tendency to randomly burst into song and tell its familiar story with humour, while keeping things moving along at a fast pace. Scrooge & Marley was obviously made on a limited budget, but it doesn’t show too badly and it makes the most of what it does have. The ghostly makeup and effects may not be amazing, but they work well enough to tell the tale. There’s also a slight tendency towards overacting, but in a fairytale-esque story such as A Christmas Carol, that’s not the worst thing in the world. The really important thing with a movie like Scrooge & Marley is whether it can leave you with a smile on your face, and it certainly succeeds at that.

If you fancy renting or buying Scrooge & Marley online, you can do so through the video-on-demand player below.

Overall Verdict: A fun take on the classic tale with a gay twist. Sticking pretty close to Dickens’ original it retains the warmth and heart of the story, while bringing it up to date.

Reviewer: Tim Isaac

Wanna share?:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Flipboard
  • More
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • WhatsApp
Overall Rating 7outof10

Related

Filed Under: GAY FILM REVIEWS

Leave a Reply (if comment does not appear immediately, it may have been held for moderation) Cancel reply

Search this site:

We're Needy, Be Our Friend

RSSTwitterFacebookStumbleUponMySpace

E-maily Stuff

Get the latest in our daily e-mail

Most Recent Posts

Young Hunter Trailer – First teen gay love takes a dark turn into blackmail

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Trailer – The hit gay, drag West End musical is coming to the screen

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 3 (Short Film Reviews)

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 2 (Short Film Reviews)

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 1 (Short Film Reviews)

The Scottish Queer International Film Festival 2020 Has Opened, & It’s Online Across The UK

The Iris Prize LGBT Short Film Festival Returns Next Week, & It’s Online & Free!

An Apology From Big Gay Picture Show

Win The Miseducation of Cameron Post DVD & Book!

Seventeen Trailer – The vagaries of teen romance erupt in the lesbian-themed film

My Best Friend Trailer – Gay romance flickers between two teen boys

New Sauvage Trailer – The gay prostitute movie that divided Cannes is coming soon

We're Needy, Be Our Friend

RSSTwitterFacebook

E-maily Stuff

Get all the latest from BGPS in our daily e-mail

Blogroll

  • Blinkbox – Gay & Lesbian
  • DoorQ
  • Movie Muser
  • Peccadillo Pictures
  • Peccapics Blog
  • TLA Gay (UK)
  • TLA Releasing (UK)
  • TQS Magazine

Copyright © 2023 Muser Media · Powered by WordPress & Genesis Framework · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Read More Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT