The last train for Christmas: Michael Sheen in his holiday movie, which changes over time
When Michael Sheen first appeared in a mullet blonde wig in Last Train to Christmas, you thought you were in a biopic about Peter Stringfellow.
And if we look the other way, we find that Sheen's character, Tony Towers, is really like the late Stringfellow, the nightclub owner. It was 1985, and Tony took the train back to his family for the holidays.
But this isn't a film about night culture - and it's no ordinary movement. Tony realizes that as he passes through different carriages, he's being sent back and forth in good time and that his actions at one station have severe consequences for what happens at the next.
The film can be considered a modern Christmas carol, with a sliding door trend and part of Back to the Future. But Tony is far from Ebenezer Scrooge. On the contrary, he is sociable, always ready for good weather, and a person who likes to throw money at him.
"I think when Julian Kemp was writing and directing films, he was heavily influenced, at least as a starting point, by Peter Stringfellow or someone like Peter Stringfellow," explains Sheen.
He didn't think about his options, and then suddenly he got the chance to really see and maybe make a change, and it was a whole new experience for me. Tony."
Early reviews of the film were positive, with plenty of praise for Sheen - but some suggested that her performance made up for other flaws. "The Last Christmas Train is too long to bombard you with more schedules than a Marvel movie, but it's definitely a must-see, and Michael Sheen has been brilliant so far," said DVD Fever's Dom Robinson.
In her three-star Guardian review, Leslie Felperin said, "It's a fairly well-known concept from screenwriter and director Julian Kemp that still consists of the way Tony and Sheen twist things and quickly figure out how to tinker with being strangers to your future to make a difference. Help yourself or save your loved ones from destruction. But Sheen is a dedicated enough actor to make it happen."