Review of Scrooged (1988) by Per Gunnar J — 08 Dec 2013

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is, in my opinion, one of the greatest stories ever written. There's been a ton of film versions over the years, from the 1951 version with Allistair Sim, the great 1984 TV movie with George C. Scott in the title role, the delightful cartoon Mickey's Christmas Carol, and the recent Robert Zemeckis extravaganza starring Jim Carrey. One of the more original takes on this great and timeless story is the film I'm about to review, Scrooged, a modernized comedic version starring Bill Murray. While the film is indeed cheesy and corny, Scrooged ranks as one of the better and more entertaining Christmas Carol film adaptations out there.

Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, a Scrooge-type TV executive who's very cross on his employees, doesn't really care too much about the holiday season, and only cares about ratings. When he goes too far by forcing all his workers to host a live telecast of A Christmas Carol, Cross, like Scrooge, is haunted by three extremely freaky ghosts who show him the error of his ways and redeem himself before it's too late.

Scrooged also features David Johanson as the humorous cab-driving Ghost of Christmas Past, Carol Kane as the sugar-plum fairy Ghost of Christmas Present, Karen Allen as Murray's former love interest, and there's a ton of celebrity cameos in here as well, from Buddy Hackett, Robert Mitchum, John Forsyth, and Mary Lou Retton.

Director Richard Donner, best known for directing the 1978 Superman, brilliantly succeeds in making A Christmas Carol a dark comedy. Some moments, such as some of the ghost visuals, do come out as corny, and Bill Murray is a little obnoxious in places, especially in the beginning, but it's Murray that makes Scrooged the fun film it is. I cracked at his facial reactions when the ghosts show up and the jokes are simply hilarious (such as "This will scare the Dickens out of you.") Surprisingly, the film also manages to have a little holiday heart in it towards the end, which surprised me most in a dark comedy. Considering it's cheese, I was impressed, especially with the big hit it had, the inspiring and catchy "Put a Little Love in Your Heart." Danny Elfman's score could have been a little more memorable, but it's not a terrible score.

This film can be cheesy, but with the original approach to a classic Christmas tale and Bill Murray's entertaining performance, Scrooged is a fun little comedy filled with pure fun and heart. Plus I found it fun that one of the opening promo's was a violent program titled "The Night the Reindeer Died.".