Review of Scrooged (1988) by Dawdlingpoet — 20 Nov 2021

I'd like to start off by saying that I've always enjoyed Bill Murray movies, since I was a kid and saw him in the Ghostbusters movies and then Groundhog Day, which is one of my favourite movies of all time, plus I enjoyed his appearances in Wes Anderons movies and in movies such as Broken Flowers. However, I realised that I'd never seen this movie (that dates from the late 80s!), so I was more than happy when I learnt that it was being shown on TV on Christmas day and it didn't disappoint.

Bill plays Frank with his usual over the top, sarcastic and even biting personality showing through and I think he was a great choice of actor to play Frank, seeming very convincing to me, as his character, somebody you have to love to hate.

The special effects used are pretty imaginative and they do add to the movie, though of course they are rather dated but as this movie is 20 years old, thats to be expected. I still jumped a bit when the first ghost appeared though, who made a rather over the top appearance causing quite a scene that took both Frank and I by surprise! another memorable scene with special effects would be when Frank discovered something rather ghoulish about a presumed actor in the elevator, near the end of the movie.

It is quite funny in parts too, I did laugh out loud at some scenes. I think the humour comes from its absurdity, how the ghosts appear and some of the situations Frank finds himself in.

If there's anything much negative to be said, its that it could be seen as somewhat predictable, particularly at the end, though being based on the classic 'A Christmas Carol', you should expect that too I suppose. Also, of course, if your not too keen on Bill Murray then this isn't for you, as he is quite over the top in this role.

Yes I think its worth watching, I know I enjoyed it and found it funny and entertaining, even though its twenty years old. Bill plays his part well, fans of his will no doubt enjoy, or more by now have enjoyed, this and its interesting to see how its played out, the concept of a twentieth century Ebeneezer Scrooge being visited by the three ghosts. There are some pretty 'interesting' characters which liven it up and the effects used aren't bad for its age either, it is fairly inventive in its own way (I know how can it be inventive and predictable, the predictablity comes from the fact that the basic story behind it is so well known as a Dickens classic though of course), so I'd gladly recommend it and say its worth watching if your interested in it.