Review of Scrooged (1988) by Adam F — 28 Dec 2012
"Scrooged" is actually a pretty clever re-imagining of Charles Dickens' A Christmas carol but the comedy is hit or miss. The setup is great, with Bill Murray running a TV station and putting the ratings above everything else, including his family and employees.
It's a great setup for some comedic bits like an ultra-violent christmas special "The Night the Reindeer Died" and some ridiculous programming aimed at pets. The problem is that "Frank" (Murray's character) has to answer to some higher ups so the blame for all of the anti-Christmas sentimentality doesn't fall entirely on his shoulders and in fact his boss seems like a much more detestable character because he allows "Frank" to do all of the outlandish things.
The film goes for a playful, cartoony story and it works well most of the time. The special effects are terrific and the over-the-top characters are fun (with the exception of the Ghost of Christmas present, which is terribly unfunny and irritating).
What really doesn't work is when the film tries to pull your heartstrings. Murray is awful when he cries for help and never seems genuine. To compensate for this a character named "Brice" (played by John Glover) is introduced to be the "bad guy".
This character is simply introduced so we can have the illusion the "Frank" has changed when he takes over the reins from his rival. If you really take a look at the film you'll see that "Brice" is a far more likeable character than "Frank" is, so his addition is just an attempt to manipulate the audience.
His transformation from an uncaring, selfish executive to a generous man seems phoney and focussed on getting the girl of his dreams back instead of genuinely understanding the spirit of christmas. The ending also feels tacked on, with a character recovering from an illness for no reason whatsoever.
Overall there are some amusing parts but not only is "Scrooged" not very funny; it completely misses the boat on what made "A Christmas carol" special and it's a mess unless you're a hardcore Bill Murray fan.
(VHS, December 22, 2012)(3 1/2 stars, February 2012).
This review of Scrooged (1988) was written by Adam F on 28 Dec 2012.
Scrooged has generally received positive reviews.
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