Murray fits the Bill as an 80's Scrooge
Scrooged (1988)
"Scrooged" the Bill Murray headed version of "A Christmas Carol" is one of the most memorable and entertaining adaptations of the famous Christmas tale I have watched. Released back in 1988 and also featuring John Forsythe as well as Karen Allen alongside Bill Murray, "Scrooged" adapts the Charles Dickens tale to a modern setting and turning what is often a dark storyline into a humorous one whilst keeping the message of "Do unto others as you would expect them to do unto you" clearly in focus. It is a movie which despite being made over 20 years ago is still as fun and hilarious now as it was back at the end of the 80's, all but a little bit dated when it comes to fashions and technology references.
In "Scrooged" Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, a TV executive who is known for his meanest and brutal honesty as well as an uncanny similarity to Ebenezer Scrooge, which is quite apt as Franks big Christmas project is a modern day reworking of "A Christmas Carol". But Frank's curmudgeonly ways are brought into check when on Christmas Eve he is visited by a series of ghosts which force him to take a long hard look at his life.
"Scrooged" is definitely one of my favourite versions of A Christmas Carol and whilst it is an all round family friendly movie I have to say it probably holds more charm for those who were introduced to it as teenagers back at the end of the 80s. What also makes it so good is that it brings up to date a tale which predominantly ends up being a period piece. Don't get me wrong as I like the 1970 and 1951 versions of "A Christmas Carol" but to adapt the Charles Dickens story into a modern setting makes it all that more appealing and allows for the emphasis of the movie to be put on humour rather than the darkness of the original storyline.
Why "Scrooged" works so well is not just in the pace that the movie but in the speed of the jokes which work for all age groups so that whilst children watching can laugh at the innocence of a bit of humour something else will be triggering laughs for the adults. But whilst all the humour is bounding about and it is one of those movies which is laugh a minute it is all tied together in the traditional storyline and despite all the frivolity still manages to deliver the wholesome message, although I have to admit the ending featuring the song "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" is although good is also very cheesy.
What also helps "Scrooged" is the character of Frank Cross who is not just miserly and uncharitable as in the traditional story, but he is also sarcastic and comically evil making him a nasty as well as funny character which is more importantly likable. One scene which sticks out that illustrates this is when he suggests that to solve the problem of antlers falling of the head of the mice they should be stapled on, it's a nasty suggestion but in the context of the scene and Bill Murray's delivery of the line it is also funny. This brings me nicely to Bill Murray who seems to be having a blast playing a character which is both energetic and sarcastic something which is perfect for Murray's smart-ass persona. It is Murray who makes "Scrooged" such a memorable movie and who delivers the majority of the humour thanks to a nice series of flippant lines.
As for the rest of the cast, who are over shadowed by Murray's performance, you have the likes of John Forsythe as his old boss, David Johansen as the ghost of Christmas past, Carol Kane as the ghost of Christmas Present as well as roles for the likes of Jamie Farr, Robert Mitchum, Bobcat Goldthwait and also Alfre Woodard. Whilst all do a good job one of the nicest things is that "Scrooged" ties in elements from their previous movies to make a few in jokes. For example Bobcat Goldthwaite says the same lines he used in the Police Academy Movies and from Murray's past they bring in a reference to "The Little Shop of Horrors" with the line "Feed Me Seymour". These in jokes make "Scrooged" great fun for those who enjoy movies.
One thing which does let "Scrooged" down is that unsurprisingly it does feel a little dated, not so much in the humour but the overall look. With fashions looking distinctly 80s and references to things which are now archaic it certainly hasn't faired so well as other movies made in the 80's. But even so it is a wonderful movie, especially for those who enjoyed it so much when it first came out.
What this all boils down to is that "Scrooged" is a wonderful Christmas movie full of humour which updates the classic Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol to a much more modern setting without loosing the moral message. Whilst it will probably be appreciated more by those who watched it in their younger days it is still as much fun for all the family today as it was when originally released.
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- Title: Scrooged
- Year: 1988
- Length: 101 mins
- Certificate: PG
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Director: Richard Donner
- Cast: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, David Johansen, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Alfre Woodard, Jamie Farr
- The Movie Scene Rating:
