Scrooged

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Scrooged is a modern (as of the late 1980s) update of the Ebenezer Scrooge Christmas Carol story. The movie centers around Frank Cross (played by Bill Murray). Cross is naturally an asshole who only cares about himself. He is the head of a television company. So, I love this movie. I mean the story of a jerk being humbled is nothing original. Admittedly, it's hard to do a lot of incredibly original ideas with another telling of A Christmas Carol. Here's what I love about this particular adaptation that none of the rest really do. The ghosts that visit him are complete dicks to him, in addition to trying to show him the error of his ways. My favorite is probably Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present, who just subjects Cross to constant physical abuse. Now, youreally get an understanding of why Cross is the way he is. His father wasn't much of a dad to him. It makes sense because he would do what he raised to believe. I also love Bobcat Goldthwait as an employee that Cross fires. The man just kind of goes over the deep end. A lot of the humor has a dark, mean-spirited undertone. I've already mentioned the physical and mental abuse that the ghosts inflict on Cross throughout the movie. Goldthwait's character gets pushed to the point he decides he's going to kill Cross. But, you also get a good heart and character development to this movie. The ghosts also get some update. For example, the Ghost of Christmas Past (played by David Johansen) is a phantom taxi driver in this movie. The Jacob Marley stand-in in this movie is Lew Hayward (played by Jon Forsythe). Instead of being a business partner, he was more of a mentor and superior figure. Scrooged works because it embraces its dark, mean-spirited sense of humor and because Bill Murray gives the movie his all.

9 / 10