Top 365 Films – #231 – Scrooged (1988)

DIRECTED BY: Richard Donner

STARRING: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover, Alfre Woodard, David Johansen, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Nicholas Phillips, Michael J. Pollard, Mabel King, John Murray, Wendie Malick, Brian Doyle-Murray and Bobcat Goldthwait

BUDGET: $32m

EARNED (Domestic): $60.3m

AWARDS: None (Oscar Nomination for Best Makeup)

 

SYNOPSIS

A selfish, cynical T.V. executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.

 

Scrooged has us following Frank Cross, a TV executive for the IBC Network that is planning on doing a live adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. He’s become very successful in the process has become cold-hearted, cynical and cruel, alienating himself from his brother and costing the relationship with the woman he loved. One night Frank is visited by his mentor Lew Hayward…the problem being that he’s a ghost. Lew warns him of his errors and that three more ghosts shall visit him later that evening.

 

Having a modernised Christmas Carol take, making it dark humoured and have Bill Murray do his thing, can only be a good thing right? From reviews back in the day, some didn’t take to the films humour, feeling it was as cold and cruel as Frank Cross himself was and for me, I assumed that was the point for when the character finally cracks under the weight of his errors spelled out for him. Also it helps that the film also pokes fun at the entertainment industry, such as how smug Frank is appreciating Christmas for one reason: it’s cold outside and everyone stays at home together and watches TV and how Frank has to deal with network owner looking for him to pay attention to scientific research in that they may need to make programming for the nations millions of dogs and cats. I do like the set designs that is on show here and the effects and makeup used for the ghosts, Lew Hayward in particular, with a traditional gothic score from Danny Elfman for the proceedings ahead, with memorable portrayals of the three ghosts, one a rough looking cigar smoking taxi driver, an angelic looking yet violent fairy and future guy is…well, is meant to scare the shit out of you. The film provides a lot of slapstick silliness and humour but keeps the key ingredients of the Dickens story in what keeps people watching it everytime Christmas season comes round and it’s definitely helped by Bill Murray’s performance as Frank, being almost in every shot and being hilarious (to me anyway) when he’s in fine grumpy form. Sure the ending may feel forced but does it make us just as cynical as Frank? Perhaps.

 

FAVOURITE SCENE: The arrival of Lew, a walking corpse, coming to see Frank in his office. Which leads to Frank shooting him and Lew stating he doesn’t mind hitting him but to ‘take it easy on the Barcadi’. Lew warns him of the three ghosts visiting the proceeds to put him through the window (literally) to the outside, dangling above the ground way way down below.

FAVOURITE QUOTE: ‘I never liked a girl well enough to give her twelve sharp knives.’ – Frank Cross

DID YOU KNOW?: Bill Murray and director Richard Donner reportedly did not enjoy working together creating a lot of tension on set. When asked by film critic Roger Ebert if he had any disagreements with Donner, Murray replied: “Only a few. Every single minute of the day. That could have been a really, really great movie. The script was so good. There’s maybe one take in the final cut movie that is mine. We made it so fast, it was like doing a movie live. He kept telling me to do things louder, louder, louder. I think he was deaf.”