SummaryHigh-spirited high jinks on Christmas Eve put Frank Cross in a ghostly time warp in this take-off of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Cross, who has made the meteoric rise from the depths of the mailroom to TV network president, is mean, nasty, uncaring, unforgiving and has a sadistic sense of humor - perfect qualities for a modern-...
SummaryHigh-spirited high jinks on Christmas Eve put Frank Cross in a ghostly time warp in this take-off of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Cross, who has made the meteoric rise from the depths of the mailroom to TV network president, is mean, nasty, uncaring, unforgiving and has a sadistic sense of humor - perfect qualities for a modern-...
Scrooged doesn't pack the wallop of "A Christmas Carol" - you won't cry or walk out resolving to become a better person - but it's a funny and imaginative high-class effort. Best of all, it stars Bill Murray, who has only to raise an eyebrow to get laughs. [23 Nov 1988, p.E1]
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 **** classic though of course), so I'd gladly recommend it and say its worth watching if your interested in it.
One of the essential Christmas movies, a great reimagination of Charles **** “A Christmas Carol” in modern times with an amazing Bill Murray. I never understood the critics here that hated the movie with passion. They were not that much out of touch back then as today.” A Christmas Carol” is one of them most famous works of Charles **** and tells the story of the old and cold or lets say life hardened Ebenezer Scrooge and his self discovery journey on Christmas where he is visited by ghosts of past, present and future Christmas. It is a timeless classic, creative and something critics and casual readers will praise together. Instead of playing it safe with a normal adaption they transferred the setting to modern times. Story: Frank Cross is on the top of the world. He is president of IBC Television and pretty ruthless. For Christmas he wants to make big money with a live adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” and even his commercial idea is really messed up. He did not know that he will have a bigger part in this as he will be visited by the ghost of past, present and future Christmas. I truly love this story. It is so hard to screw this up with additions to a classic story and you see how “modernizing” ruined many modern movies, series and characters. Here it works. We get the classics of the old story, a modern take that works well and of cause Bill Murray who positively exceeds at being Bill Murray. Characters: Bill Murray as Frank Cross is awesome and his performance alone is worth watching the movie. Of cause the ghost of Christmas past, present and future with Carol Kane, David Johansen and Robert Hammod. All are amazing and nail their roles. They leave an impact and are truly rememberable. Karen Allen as Claire Phillips is excellent to and I wished she had more screentime. The rest of the cast enhance the movie too and I see no missteps. Visually I say the effects, costumes and make up work well. For make up they were nominated for the Oscars to give some perspective. They made again no missteps here in this category. I nearly forgot the music which would be a shame. It is so sneakingly good that you do not notice how much it enhances the atmosphere. It you pay attention you will recognize a real good soundtrack. Lastly I want to praise director Richard Donner for this movie too. Overall I repeat this is a Christmas classic and if it has not nostalgic value it will certainly get it sooner or later. An easy 10/10.
In Scrooged, a sub-Saturday Night Live re-make parody of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Ghostbuster Bill Murray busts up two of the festive ghosts (Christmas Past and Future) and mugs more than Mr. Magoo. [24 Nov 1988, p.C19]
Scrooged is one of the most disquieting, unsettling films to come along in quite some time. It was obviously intended as a comedy, but there is little comic about it, and indeed the movie's overriding emotions seem to be pain and anger.
Tacky in the extreme, this self-congratulatory 1988 film is an exercise in hypocrisy, indulging every form of Christmas exploitation that it pretends to attack, and many of the laughs are forced.
Scrooged is an appallingly unfunny comedy, and a vivid illustration of the fact that money can't buy you laughs. Its stocking spilling with big names and production values galore, this updating of Dickens' A Christmas Carol into the world of cutthroat network television is, one episode apart, able to generate only a few mild chuckles.
Exceeded expectations, especially given the middling reviews and cheesy trailer. Solid Christmas flick, even though I watched it over the summer. It's hard to say what makes a movie good, but it works. It's not hilariously funny, and you shouldn't go into it looking for belly laughs, but it does make you smile and give you a few feels along the way.
Disconnected so called "critics"who just didn't get it. This movie has become a classic as one of the best Xmas films of all time. Has become a must during the holidays.
Surprisingly, I didn't enjoy 'Scrooged' all that much.
I never really clicked with this 1988 release whilst I was watching it. Bill Murray is fine, the Ghost of Christmas Past is good and the bits of the plot involving Alfre Woodard's character are decent. That's all I have for noteworthy positives, though. The vibe of the film felt off to me. I didn't connect with Murray's Frank at any point, whether it be the past, the present or the future version of him.
I get, as Scrooge, you're supposed to dislike him, but I've seen a fair few versions of 'A Christmas Carol' and I feel like the Scrooge character is usually moreso cowardly bad, as in he'll be horrid to people behind their back or under his breath - as opposed to Frank Cross, who is in your face, over the top, overtly mean. Perhaps I'm misremembering or it just stuck out to me more here as I didn't like much else from the 100 or so minutes.
For an Xmas flick, also, it doesn't hit the Christmassy spot either. It could've done with more warmth, or at least some entertaining and/or funny moments; I did minorly chuckle a few times, I will say, but not nearly enough. I still wouldn't describe this as a 'bad' film, but it is quite far adrift of being a positive in my books.
I thought this would've be a good'un, many think it is which is fair, but for me I unfortunately didn't particularly like it.
A good black comedy ... that will displease a lot of people.
The problem with black humor is that it does not appeal to many people. Maybe that's why this movie is one of the least known of Bill Murray's extensive filmography. In this case, the film traces back and updates the story "A Christmas Carol," a timeless classic of every Christmas since **** wrote it.
This time the protagonist is a media tycoon who mistreats all the people around him and is deeply materialistic. However, the intervention of three humorous spirits will change the way they are, giving the film a very emotional ending and giving Murray a beautiful and profound monologue. The film has a joke, but being black humor will certainly displease many people. Murray made an excellent interpretation, I can hardly think of an actor more suitable for that character. The remaining cast is limited to give him the indispensable support, giving Murray all the space needed to shine.
Like the Holiday festivities themselves, adaptations of Charles ****' "A Christmas Carol" come and go. Some are timeless, stick-to-your-ribs adaptations, while others are fun reinventions of the celebrated material in question. This. . .kind of wants to be both? Born out of the premise that this was going to be a refreshing deconstruction of the classic **** tale, "Scrooged" definitely maintains a common streak of self-awareness. But you can't in good conscience have a protagonist -- who's well accustomed to all of the tropes, twists, and turns of the **** story -- end up falling for the same tricks in the end. Ultimately, this ended up being more of an adherence to the original story than I preferred. At least Bill Murray is eminently watchable.