Every year, I make it a point to watch one new (to me, at least) holiday-themed film. This year, it was "Scrooged". After years of seeing it played over and over on cable, I finally sat down to watch it all the way through. What I discovered was perhaps the worst "take" on A Christmas Carol that I have ever seen.
For a very basic overview, "Scrooged" follows Frank Cross (Bill Murray), a high-power TV executive who cares little for anything or anybody not helping his beloved ratings. While in the midst of staging a "Scrooge Live" sort of production, Frank himself is thrust into the shoes of the titular character, being shown the past, present, & future of his life should he continue on his jerk-ish path.
There was almost nothing here that worked for me from beginning to end. The entire film is over-the-top, garish, sometimes outright silly/stupid, and about the furthest tone from the source material as possible. Murray--truly a star when this film was made--is not everyone's cup of tea, and that will bear out in "Scrooged". The movie will not make you like him if you didn't, or not like him if you did. He also plays a character so unlikeable in a real-world sense that his "redemption" is almost patently ridiculous.
Truth be told, the biggest kick I got from "Scrooged" had nothing to do with the plot or characters but rather the star-studded cast. The likes of Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, Robert Mitchum, Carol Kane, Alfre Woodard, & Michael J. Pollard together under one roof is quite an ensemble.
Overall, though, I was bored (and sometimes outright disgusted or confused) by "Scrooged" from the opening credits through the closing ones. This is a holiday adaptation I will never be returning to.
For a very basic overview, "Scrooged" follows Frank Cross (Bill Murray), a high-power TV executive who cares little for anything or anybody not helping his beloved ratings. While in the midst of staging a "Scrooge Live" sort of production, Frank himself is thrust into the shoes of the titular character, being shown the past, present, & future of his life should he continue on his jerk-ish path.
There was almost nothing here that worked for me from beginning to end. The entire film is over-the-top, garish, sometimes outright silly/stupid, and about the furthest tone from the source material as possible. Murray--truly a star when this film was made--is not everyone's cup of tea, and that will bear out in "Scrooged". The movie will not make you like him if you didn't, or not like him if you did. He also plays a character so unlikeable in a real-world sense that his "redemption" is almost patently ridiculous.
Truth be told, the biggest kick I got from "Scrooged" had nothing to do with the plot or characters but rather the star-studded cast. The likes of Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, Robert Mitchum, Carol Kane, Alfre Woodard, & Michael J. Pollard together under one roof is quite an ensemble.
Overall, though, I was bored (and sometimes outright disgusted or confused) by "Scrooged" from the opening credits through the closing ones. This is a holiday adaptation I will never be returning to.