Scrooged

The 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickins has become one of the most popular stories to retell in recent media, with various versions coming out throughout the years through multiple different styles and presentations yet still containing the strength of the original. Due to its popularity, it has the opportunity to be stretched to new areas and showcased in a new light as long as the core of the original story stays true, and for the most part, that has been the case with even children friendly adaptations done by Disney and The Muppets (although Mr Magoo and the Flintstones might be pushing it a bit). So, when a modern-day versions is created with Bill Murray as the star, it doesn’t seem too out of place and if handled correctly, could capture the same amount of magic, and the 1988 family comedy, Scrooged, did definitely leave an impression to say the least. Frank Cross (played by Bill Murray) is a selfish cynical TV executive who treats those around him terribly like his personal assistant Grace (played by Alfre Woodard) and his brother, James (played by Bill Murray’s real brother, John Murray). He is looking to alter his company’s extravagant live performance of A Christmas Carol into what he envisions, making it more raunchy, commercialized, and mean-spirited all in the hopes of impressing his boss Preston (played by Robert Mitchum). After firing run-down loser worker, Eliot Loudermilk (played by Bobcat Goldthwaite) for disagreeing with him, the recently deceased and unloved owner of Frank’s business, Lew Hayward (played by John Forsythe) returns to warn him about his fate in death unless he changes his ways. He’s visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future (played by David Johansen, Carol Kane, and Robert Hammond) who force him to recollect on his life, make him come to grips with his past failures involving his family and his estranged girlfriend Claire (played by Karen Allen) through becoming too encompassed in his work, and to see the harm he is putting on those around and how their future’s will be just as bleak and lifeless as if he doesn’t get his Christmas spirit back. Receiving a mix response from critics upon release, Scrooged has grown a bit of a following over the years, with some seeing it as ahead of its time through its portrayal of modern consumerism and appreciate the film as alternate version of the classic Dickens’ tale. Though undoubtedly messy in many ways and its hard to call this a fantastic change-up to the story, it scraps by on its positives to make it an intriguing watch.

Considering that this entire premise is based around an alternate take on A Christmas Carol, it’s weird to see that the film both does and doesn’t work as an adaptation of the story. On the one hand, the changes made to the original source like the modern perspective and the perception of familiar roles changing in this new environment are pretty good. The film’s usage of the TV production of A Christmas Carol being destroyed by overly-updating the source to the point of being unrecognizable and clearly pandering to what’s popular and even controversial as a means of sticking out and possibly offending people, is a smart idea when it comes to this brand considering how many adaptations there have been, but on the other hand, Scrooged isn’t a story that necessarily destroyed the original story, but does seem weirdly comfortable with sidelining it. Since the project deviates so heavily from the story outside of the basic outline and characters, certain components that are usually crucial to the narrative now feel more like useless and pointless roles due to how little they’re used. Usually, crucial characters like Tiny Tim and The Cratchits (who in this version are portrayed by Bobcat Goldthwait’s character while also being shared by Alfre Woodard) have little to no real connection with Frank as a character, so their fates don’t feel as tragic or as conjoined with the main story. If the film wanted to adjust roles and change up the purpose behind them, it can do that perfectly well and even inclusions like giving more focus to Frank’s family and love life are nice additions, but instead of changing the order and purpose of roles to fit within their own story, they inserted over them and left the regular name still with the same purpose, but nowhere near the same amount of screen time and therefore feel worthless in the end result. While there is an element of darkness surrounding parts of the conclusion, it doesn’t reach a strong enough level to leave an impact, only going about as intense and uncomfortable as a 90s comedy or a sketch comedy bit could allow for. The director for this movie was Richard Donner, who’d proven his talents quite strongly previously with work like the Christopher Reeve’s Superman films and The Goonies, but he doesn’t feel like the best choice for this film, at least with how the script lays the film out. Both the writers for this film, Mitch Glazer, and Michael O’Donoghue, were frequent collaborators and worked together with Murray on Saturday Night Live, which explains the style, tone and even pace of several scenes within this movie, which have a very extravagant feel that not only feels out-of-place for A Christmas Carol, but also for Donner as well. Apparently, there was quite a bit of conflict between Murray and Donner on set that came from their confliction over how to handle certain scenes, and it can be felt with how much this story feels weirdly segmented between an adaptation and a typical Bill Murray 90s film. Without the contrast that comes with its dark yet hopeful narrative, the message isn’t as strong or feel quite as profound and unique as it was when it was first showcased, coming across like any random story of forgiveness rather than something that is timeless enough to last over a full century.

The characters, though vastly different, fit their prescribed roles well enough. Since the roles are so iconic and crucial to delivering the story, the manner in which they are portrayed is key to the film’s success. In this film, they are nothing like the originals which allows for a more spontaneous approach where it’s hard to determine who’s fits into what role and how they’re fates will be changed (if that even will occur), but they are never fleshed out enough to be worth getting invested in. The starring role in this film is Bill Murray, who does single handled save many moments that would’ve otherwise fallen flat. Since the script isn’t that humorous, it relies on Murray’s energy and talent to get through and for the most part, he does it pretty well. The tough cynical jerk boss character he’s stuck with in the beginning does feel like every Bill Murray role at the time, but the light-hearted joker that he becomes come the end of the movie has this element of goofiness, but also feels genuine as well. He does still have a lot of unfunny lines to say and sometimes his over-the-top acting can feel lost and awkward, but he does provide some great comedy and some decent emotion at the end. The rest of the supportive cast do well with the bit parts they are given. Karen Allen is fine of the ex-girlfriend, Bobcat’s voice gets annoying really quick, but the acting is fine, Robert Mitchum as the villain is likeably hateable, John Forsythe does good in his brief scene, and Alfre Woodard is fine but doesn’t quite capture the heart that is required for that kind of role. Most of these roles are passable, but they don’t bring a lot outside of serving their purpose within the story, which doesn’t help them stand out much. The various different ghosts however are all really entertaining, feel different from their usual portrayals thanks to the actors, and have many stand out scenes; David Johansen has a great passion and frantic energy, Carol Kane’s bubbly and air-headed delivery combined with her sudden brutality on Murray provides an entertaining sequence, and Christmas future has a great design and eerie presence which is appreciated in a film that is a little too bombastic to be as intense as it needs to be.

The strongest elements of this film are the ambiance and the production behind it. The film captures the uncomfortable mood that Christmas Carol thrives in, helped out by the cinematography done by Michael Chapman. Though the city is a generic looking city, the camera work captures the grand overpowering presence it has on the city and gives the place a more sophisticated look compared to the later simpler locations. Each scene is shot, paced, and directed with great detail and effort in creating a rich warm inviting atmosphere in the Christmas moments. The city itself doesn’t have much daytime scenes which means the constant black sky mixed with the bright colorful Christmas lights and pitch white snow creates a nice Christmas feeling and because of the metropolitan setting, it adds a new feel to the typical Christmas Carol format while still showcasing the troubling components that haven’t gone away like poverty and homelessness. The make-up is impressive as well, with a lot of spirits having good texturing, varied colors, and a realistic look to it, as well as giving the film a creative difference from the normalcy of the other scenes. The ghost of Christmas Future is especially distinct as the only ghost with a truly unique and inhuman design, and one that really feels like a crazy movie monster. Its giant, commanding, mysterious, the TV screen face is a nice modern touch and that matched with the gruesome monsters within his cloak is nice to marvel at and appreciate. The music done by Danny Elfman knows how to capture the comforting whimsical magic of Christmas joy but also a dark mysterious fast-paced creepy melody that he is known for creating.

Scrooged does have glaring issues in terms of its writing and story and does feel simplified and never reaches the height of the original classic, but this film isn’t without any pluses. The actors all have great passion, it looks and sounds very nice, and it did create a new environment that felt like Christmas Carol in the current time without it being overly corny. It could have been a lot worse, but the sometime hammy acting and the overall pointlessness of the film doesn’t real make it a true Christmas Carol movie, more a completely mediocre average Christmas film with a Christmas Carol edge. With some nice Christmas moments and enough of a bite to its visual and atmosphere to help it stand out, it has a charm that’s enough to watch. Even though you won’t receive anything drastically new, it will still come off as a completely middle of the road film.