Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Richard Donner’s 1988 Christmas classic Scrooged. Yule love it!
Scrooged is a loose film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Bill Murray stars as Frank Cross, an extremely successful, yet arrogant and cold-hearted TV executive, who is tasked with overseeing the live broadcast of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Cross has thrown everyone that cares about him by the wayside as success is his single motivation in life. While working late the night before the live broadcast, Cross is visited by Lew Hayward (John Forsythe), his deceased, unloved former mentor. Hayward warns Cross that he will be visited by three spirits to help change Cross’ fate. Before disappearing, Hayward dials the number of Claire Phillips (Karen Allen), whom Cross had a relationship with years before. After Cross is visited by Karen on the set of the live broadcast, he realizes that Hayward’s warning may be true. Soon after, Cross is visited by the the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Will Frank Cross remain a miserable wretch or will he change his ways and reconnect with loved ones?
While labeled as a Christmas comedy, Scrooged is very dark. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, Frank Cross is an absolutely miserable and unlikable character. However, if we’re picking who the worst employer is I’d give the edge to Cross. While the two are very similar, Cross is the personification of corporate greed during holidays: He refused to give bonuses and gave bath towels as gifts. Bill Murray’s portrayal of Frank Cross is excellent and makes an awful character somewhat funny. The film isn’t complete misery as characters Cross’ love interest Claire Phillips (Karen Allen), Cross’ secretary Grace Cooley (Alfre Woodard), and Cross’ brother James (John Murray) light up an otherwise dark film. My favorite character was the recently fired and high-pitched Eliot Loudermilk (Bobcat Goldthwait). The whole film it seems Loudermilk can’t catch a break and is driven to a low point that leaves the audience feeling bad for laughing.
I see fans of Christmas films being split on Scrooged. While the typical Christmas film is filled with joy, wonder, and fantasy, Scrooged is extremely dark with some comedic themes. It’s not one that a family will sit down and watch every year, but it is a good alternative for those that prefer Christmas films with some edge. If you’re a Bill Murray fan like myself, you’ll definitely want to add Scrooged to your collection of classic Murray films.
The 30th anniversary release includes Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD. Other than the theatrical trailer, there are no special features. The film features a stunning display thanks to 1080p high definition. I watched Scrooged on Blu-ray and it’s hard to believe the film is 30 years old. The audio is enhanced as well by 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.
Overall, Scrooged is a good film. Are there too many adaptations of A Christmas Carol? Perhaps. But as long as films find ways to add unique twists, I’m okay with the abundance of adaptations. Scrooged does an excellent job of creating a unique “modern” perspective of Dickens’ holiday classic.
