Scrooged [1988] - Bill Murray

Abishai100

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Scrooged is a 1988 American Christmas comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Based on the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Scrooged is a modern retelling that follows Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a cynical and selfish television executive, who is visited by a succession of ghosts on Christmas Eve intent on helping him regain his Christmas spirit. The film also stars Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Michael J. Pollard, and Alfre Woodard (source of information: Wikipedia).

Bill Murray is simply perfect as the wry and worldly-jaded successful American tycoon and TV/media shark Frank Cross, and the supporting cast does a terrific job making this offbeat modernized Christmas film come to life.

There have been countless adaptations of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, including a recent high-profile American computer-animated film starring Jim Carrey. However, what makes Donner's Scrooged stand out really is its quirky approach to comedic romanticism towards the holiday season.

We see cliched visits to the impoverished and reflections of vain romance and workaholic regrets, but the comedic approach gives Dickens' iconic Christmas story a terrific 'modern urban color.' I really like Karen Allen and Carol Kane as two major female characters complementing Frank Cross's storyline --- one as his sometime companion/lover and the other the visiting/guiding 'ghost of Christmas present.' Carol Kane does a nice job combining spiritual teachings with rough-and-tough mauling of Frank's insensitivity.

Scrooged is also nice, since it captures our new age social fascination with 'media environment office-place aesthetics,' which is why I actually compare it to atmospheric 'media-society' films such as Switching Channels, EDtv, and Celebrity.




:50:

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In the opening scene, we see a strange vision of an offbeat Christmas-promo film starring Lee Majors blasting ninja-invaders with a big gun to protect Santa's workshop. Frank Cross is surveying the film in his office with his employees/subordinates before offering his own more exploitative suggestions, if you can believe that he can be even more exploitative. We quickly realize Scrooged is a story about 'modern vanity.'

scrooged1.jpg

As Frank prepares for an important assignment involving a grand Christmas special for his very impressive TV network, he begins to think about the quality of modern media, but he does so with a very wry sense of humor.

scrooged9.jpg

Frank is a real fat-cat, but he's affable enough for us to wonder if he was once a nice guy. Bill Murray does a terrific job here giving this kind of dimension to the Dickens character of Ebenezer Scrooge, a man jaded by wealth and in need of a jolting Christmas-spirit reminder.

scrooged10.jpg

In the 1980s, consumerism really started taking off, and Reaganomics fueled a great deal of spending. TVs were very stylish to own and boast, and people really cared about ratings, as major programs such as Dallas, Dynasty, and Hotel were quite popular. Well, Donner decides to cast Dickens' tale through the consumerism-lens of big-time media aesthetics, so Frank Cross is a real 'media gargoyle.'

scrooged13.jpg

The set designs and sleek colorings give the film a very clean look and urbanized 'feel,' so you feel very invited to 'explore' the world of metropolitan sentimentality and gorgeousness and again the comedic lines accent the overall niceties regarding 1980s 'attractiveness.'

scrooged12.jpg

Frank is visited by the ghost-spirit of his old boss who reminds him that he must take haste to amend his life or he'll become a wasted zombie just as he has become.

scrooged4.jpg

His boss warns him not to take this 'challenge' lightly!

scrooged5.jpg

Frank is visited by a crazy taxi-driving spook who happens to be the 'ghost of Christmas past' and he is taken back to his childhood home to reflect on his innocence and then his younger days at his TV company when he first met his lover Claire whom he took for granted while pursuing great ambitions. He's then visited by the 'ghost of Christmas present' (Carol Kane) who shows him how the economically-struggling family of his African-American secretary Grace reveals Frank's overall neglect towards human needs. He also visits his brother's Christmas party and realizes he's been ignoring his own family. Carol Kane is very entertaining as a very eccentric provocateur.

scrooged7.jpg

Frank continues to meditate on his life and spirit while helping his TV studio produce the big-time Christmas special his new boss is very focused on for major ratings. However, Frank is slowly starting to think about values and virtue.

scrooged6.jpg

Consumerism has changed the way we think about treasures and entertainment and shopping, so a Donner film-adaptation of Dickens' omen-tale about Christmas-neglect is the perfect accent to our continuing 'consumerism/commerce centric American society.'

scrooged14.jpg

When Frank is compelled to see his lover/companion Claire again, he does not have a full reconciliation but is moved to think about his mistakes. He is then about to be visited by the final spectre, the ominous 'ghost of Christmas future.'

scrooged8.jpg

If you watch Christmas movies with your family (spouse, kids, etc.), then Scrooged will have you thinking more 'brightly' about why you buy toys and what kinds of fineries you spend money on to 'celebrate' the holiday season. We see, for example, snippets of classic TV shows including The Lone Ranger (when Frank travels back in time to his childhood home) and think about the 'evolution' of media/marketing.

scrooged15.jpg

After Frank's revelational visit by the final spectre, he really awakens his spirit and demands to change his life completely. However, I won't give away what happens here, since there are some nice quirks and surprises. Once again, Bill Murray does a perfect job of capturing this dimension of the Dickensian character 'transforming' metaphysically.

scrooged11.gif


The touching moments when Frank visits the impoverished adds some unanticipated sentiment to this "modern Big '80s world" of offices, cars, TVs, and shopping.

scrooged2.jpg

Also to note is the wonderful soundtrack, which features contributions by Annie Lennox. The film-making is very sharp and the editing is nearly flawless, making it both a family-treat and a cinematic gem. It's odd how this Donner film feels somewhat 'under-valued.'

scrooged3.jpg

This is a terrific Christmas movie to watch with your girlfriend/wife or kids as well. That's because Donner manages to capture all the 'stylishness' of Christmas in the modern world. I give this film a solid 4/5 stars, but only because I'd give a more 'religious' film such as William Wyler's Ben-Hur 5/5 stars.


====


:abgg2q.jpg:
 
Murray's tiresome mugging for the camera doesn't carry the movie. It's the last "Christmas" movie I would ever recommend for my grand kids. It's even worse than "Groundhog Day".
 
Scrooged is a 1988 American Christmas comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Based on the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Scrooged is a modern retelling that follows Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a cynical and selfish television executive, who is visited by a succession of ghosts on Christmas Eve intent on helping him regain his Christmas spirit. The film also stars Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Michael J. Pollard, and Alfre Woodard (source of information: Wikipedia).

Bill Murray is simply perfect as the wry and worldly-jaded successful American tycoon and TV/media shark Frank Cross, and the supporting cast does a terrific job making this offbeat modernized Christmas film come to life.

There have been countless adaptations of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, including a recent high-profile American computer-animated film starring Jim Carrey. However, what makes Donner's Scrooged stand out really is its quirky approach to comedic romanticism towards the holiday season.

We see cliched visits to the impoverished and reflections of vain romance and workaholic regrets, but the comedic approach gives Dickens' iconic Christmas story a terrific 'modern urban color.' I really like Karen Allen and Carol Kane as two major female characters complementing Frank Cross's storyline --- one as his sometime companion/lover and the other the visiting/guiding 'ghost of Christmas present.' Carol Kane does a nice job combining spiritual teachings with rough-and-tough mauling of Frank's insensitivity.

Scrooged is also nice, since it captures our new age social fascination with 'media environment office-place aesthetics,' which is why I actually compare it to atmospheric 'media-society' films such as Switching Channels, EDtv, and Celebrity.




:50:

====

In the opening scene, we see a strange vision of an offbeat Christmas-promo film starring Lee Majors blasting ninja-invaders with a big gun to protect Santa's workshop. Frank Cross is surveying the film in his office with his employees/subordinates before offering his own more exploitative suggestions, if you can believe that he can be even more exploitative. We quickly realize Scrooged is a story about 'modern vanity.'

View attachment 217282

As Frank prepares for an important assignment involving a grand Christmas special for his very impressive TV network, he begins to think about the quality of modern media, but he does so with a very wry sense of humor.

View attachment 217283

Frank is a real fat-cat, but he's affable enough for us to wonder if he was once a nice guy. Bill Murray does a terrific job here giving this kind of dimension to the Dickens character of Ebenezer Scrooge, a man jaded by wealth and in need of a jolting Christmas-spirit reminder.

View attachment 217284

In the 1980s, consumerism really started taking off, and Reaganomics fueled a great deal of spending. TVs were very stylish to own and boast, and people really cared about ratings, as major programs such as Dallas, Dynasty, and Hotel were quite popular. Well, Donner decides to cast Dickens' tale through the consumerism-lens of big-time media aesthetics, so Frank Cross is a real 'media gargoyle.'

View attachment 217285

The set designs and sleek colorings give the film a very clean look and urbanized 'feel,' so you feel very invited to 'explore' the world of metropolitan sentimentality and gorgeousness and again the comedic lines accent the overall niceties regarding 1980s 'attractiveness.'

View attachment 217286

Frank is visited by the ghost-spirit of his old boss who reminds him that he must take haste to amend his life or he'll become a wasted zombie just as he has become.

View attachment 217287

His boss warns him not to take this 'challenge' lightly!

View attachment 217288

Frank is visited by a crazy taxi-driving spook who happens to be the 'ghost of Christmas past' and he is taken back to his childhood home to reflect on his innocence and then his younger days at his TV company when he first met his lover Claire whom he took for granted while pursuing great ambitions. He's then visited by the 'ghost of Christmas present' (Carol Kane) who shows him how the economically-struggling family of his African-American secretary Grace reveals Frank's overall neglect towards human needs. He also visits his brother's Christmas party and realizes he's been ignoring his own family. Carol Kane is very entertaining as a very eccentric provocateur.

View attachment 217289

Frank continues to meditate on his life and spirit while helping his TV studio produce the big-time Christmas special his new boss is very focused on for major ratings. However, Frank is slowly starting to think about values and virtue.

View attachment 217290

Consumerism has changed the way we think about treasures and entertainment and shopping, so a Donner film-adaptation of Dickens' omen-tale about Christmas-neglect is the perfect accent to our continuing 'consumerism/commerce centric American society.'

View attachment 217291

When Frank is compelled to see his lover/companion Claire again, he does not have a full reconciliation but is moved to think about his mistakes. He is then about to be visited by the final spectre, the ominous 'ghost of Christmas future.'

View attachment 217292

If you watch Christmas movies with your family (spouse, kids, etc.), then Scrooged will have you thinking more 'brightly' about why you buy toys and what kinds of fineries you spend money on to 'celebrate' the holiday season. We see, for example, snippets of classic TV shows including The Lone Ranger (when Frank travels back in time to his childhood home) and think about the 'evolution' of media/marketing.

View attachment 217293

After Frank's revelational visit by the final spectre, he really awakens his spirit and demands to change his life completely. However, I won't give away what happens here, since there are some nice quirks and surprises. Once again, Bill Murray does a perfect job of capturing this dimension of the Dickensian character 'transforming' metaphysically.

View attachment 217294

The touching moments when Frank visits the impoverished adds some unanticipated sentiment to this "modern Big '80s world" of offices, cars, TVs, and shopping.

View attachment 217295

Also to note is the wonderful soundtrack, which features contributions by Annie Lennox. The film-making is very sharp and the editing is nearly flawless, making it both a family-treat and a cinematic gem. It's odd how this Donner film feels somewhat 'under-valued.'

View attachment 217296

This is a terrific Christmas movie to watch with your girlfriend/wife or kids as well. That's because Donner manages to capture all the 'stylishness' of Christmas in the modern world. I give this film a solid 4/5 stars, but only because I'd give a more 'religious' film such as William Wyler's Ben-Hur 5/5 stars.


====


:abgg2q.jpg:
I agree it's a very funny movie. However, Bill Murray's dry steel face comedy is not everyone's cup a tea. Stripes was his best movie.
 

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