Scrooged (1988)
December 24, 2015 7:36 PM - Subscribe

Frank Cross is a selfish, cynical T.V. executive whose plans include a live broadcast of "A Christmas Carol" on Christmas Eve. He is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
posted by the man of twists and turns (10 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is one of my top five favorite movies. They did such an excellent job "reimagining" the christmas ghosts. Carol Kane. You can not beat that woman for comedy genius. And Bobcat Goldthwait as a demented former employee....It manages to be a completely predictable film that entertains and engages with its creative execution. And I find it a particularly prescient film in terms of the battle between selfish pursuit of empty material wealth and true love for humanity.

Not to mention Bill Murray doing Richard Burton.

Merry Christmas, Lumpy. And God Bless Us, Every One.
posted by miss-lapin at 12:09 PM on December 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


This is my second-favorite version of A Christmas Carol (after the Muppet version). Bill Murray is great, of course, and you see some of the same tragic-but-funny acting that he'll display later in my favorite movie, "Groundhog Day".

I like the fact that this is the only version of A Christmas Carol where Scrooge gets a second chance with his lost love. (The original Dickens story goes so far as to have the Ghost of Christmas Present show Scrooge a scene of his ex, Belle, living in a house full of kids with her husband.)

Brilliant, especially in the 80s, to have "TV Executive" replace "Moneylender" as the vilest profession. And the story-within-a-story of the world's most horrible version of "A Christmas Carol" being made for live TV, complete with real actors playing themselves, is hilarious.

Carol Kane is amazing. Also "Buster Poindexter" as the equally insane Ghost of Christmas Past.

Notably the film features two of Bill Murray's brothers, John Murray (playing Frank's brother) and Brian Doyle Murray (playing his father in the flashback).

I loved Bobcat Goldthwait too, and the fact that they managed to use "disgruntled co-worker having a breakdown and bringing a gun to work to kill people" be mostly comic relief shows a twisted gift for dark comedy.

And having the "tiny tim" character be a mentally-ill kid who can't talk, and manages to choke out "God Bless Us Every One" at the end, gets me every time.
posted by mmoncur at 10:55 PM on December 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


I love this movie with all my heart. For some reason, my mom got me the soundtrack on cassette back when it came out, so that Al Green/Annie Lennox collaboration is burned in my head forever. As a bonus, fifteen years after I first saw this film, I got hired at a TV network to do promos and let me tell you, those scenes with Frank's insane demands to his cowering execs are the best preparation I could have ever had for that job.
posted by roger ackroyd at 8:35 AM on December 26, 2015 [4 favorites]


Carol Kane pretty much steals every scene she's in (see Gotham), and she certainly helps put this movie at the top of my Xmas movie list.

On my next rewatch (in the next couple of days, hopefully), I'll pay more attention to Bobcat, who I also love dearly.

The other memory that I love from this dark dark movie is the staples; just staple them on.
posted by el io at 1:07 AM on December 27, 2015 [2 favorites]


This is my favorite Xmas movie. Every single bit of it.
posted by blurker at 1:39 PM on December 27, 2015


This is one of my favorite Christmas movies, a misanthropic classic for the ages. 68 Critics, 71 audiences at RT, 2 stars and 12+ from CommonSense, Ebert in '88 gives it one star, one of the ten things you might not know.

I like the ludicrousness, Frank's meanness, Karen Allen, "Neyeagrah Fawlls," the weirdness of Carol Kane, the insanity of a live Christmas Eve production of A Christmas Carol, stapling mouse antlers, NYC in Christmas, Frank's marketing plan, John Glover and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

Put A Little Love In Your Heart
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:04 PM on December 30, 2015 [2 favorites]


This just in: Carol Kane and Karen Allen Spill on Scrooged
posted by roger ackroyd at 7:00 AM on December 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


For whatever reason, my favorite thing about this movie is Mitchum's ideas for TV for cats.
posted by the phlegmatic king at 7:23 AM on December 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


Just rewatched this week.

"You can hardly see dem nipples."
"See? And they're really looking."

Always makes me crack up.
posted by greermahoney at 9:38 PM on December 23, 2018 [1 favorite]


"TV for cats."

It's hilarious because I can honestly see that happening. In fact, I'm a little surprised it hasn't already.
posted by miss-lapin at 5:46 AM on December 20, 2019


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