Frank Cross (Murray) is the youngest president of IBC television network. He avoids prolonged contact with his brother James (John Murray) and overworks his employees. It is Christmas Eve and Frank is producing a live broadcast of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol that will air around the world. The head of the network brings in a young over-achiever, Brice (Glover), to help with the live production... who is gunning for Frank's job.
With the stress mounting, Frank is visited by the rotting corpse of his mentor, Lew (Forsythe). Lew died seven years prior and is paying for his decisions in life... He has come to suggest Frank make some changes and to warn of the visit of three ghosts. As the cast begin to rehearse, Frank is kidnapped by the Ghost of Christmas Past (Johansen), a cigar smoking taxi driver with an obnoxious laugh, to visit Frank's past. This journey to the past leads Frank to a lost love, Claire (Allen). Claire runs the local homeless shelter, where she spends the majority of her time. Later he is attacked by the Ghost of Christmas Present (Kane), a fairy princess with a mean right hook. Will the ghosts make an impact, or will Frank be lost forever?
Since AMC decided to show this film for 24 hours on Christmas day this year, I finally got around to watching this film. I've seen the end numerous times, but somehow I always miss the beginning (and middle). Everyone knows Charles Dickens' classic story, A Christmas Carol, and this is an interesting take on the classic. You get to see parts of the story, as the show within the show... and the modern portion of the film reflects the story. This is best illustrated towards the end of the film, during the live broadcast when the Scrooge character (Buddy Hackett) is about to meet the third ghost, and you can begin to see the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come creeping up the TV screens in Frank's office.
Bill Murray is doing his usual schtick... a scumbag who is just a smidge lovable. He abuses everyone in his wake, and has some funny lines. You know he will eventually come around and be a decent guy, but do you really want to see that? It is a strong performance without being too over-the-top. Bobcat Goldthwait (what a name) gets some great moments late in the film, with his interesting voice. The delivery and voice just make you laugh the whole time.
A funny Christmas film... not quite a classic, but an interesting one to watch over the holidays. It's missing some of the holiday warmth, but works overall.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Scrooged (1988) 101 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Richard Donner
Starring: Bill Murray as Frank Cross
Karen Allen as Claire Phillips
John Forsythe as Lew Hayward
John Glover as Brice Cummings
Bobcat Goldthwait as Eliot Loudermilk
David Johansen as Ghost of Christmas Past
Carol Kane as Ghost of Christmas Present
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