Scrooged
Scrooged is a 1988 American Christmas fantasy 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, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Michael J. Pollard, and Alfre Woodard.
Scrooged
Richard Donner
Art Linson
- November 23, 1988
100 minutes
United States
English
$32 million
$100.3 million
Scrooged was filmed on a $32 million budget over three months in New York City and Hollywood from December 1987 to March 1988. Murray returned to acting for the film after taking a four-year hiatus following the success of Ghostbusters, which he found overwhelming, although he had a minor role in Little Shop of Horrors. Murray worked with Glazer and O'Donoghue on reworking the script before agreeing to join the project. The production was tumultuous, as Murray and Donner had different visions for the film. Murray described his time on the film as "misery", while Donner called Murray "superbly creative but occasionally difficult". Along with Murray's three brothers, Brian, John and Joel, Scrooged features numerous celebrity cameos.
The film's marketing capitalized on Murray's Ghostbusters role, referring to his encounters with ghosts in both films. Scrooged was released on November 23, 1988, and grossed over $100 million worldwide. The film received a positive response from test audiences, but was met with a mixed response upon its release from critics who found the film either too mean-spirited or too sentimental. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup, but lost to the fantasy-comedy film Beetlejuice.
Since its release, Scrooged has become a regular television Christmastime feature, with some critics calling it an alternative to traditional Christmas films, and others arguing that Scrooged was ahead of its time, making it relevant in the modern day. It has appeared on various lists of the best Christmas films.
Plot[edit]
IBC Television executive Frank Cross is pushing for an extravagant live production of A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve, making everyone work throughout the holiday. After showing his team a gruesome TV spot for the show, Frank fires executive Eliot Loudermilk for disagreeing with him.
Frank sends cheap IBC towels to most on his Christmas list, including his personal assistant Grace and his brother James, but the powerful and influential figures on his list get expensive VCRs. Seeing Frank's stress from the production, his boss Preston Rhinelander brings in consultant Brice Cummings for assistance, who secretly wants Frank's job.
The night before the show, Frank is visited by the ghost of his past mentor Lew Hayward, an also unloved miser who died from a heart attack seven years prior. Lew warns him three more ghosts will appear over the next day to help him avoid the same fate. Before he vanishes, the ghost contacts Claire Phillips, Frank's lost love from years ago. She comes to the network to talk to Frank, but when he's too busy she returns to her job at a homeless shelter.
As rehearsals start and Frank finishes lunch with Preston, he is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, appearing as a manic taxi driver. He reminds him how he used television to compensate for a cold and distant father and how he fell in love with Claire but lost her when he prioritized his television career over her.
Afterwards, Frank goes to Claire's shelter to make amends. However, his attitude quickly sours and he shows his contempt for the homeless and the workers. After an uncomfortable interaction with some of the people at the shelter, he returns to the studio after telling Claire to "Scrape 'em off. If you wanna save somebody, save yourself."
The Ghost of Christmas Present arrives as an ethereal, sweet-voiced fairy who punches, kicks and slaps Frank to get his attention. Taking him to Grace's apartment, he sees her struggling to support her large family, including her youngest son Calvin, who has remained mute since witnessing his father's death. The Ghost then shows him James, spending a humble yet festive Christmas with friends and his wife Wendie. James still defends Frank, despite his cheap gifts and refusal to celebrate Christmas with him.
The Ghost then leaves him in a frozen utility space under a sidewalk with Herman, whom he met at the homeless shelter. To Frank's shock, Herman has frozen to death. Frank desperately tries to escape, breaking through a boarded-up door leading to the set of the production. Preston directs Brice to take over rehearsals to give Frank some time off. In his office he finds a drunken and deranged Eliot waiting for him. He's ready to shoot Frank for costing him his job, family, and home.
Frank escapes into the elevator where the Grim Reaper-like Ghost of Christmas Future awaits. It takes him to a future where a now-catatonic Calvin has been institutionalized. Claire has followed Frank's advice, leading to her marrying rich, living decadently, and viewing the homeless with disgust. Finally, the Ghost shows Frank's cremation ceremony, with only James and his wife present. Frightened and remorseful, having initially mistaken James as the deceased, Frank is further shocked to find himself about to be incinerated. He breaks out and emerges from the elevator to face Eliot, elated to be alive but oblivious that he is still trying to kill him. Frank's completely changed demeanor surprises Eliot, particularly when he offers him a high-level executive position, which he accepts.
Eliot helps Frank return to the production set, where he secures Brice in the control room and breaks into the live broadcast to speak of his new appreciation for life. He apologizes on-air to Grace, James, and the cast and crew, and makes a passionate plea to Claire. Claire sees this at the shelter and heads for the network with the help of the Ghost of Christmas Past. As Frank and Claire reunite, Calvin comes up, speaking for the first time, reminding him to say "God bless us, everyone", much to Grace's elation.
Frank leads the crew in singing "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", and sees Lew, the three Ghosts, and Herman's ghost smiling and waving back to him while singing along as the show ends. Then Frank encourages everyone in the theater to sing along. Watching at home, James hails Frank as "My brother, the King of Christmas".
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Pre-release audience screenings in Summer 1988 were positive, with 93% of those surveyed rating the film as "very good", the highest rating studio Paramount Pictures had received at the time. Press screenings nearer to release however were met with responses ranging from ovations to disgruntlement.[14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[50]
On release, reviews were similarly mixed.[3] Roger Ebert called it one of the most "disquieting, unsettling films to come along in quite some time", saying that it portrays pain and anger more than comedy.[51] Empire's William Thomas called it a slick and cynical update of Dickens’s tale, but that it is only funny when Murray's character is being a "complete bastard".[52] The Washington Post's Joe Brown said that it was a "sprawling mess", but that he liked it. Brown said that Scrooged was unlikely to become a seasonal tradition like It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Miracle on 34th Street (1947), considering that it would age poorly and either scare or be too adult for child audiences.[4]
The Los Angeles Times's Sheila Benson said the film's opening is its high-point, featuring the parody IBC lineup of "Robert Goulet's Cajun Christmas" and "The Night the Reindeer Died", but as the film progresses the laughs become more sporadic and the tone becomes darker. Benson said that the film is a "mass of sharp, well-deserved paper cuts" to the entertainment industry, citing Murray's character whose life knowledge is based on the Golden Age of Television, and Mitchum's character who wants to add elements to the network shows that attract pet audiences, but Benson lamented that these details were never expanded upon.[53]
The Hollywood Reporter said that the story was uproarious and sometimes vitriolic, labeling it a scathing satire of the entertainment industry, that was a "wild and wooly holiday feast that should scrape off the competition". Their review continued that Scrooged features "wickedly amusing flashbacks", but also some overwrought comic misfires.[54] The Radio Times's John Ferguson appreciated the film, calling it a "joyously black Christmas treat", but once the "sentimentality starts seeping in", it seems like a misstep.[55] A 2007 review by Den of Geek agreed, saying that the film and Murray are at their best before the redemption begins, and that the only film to come close to capturing Murray's vitriol was Bad Santa (2003).[56]
Jonathan Rosenbaum called Scrooged an ironic film, for seemingly condemning the commercialization of Christmas while also capitalizing on it, taking on the moral message of A Christmas Carol, "without sacrificing its yuppie priorities for an instant". Rosenbaum cited the ending in particular, wherein Frank gives his Christmas message, causing Karen to leave the needy homeless to come to his side, and both are watched over approvingly by Herman, a homeless man who froze to death.[57] Ebert and Empire concurred about the ending. Ebert said that the necessary words are spoken by the characters, but it lacks heart, continues at embarrassing length, and seems like an onscreen breakdown.[51] Empire also called the ending embarrassing and beyond Murray's capabilities.[52] Conversely, the BBC's Ben Falk said it is hard not to join in singing at the end.[58]
Critics were divided by Murray's performance.[51][58] Falk said that Murray is a comic genius at his best, and Brown said that he created a credible, comic character.[4][58] Ferguson said that the first part of Scrooged featured Murray at "his sour faced best".[55] The Hollywood Reporter called him "hilariously convincing" and "impressively sinister" as the TV executive, saying that his hip and sassy performance gives the film energy, nuttiness and charm. Their review said that his deadpan, cutting style was hilarious, but that he layers the character's histrionics with inner sensibility that makes his eventual redemption believable and uplifting.[54]
Conversely, Ebert said that Murray looks genuinely unhappy, and lacked the lightness and good cheer lurking beneath previous performances. Ebert also criticized Murray's ad-libbing, blaming it for being at odds with, and blocking the flow of the story.[51] Benson said that Murray imbued Frank Cross's worst attributes with sincerity, making his redemption difficult to accept.[53]
Carol Kane was praised for her performance, with The Hollywood Reporter referring to her as a "certified hoot", and Entertainment Weekly's Sara Vilkomerson saying that she "steals the show" from Murray.[54][59] Benson said that watching her fragile, winged character pummel Murray was "strangely satisfying", although the joke eventually wore out.[53] Benson was more positive on Woodard, saying that she offered the film's one completely persuasive performance.[53]
The Hollywood Reporter also praised Woodard, Mitchum, and John Glover's credible portrayal of a sleazy executive. Both The Hollywood Reporter and Brown appreciated Goldthwait's role, with Brown calling it "twitchingly touching".[4][54] Thomas called Johansen's Ghost of Christmas Past a "bonus", but he and Benson lamented the "king's ransom of actors" that were wasted.[52][53] The Hollywood Reporter said that Elfman's music is "full blast with holiday spirit", and singled out J. Michael Riva's production design, calling it "dead on the mark funny".[54]
O'Donoghue was very critical of the finished film. He said, "We wrote a fucking masterpiece. We wrote It Happened One Night (1934). We wrote a story that could make you laugh and cry. You would have wanted to share it with your grandchildren every fucking Christmas for the next 100 years. The finished film was a piece of unadulterated, unmitigated shit."[19]
Awards[edit]
Make up artists Thomas R. Burman and Bari Dreiband-Burman were responsible for the film's single nomination at the 61st Academy Awards for Best Makeup, losing to Beetlejuice.[60]
Legacy[edit]
Since its release, Scrooged has become a cult classic[61] and a Christmas classic, being regularly shown on television during the holiday period. Entertainment Weekly's Whitney Pastorek called it an immortal classic and argued that it is the most underrated Christmas movie. Pastorek said that the film is "both crude and sentimental, resonant and ludicrous...Scrooged is the perfect holiday movie for bitter, reluctant, closet Christmas lovers".[62] The Boston Globe's Maura Johnston said that the film was ahead of its time which allowed it to remain relevant years later.[63]
PopMatters said that their view of the ongoing commercialization of Christmas, and the film's anticipation of marketing tactics aimed at pets watching television, made the film more relevant now than at the time of its release.[63][64] In 2012, Den of Geek! described it as the "finest Christmas comedy of all time".[65] Al Green's and Annie Lennox's "Put a Little Love in your Heart" is also played regularly at Christmas despite not being about or mentioning Christmas.[63] O'Donoghue disavowed the film before his death, stating that the script was much funnier than what ended up on screen.[66]
Contemporary review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes offers a score of 71% based on 51 reviews—an average rating of 6.1/10, which provides the consensus: "Scrooged gets by with Bill Murray and a dash of holiday spirit, although it's hampered by a markedly conflicted tone and an undercurrent of mean-spiritedness."[67] The film also has a score of 38 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 14 critics indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[68]
In 2015, IGN named it the 11th-best holiday movie of all time.[61] In 2016, Empire listed Scrooged as the seventh-best Christmas film, and in 2017, Time Out and Consequence of Sound listed it as, respectively, the 12th-best and 23rd best.[69][70][71] That same year, Collider named it the fifth-best adaptation of A Christmas Carol, calling it is easily the best non-traditional translation of the story, and saying that it uses "a classic tale of redemption as the framework for a satire of modern culture's desire to embrace the irredeemable".[72]
In 2018, The Ringer said that even 30 years after its debut, the film represented the perfect Christmas movie, saying it is "loud, cartoonish, and misanthropic, but... remarkably well-suited for our fraught present moment".[73] David Johansen's New York Dolls bandmate Arthur Kane was sent into a jealous rage after seeing Johansen's prominent role in Scrooged, reacting by beating his wife and attempting suicide by jumping from a third-story window.[74]