TownRootGuy
Murray's non-comedies pretty much suck reindeer butt. This, however, is a comedy. Scrooged has some very nice FX, some solid-gold eye candy AND it will jingle your bells - especially about the time Kane jingles Murray's with her foot. This is a must see for Murray fans, i.e. everybody. Everybody! Lest ye, too, be wanting a visit from Kane. This flick is good for a 2 - 3 year schedule of re-watching.
John Brooks
When the film isn't even an original script (this being loosely based on Dickens' "A Christmas Carrol"), you'd at least expect the film to provide added value of its own.This here isn't funny. It's totally uninspired, and it's terribly flat. Very vacant in places, you'll find yourself wondering where you're at in the film, and not even caring. Bill Murray is fine, but he only portrays his terribly shallow, badly written, implausible, boring semblance of a role.There's no sentiment or strength in the narrative that makes you care about the characters, what's going on... and as I've read in a review, "the overriding emotion seems to be anger", the whole love/redemption thing is as forced as it could be in the end.The fairy ghost is pretty fun, and the NY cab driver's okay...2.5/10. Awful, awful comedy.
adonis98-743-186503
Frank Cross runs a US TV station which is planning a live adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol. Frank's childhood wasn't a particularly pleasant one, and so he doesn't really appreciate the Christmas spirit. With the help of the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, Frank realizes he must change. Scrooged has a bit of Tim Burton theme in it except the beautiful score by Danny Elfman and an amazing and moving performance by Bill Murray. The movie also has an excellent use of practical effects and they looked so realistic and great in the small screen it also has a very sad ending that really brought tears to my eyes and that's why i'm gonna give Richard Donner's Scrooged an 10/10.
Predrag
Yes, Bill Murray pretty much plays himself in this one. Yes, the ending is too sentimental in a way that only Americans can do. No, it doesn't matter. Dickens's story never fails to engage. The relocation of the action to 1980's New York with a curmudgeonly TV exec' in the lead role works really well. The ghosts are refreshingly different with the exception of Christmas yet-to-be who probably only ever really works as a faceless shrouded figure. Dickens' tale is so well known that almost everyone knows the beats that the film follows; ex-partner, ghost of past, present and future. Where many artistic types mix things up is by changing the setting. 'Scrooged' is one of the best examples of this and Murray's loathsome TV Exec is a perfect 80's Scrooge. He is inherently mean, but he also revels in it giving him an even worse side than most portrayals of the part. The film has dated extremely since release, but that is part of the charm. Whilst the traditional Victorian tale is snow covered and whimsical, 'Scrooged' will be forever shoulder pads and giant hair.At the center of the film is a great performance by Murray, he really sells the role of a scumbag who finds a heart. The rest of the cast is less notable; Bobcat Goldthwait and Karen Allen are two actors who did not work that much after. If the film is not Murray's, it is director Richard Donner's. Donner is one of the quintessential 80's directors and he fills the film with 80's tropes; ghoulish effects and great pop music. The ghosts are more gruesome than in most revelings of the story and that makes 'Scrooged' a more adult affair, but for all its 80's facade, the film works so well because it stays true to the core messages in Dickens' work.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.
