Scrooged

Bill Murray is back among the ghosts. Only this time, it's three against one.

MPAA Rating: PG_13

IMDB Rating: 6.8 / 10

Length: 101 min

Tags: comedy, drama, fantasy

Director: Richard Donner
Writers:

Cast:

Frank Cross
(Bill Murray)
Claire Phillips
(Karen Allen)
Lew Hayward
(John Forsythe)
Brice Cummings
(John Glover)
Eliot Loudermilk
(Bobcat Goldthwait)
Ghost of Christmas Past
(David Johansen)
Ghost of Christmas Present
(Carol Kane)
Preston Rhinelander
(Robert Mitchum)
Calvin Cooley
(Nicholas Phillips)
Herman
(Michael J. Pollard)
Grace Cooley
(Alfre Woodard)
Gramma
(Mabel King)
James Cross
(John Murray)
Jacob Marley
(Jamie Farr)
Himself
(Robert Goulet)

Editor Review

Once again, another retelling of Charles Dickens' classic tale of redemption and appreciation of what we have, but this time Bill Murray plays the titular Scrooge in this adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

Murray plays Frank Xavier Cross, a cynical and conceited television executive who feels no joy in Christmas, instead deciding to fire his employee on Christmas Eve, for making negative remarks at the company's advertising campaign, rightfully calling it the Manson Family Christmas Special.
Alone that night he is met by three ghosts - of Christmas Past, of Christmas Present and of Christmas Future - who teach him to live his life to the fullest and embrace Christmas.

These ghosts are a little different than Dickens drew them up, happy to trick, tease and punch Cross in order to prove their point, which brings with it a more daring Christmas Carol than seen before. David Johansen plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, via a New York cabbie and is most garishly successful at pushing Cross's buttons and going tit-for-tat with Murray.

The film enjoys utilising the fame of Murray's previous film, Ghostbusters, which was a huge success, including the film's tagline: "Bill Murray is back among the ghosts. Only this time, it's three against one."

It also features a host of cameos with Miles Davis and others playing street buskers, and performers Robert Goulet, Lee Majors and John Houseman appearing as themselves. The film is full of tongue in cheek names and references that deserve a chuckle; from Eliot Loudermilk to Preston Rhinlander, to Frank Cross's mantra written on the wall: "Cross: (n) A thing they nail people to." All of Bill Murray's actor brothers make appearances in the film also, John Murray and Joel Murray as his brothers James and Earl and Brian Doyle-Murray as a guest on a television show.

Richard Donner does a good job at nailing the tone, which is a perfect fit for both Murray and Donner, mixing cutting tongues with approachable humour and keeping everyone happy. And Murray is great here, as always, and the style of humour suits him well as he's glib and quick to retort and will have everyone doubling over as they watch him frazzle and finally find the festive spirit.


Fun Fact:

When the Ghost Of Christmas Present, played by Carol Kane grabbed Bill Murray's lip she tore his lip so badly that filming had to be halted for several days.

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