Scrooged Film Review
Don’t miss Charles Dickens’ immortal classic Scrooge. Your life might just depend on it.
When you think of actors who have made a career out of lovable jerks, no one even comes close to Bill Murray. As he gets older, the more enjoyable he has become. During the late 80’s through the early 90’s he was especially surly in roles like Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters 2 , and smacked in between the two is probably his most curmudgeonly role as Frank Cross in Scrooged.
Scrooged is a modernization of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Cross is our Ebeneezer, who is a high profile TV executive that is producing a live production of the Dickens classic. He’s also a miserable person who is hated by virtually everyone. On the eve of the show, he is visited by his former boss, who informs him he will be visited by three ghost. The predictable plot goes on from there.
The most important part of any version of ACC is that by the end, you have to really feel that Scrooge has changed. At no point in the film did I think Cross learned anything from his journey. Murray’s performance is a detriment to the story, as he gets more and more annoying with each scene.
This is one of the few movies where Murray’s demeanor just simply doesn’t work. He comes off as trying too hard at the comedy parts and struggles to show any emotion outside of chaos. Which was too bad for Karen Allen who played Claire Phillips, his love interest. She is a genuinely sweet and caring character, and yet you stare and the screen asking yourself what exactly she sees in Cross.
This was Murray’s first real attempt to be a lead draw, and he fell flat on his face. Obviously it hasn’t really tainted his career, but Scrooged had the potential to be a fun, dark winter classic. There are a few laughs here and there, but there are better versions A Christmas Carol.
For more reviews, check out www.nostalgicroe.com! Or for more Christmas cheer, check out “It’s Going to be a White Leftover Culture Christmas”