With the holidays quickly approaching, there are plenty of films available that retells the famous Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol. If you are searching for a film that recounts this story a little differently, Scrooged is definitely a film that you should watch. This movie embraces but also subverts a few of the tropes that commonly appear in this work.
Bill Murray plays your grouchy miser Frank Cross, who hates everyone and especially hates Christmas. As Frank is trying to produce a live TV production of A Christmas Carol, he is unsurprisingly visited by the real ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. They use Frank’s memories to try and persuade him to change ways before its too late. How this film depicts and utilizes these ghosts is what sets this film apart from other adaptations. In other films, the ghosts are kind and gentle, slowly trying to get the miser to change his ways. Here the ghosts take another approach; they are wild, unhinged, and downright mean to Frank.
A highlight of the film is watching Carol Kane as the ghost of Christmas Present and how she mercilessly trolls Frank. From her introduction to her exit, it is impossible to take your eyes off her. One minute she is being sweet and the next you wonder if Frank is going to survive his encounter with her. Another way this film sets its self apart from its predecessors is how Scrooged ends. Usually the A Christmas Carol adaptation ends on a quiet note, but this film’s ending is amazingly chaotic. Murray absolutely nails the physical comedy and has you at the edge of your seat waiting to see if Frank is actually going to change.
Scrooged is over the top and a little raunchy for a Christmas film, but it will still put you in the Christmas spirit. So if you are looking for something unique to watch this season, you can stream Scrooged currently on Amazon Prime.
Check out our other Nerds Gets Cheery recommendations here.
