The penultimate Tuesday Night is Festive Film Night before the big day, turns back the Christmas clock to 1988, as we sit back to watch and enjoy;
Scrooged
As a modern spin on A Christmas Carol, Scrooged is up there amongst the best. Bill Murray is absolutely sublime as the power crazy TV executive;Frank Cross who is determined to win the ratings war over Christmas with his live screening of A Christmas Carol, using whatever methods he can. That is until he is visited by the obligatory three ghosts.
There are so many great aspects to this film, firstly there is a magnificent cast. Bill Murray obviously, but you have the likes of Robert Mitchum, John Forsythe, the very squeaky Bobcat Goldthwait, Jamie Farr, Robert Goulet, Lee Majors and John Houseman to name but a few, although some may only have cameo appearances, they certainly add to the glamour. Notable performances apart from the brilliant Murray, are the lovely Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present, who provides a playful, albeit rough time for Frank Cross. David Johansen is the Ghost of Christmas Past and plays it as a crazy time travelling taxi driver, taking Frank back through his early years. Interestingly, both Carol Kane and David Johansen appeared in the 2008 festive film Four Christmases.
On to the love interest for Frank and we have the cute Karen Allen playing Claire Phillips, who gets unceremoniously shunned by Frank and decides to take a caring approach to life, which is the complete juxtaposition to Frank's heartless route to fame and fortune.
One more actress of note to make the story complete, is the long suffering secretary to Frank Cross; Grace Cooley played by Alfre Woodard. This is an essential character for the storyline, as Grace's son has not spoken for years, so therefore supplies a great opportunity for a miraculous finale.
Even though the film is 26 years old, the special effects used are not dated at all and add another layer to the film, especially in the early sequences with the very dead Lew Hayward (John Forsythe). Also special note should go to Bobcat Goldthwait as the hapless Eliot Loudermilk who returns to seek revenge after being fired by Frank Cross.
All in all Scrooged is a great seasonal favourite, it is funny, scary, frantic, touching, irreverent and has that feelgood factor akin to that of its inspiration; A Christmas Carol, that will make the festive season just that little bit more cheery.
In the unlikely event that you haven't seen Scrooged, then make it your aim to watch it if you can, you will not be disappointed. Although some comments here at TNiFN Towers suggest that it is not the best adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Well that certainly is true, the Alastair Sim version of 1951 is the best in the traditional sense and The Muppet Christmas Carol is the best in the comedic sense. However, we would like to suggest that Scrooged is a close third to these iconic movies. Muppets? Iconic? Well, maybe.
As for the ratings, it scored very high on one end of the sofa and not so high on the other end! Still do not let this put you off from watching. Merry Christmas!
TNiFN Rating 82%
IMDB Link
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