Customer Reviews

Scrooged (Widescreen)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As much as I enjoy Bill Murray in almost everything, this was not as good as I remembered.
Still some good laughs.
P

this is a delightful,well written movie.it's insanely funny with some
good performances Bill Murray plays the "Scrooge" like character and is
pitch perfect in the role.there are also some great supporting
performances.who knew the classic "A Christmas Carol" could be updated
with such hilarious results.this is a feel good movie or at least
becomes one and after viewing,it is hard not to be uplifted.i actually
liked it better than it's source material.i found it more effective.if
you're looking for a profoundly impactful movie,this isn't it. it is a
moving film,but also very fun at the same time.there is one very
strongly moving moment in the movie,which brought tears to my eyes.in
terms of entertainment,this one rates high.for me "Scrooged" is a 4.5/5

I usually bring my sister wherever in the world I am at Christmas time. She knows I have a copy of Scrooged, but she brings one of her own anyway...full redundancy.

This movie is hilarious on every level. It's chock full of obvious simple humor, but you can "dive deep" for humor at almost any point in time and find some unique absurdity that must have had the writer laughing his a@# off at the time of writing.

I've you've never seen...well, don't wait for Christmas, get at once.

Enjoy...

Bill Murray is a great actor. He can play funny guys, nasty guys, wacky guys, lovable guys, etc. In "Scrooged" he plays all those guys in only one character (Frank Cross).

"Scrooged" is a movie set in Christmas, so the best time to enjoy it is definitely in december. Perhaps if the role of Frank Cross, the modern Scrooge, would have been portrayed by other actor, the movie wouldn't have been so entertaining, and that is the sign of a good actor. Every actor that can make better a movie with his/her performance deserves to be called a great actor. I call Bill Murray A GREAT ACTOR.

...

I guess I'm biased because in my mind Bill Murray can do no wrong - I am that big of a fan.

I found Scrooged to be hilarious and a refreshing change of pace from the sugary Christmas Carol originals. Sure they are great movies, but a change of pace that also offers good sentiment at the end is also refreshing.

The ghosts of Christmas past in Scrooged are hilarious, especially Carol Kane the "sweet, angelic" ghost who kicks Bill's butt more than once.

Some tender moments are when you realize, as the credits run, that Bill's brother in the movie is really played by his real brother, and Bill couldn't have summmed it up any better when he states, at the end of the movie, that Christmas is the one time of year when we all spend a few hours being the kind of people we should be all year long. It's a reminder of all we can and should be.

I really enjoyed this movie and plan on buying it on DVD ...

Christmas movies are fun. I like Christmas movies because they're generally nice, lightweight, enjoyable pieces of fluff with important moralistic messages ("It's a Wonderful Life," "Scrooge") or sometimes they're just fun to watch ("Gremlins," "Home Alone").

"Scrooged" isn't lightweight, cheery, or happy. It's dark, brooding, sort of evil, and it's the only Christmas movie I can think of that seems as if Tim Burton directed it.

Am I insulting the film? Heavens, no. I love it. In fact, I'm complimenting it. Instead of repeating old traditions, it's trying something new, and the secret to the film is the way it actually pulls it all off.

The plot: Frank Cross is the youngest television station president in recorded history because he knows the people. At least he thinks he does. In reality, he's just a greedy tycoon who gives people bath towels for Christmas -- including his own brother.

Cross is a modern day Scrooge, and the movie "Scrooged" is a modern reworking of the classic Charles Dickens story. Frank Cross is played by Bill Murray absolutely perfectly. He's cynical, dry, and sarcastic, and doesn't give a darn about anyone else other than himself.

So the night before Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by an old business partner -- who has been dead for seven years. ("I wouldn't have guessed more than three, tops," says Frank in his usual sarcastic tone.) His old associate warns Frank to change his ways or he'll end up like himself -- angry, bitter...and dead.

Frank doesn't pay any attention to his "hallucination," and continues being his usual self during the festive Christmas holiday -- by ripping off old ladies' cabs and firing Elliot (Bobcat Goldthwait) on Christmas Eve. (Elliot is sort of today's version of Bob Cratchitt.)

Frank is putting on a Christmas Eve production of Charles Dickens' immortal classic "Scrooge" (what happened to "A Christmas Carol," I wonder?), and in the film's funniest scene, introduces his ad for the program. (It later scares an old woman to death and Frank takes it as a wonderful sign -- controversy is as good as advertising!)

The three ghosts do indeed come and haunt Frank. Except Frank is more cynical than Ebenezer Scrooge ever was, and convincing him that Christmas is a season of giving will be hard. (Frank: "I get it, you're here to show me my past and I'm supposed to get all dully eyed and mushy. Well forget it pal, you got the wrong guy.")

Frank is revisited by an old flame (Karen Allen) and his heart starts to beat once again after years of silence. Frank slowly but surely starts to learn to appreciate Christmas once again, following all of Scrooge's examples. His intern's son, who witnessed his father's murder and hasn't spoken since, is a sort of Tiny Tim, and "Scrooged" does indeed follow all of the elements of Charles Dickens' classic. Only it updates the tale, throws in a bunch of cameos, and great acting on Murray's behalf.

Frank revisits scenes from his childhood and adulthood first hand with the wacky ghosts as companions. They can't see or hear Frank -- his cab driver ghost tells him that he's in the middle of a rerun.

Frank remembers how his father brought him meat for Christmas, how he broke up with his girlfriend over a matter of greed vs. happiness, and how his life was a complete waste. (Ghost: "Let's face it, Frank, garden slugs got more out of life than you." Frank: "Yeah? Name one!")

It was a matter of time before "A Christmas Carol," or "Scrooge," got a modernized treatment. And it comes out fresh and ingenious, dark and hilarious. The movie owes its entire success to the casting of Bill Murray, whose cynical ways shone through in such early films as "Stripes" and "Ghostbusters," and here compliment the film the way no other actor's talent could.

Take, for example, the way he can remain unmoved but, at the same time, flippant and sarcastic, towards his boss when he tells Frank that cats and dogs are starting to watch television, and that he thinks Frank should target some advertising at the canine and feline demographic. Frank just stares at his boss as if he's crazy and whispers, "Call the cops."

The movie was directed by Richard Donner ("Lethal Weapon"), and is one of the films I watch as an annual tradition around Christmas. It's dark and often quite disturbing, and its eerie music adds to the mix. But it helps the film because it makes us see through Frank's eyes. And the outcome is, quite frankly, an instant Christmas classic. This is a film I'll be watching for years, and so far, it's only been getting better every time.

This is a great movie for kids and adults. You can watch it all year long. I must have watched it about 20 times and will watch it again and again. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. If you have not seen it yet you are really missing out on a funny, feel good movie.

I watched this at Christmas, but if I'd watched it any other time, I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed it. Its just those certain movies you can't watch at certain times - like watching a romcom on Valentine's, not a good idea.

Unfortunately, I found this slow to start with. Too long an introduction to Frank Cross (Bill Murray) as the grumpy TV producer person. It really kicked off when the first of the three ghosts appeared - and I found myself reliving my childhood! I loved this book by Charles Dickens as a child, although I was a bad girl, and always skipped to the bit where the ghosts started appearing. I could have done with a skipper on this movie too.

The lovely Karen Allen appears as Frank Cross' ex-girlfriend. I had trouble placing her face, and had to ask - and got the response with a big sigh. I loved her in Starman, and she was great in this movie. The thing about Karen Allen is she has a really nice smile, and makes me want to smile too! I haven't seen her in enough films.

The big singsong was brilliant at the end, and was the highlight of the film for me. Keep watching the credits too, for an extra short bit of Bill Murray doing a little dance.

If you have or want this DVD, don't watch it until the run-up to Christmas. Definitely not one you can watch any other time - unlike A Mom For Christmas (Olivia Newton John, which I think was another TV movie!). I can watch that anytime, and still cry!

If you have seen every version of "Scrooge" and "A Christmas Carol" and are bored with it all, well here is a version that will have you laughing. "Scrooged" (1998) makes fun of all those old versions you have already seen. Bill Murray (NBC Saturday Night Live, 1977-1980) plays "Scrooge" and he is a tv network president who dislikes Christmas and the spirit of it. He will fire anyone that is good and has good sense. What is fun are the cameo appearances and the familar faces of actors we like to see. Lee Majors, Robert Goulet, Harry Shearer, Alfre Woodard, John Houseman, Buddy hackett, Jamie Farr, Mary Lou Retton, Bobcat Goldthwait, Robert Mitchum, John Glover, Brian Doyle Murray, David Sanborn, Paul Shaffer, Karen Allen, Rebeca Archerd, Michael J. Pollard, Logan Ramsey, Anne Ramsey and Mabel King. John Forsythe plays "Lew Hayward". David Johansen plays "Ghost of Christmas Past". Carol Kane plays "Ghost of Christmas Present".

In 1988 Director Richard Donner (Leathal Weapon, Timeline, Superman) to audiences into the world of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol by brining it into the 80's.

Bill Murray (Osmosis Jones, Lost In Translation, Charlie's Angles) plays TV Executive Frank Cross the meanest, cruelest, most viscious person in the Entertainment industry in New York (Actually patterning himself after real TV Executives of the time.

He happens to be producing his Diabolical version of A Christmas Carol, with Violence, Sex and Amzing non-traditional Christmas Themes. This makes a series of events happens.

Because of this he is forced to see his life, Past, Present and Possible Future! On the way his old Exec Business Partner played by John Forsyth (Charlie's Angles, Dynasty) warns him he will be visited by three ghosts.

Past is played Brilliantly by David Johanson (Oz, Freejack) and takes the form of a New York Cabbie.
Present is played Hysterically by Carol Kane (My Blue HEaven, Joe Vs The Volcano) as the fairy with an incredible attitude.
The future is played by some use of Special Effects.

Other great casting is the amazing Alfrie Woodard (Star Trek First Contact, Radio, K-PAX) as the mother of a muted child that learns a valuable lesson.

Robert Mitchem (James Dean Story, Tombstone, North and South) plays Bill's boss with the sneaking incentive of replacing him with a new California TV Exec obnoxiously (in a good way) played by John Glover (Smallville, Tricks, Batman & Robin).He does have his love interest played by Karen Allen (Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Perfect Storm, Malcom X) who teaches him the real meaning of love, life and Christmas. There is a character string played by Bobcat Goldthwait (Hercules, Little Vegas) who learns several valuabale lessons himself.

The film ends with a great sing-a-long inwhich Bill actually talks to you, the audience. Its fun and funny.

The DVD is in Widescreenand contains the trailer but it would have been great to include commentaries and making of's. Maybe it's 20 year anniversary! (12-11-03)