Scrooged

By
The Midnight Movie Crew
– December 23, 2009Posted in: Comedy, Horror

Scrooged (1988)

Director: Richard Donner

Starring: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Bob “Bobcat” Goldthwait

Murray plays Frank Xavier Cross, a conceited, cynical television programming executive, in a modernization of the classic Dickens novella A Christmas Carol.

I’ve been thinking about it and I’m not sure that there’s anyone in the current crop of movie comedians who holds a candle to Bill Murray in his prime, or Steve Martin and John Candy come to that (not that they are in Scrooged of course)
No I agree with what you are saying, especially Bill Murray although I do enjoy some of his later stuff.

I guess now it is Steve Carrell and the Judd Apatow regulars that are taking on the humour mantle.

It may be just the way films are written these days rather than the quality of the performers.
Maybe, but the quality of say, Ghostbusters, Uncle Buck, Planes Trains and Automobiles does rest a lot on the shoulders of some pretty fine comedians.
Yes, the stuff put out by the original Saturday Night Live crew in the 80′s and early 90′s stands way above the majority of the “Frat Pack’s” efforts.
I just remembered Three Amigos and giggled like a mad man.
Quick, add it to our Midnight Movie List.
Done!!!! OMG I want to bump it up on the list!!!
Shifting things back on topic a little, can I just say that I just love the psychotically violent Ghost of Christmas Present. Is it wrong of me to find her rather attractive?
BAHAHAHA when she hits him with the toaster!! That is gold!! I love her, of course it’s the only film I love her in but she is awesome in this, Bill Murray and her really play off each other really well.
Sexy sexy gold.

It’s Carol Kane isn’t it? The woman from Taxi?

It’s the voice isn’t it!? Yes it is Carol, she was also in Seinfeld, she got hit on the head with the pocket organizer. Her voice grates on me in that episode but it’s a delight in Scrooged.
No, it’s not the voice, it’s the toaster. I have a thing for toasters. I get very excited indeed when I watch Battlestar Galactica.
Oh dear.

Remind me not to order the toast at your place!!!

Hehe. Especially not the slice with the “special butter”
You were that guy who preferred Ghostbusters 2 because of the dancing toaster!!! That’s nasty.
Mmmmm lap-dancing toasters. Show me your bread slot baby.

Ok… I think we probably should move on now.

Image from Dan's private collection

Do you think Bobcat Goldthwait talks like that at his kid’s parent teacher meetings? He must get through a hell of a lot of throat losenges.
God I hope so!!!! How good would it be him just ringing Pizza Hut!! They would so think he is ripping the piss out of them!
He’s the only man who could be excused for TYpiNG LiKE thiS as it acurately depicts his speaking style.

The other 5 million “wacky” emo types who do it should be shot on sight of course (there I go advocating genocide again)

Bobcat really hated the hold music whilst he was waiting on the rifle help line

You are a hard cynical bastard if you don’t get to the end of this film without even a shred of Christmas spirit. That’s easily me at the beginning of the film, I’m generally the one who claims that Christmas is a crock or a con but at the end of Scrooged I’m putting up Christmas trees and humming carols!

Well maybe not carols, I am humming “put a little love in your heart” though.

Oh thanks a lot. I’d only just managed to get that song out of my head.

I know what you’re saying though, that final scene and musical number certainly does provoke the old festive spirit. Although I was surprised to find it didn’t do that as much as it used to for me. Then again I’m generally having a hard time feeling Christmassy at all this year, so it’s probably not anything to do with the movie.

Perhaps I could do with a visit from a few ghosts myself. Preferably one’s wielding toasters (sweet, sweet toasters).

I think we’ve discovered the root of most of your troubles.
Watching Scrooged again reminded me of something that I forgot and that is how good this film is and how much I love it. I remember being so excited as a kid that it was coming out because it had Ghostbuster Bill Murray in it and at that stage anything with a Ghostbuster in it was gold.

Then Coneheads came out.

Coneheads? Quick add it to the Midnight Movie list…

Nah, on second thoughts, let’s not.

It’s a shame, but Dan Akroyd has certainly failed to live up to his earlier promise hasn’t he. Although to be fair it’s only Murray out of that generation of comedians that has managed to consistently forge a respected body of work.

Did you know Murray doesn’t even have an agent? Apparently he fields movie pitches via a private telephone number attached to a answer machine which he checks only sporadically. Mind you I learned that nugget from the mighty Wikipedia, so I could well just have just regurgitated a ton of crud.

He is also reported to have headbutted McG the director of Terminator Salvation, Murray denies this suggesting that he would rather had shot him. I’m going to side with Bill on this one.

Apparently when he was ‘negotiating’ to play Bosley on Charlie’s Angels he gave them the figure he wanted and then just disappeared, no calls, no contact, that was his negotiation.

Finally and this is the last I’ll go on about Murray’s eccentricities is that when he was in negotiations to be in the Ghostbusters game he would only sign if Ernie Hudson’s role was on equal footing with the three others.

This is something I find truly classy.

Whilst it is very clear that Bill Murray completely carries this film, it does not hurt that the rest of the cast is all very good, especially the ghosts. Both the ghosts of Christmas past and present have me in stitches with some of my favourite lines in the film. Of course it comes back to the way Murray interacts with them, they have a really great rapport with them especially with ‘Present’.

I was thinking a while back when writing about Indiana Jones 4 that I couldn’t think of anything else that Karen Allen had been in apart from Raiders of the Lost Ark and here is my answer, I completely forgot she was in Scrooged.

I get her mixed up with the woman who played Lois Lane.
Yeah, I bet I probably did too when I was a kid, although Lois Lane’s voice scares me with its deep rumble.
You’ve got a bit of a thing about voices haven’t you. Do you have very sensitive ears or something?
Toaster-boy.
HEY! Don’t judge me man!
Hey I’m not judging… actually yeah I kinda am.
Another scene from this film that always makes me laugh is the scene where Frank (Murray) is at lunch with his boss and the guy who was in Gremlins 2. The waiter in that scene is classic in the way that he reacts to Bill Murray screaming and carrying on about the eyeball in his glass and the waiter on fire. his eyes are comedy gold and the lines where he misinterprets what Murray is pointing at and advises him that ‘sir wouldn’t want that’.

That guy played Socrates in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

Wonderful. I love knowing useless stuff like that.
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure was a touchstone film for me when I was young and like Ghostbusters before it I tend to recognise or take notice of the actors in other stuff. The guy who played genghis khan was also in Die Hard (and then every terrorist role afterwards)
I was going to say, even I recogniose that guy. He’s in every single action film ever made. Isn’t he even in Big Trouble in Little China?
Never changes his look either. Yes he’s in BTILC.
You should have grown a mo’ like that guy had. That was a classic.
I think he has the copyright, you have to pay him royalties.
I found Scrooged a little scary in parts too though – the trapped souls in the chest of The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and the bit where Murray gets burned alive in the coffin in particular.
I guess, I mean if you’ve never seen another scary film then sure.
HEY! That’s some scary stuff there man.
I mean if you’re a big baby sure.
Well bollocks to you, that’s what I say. Here I am trying to drag you back on topic before you go off on one about your precious Big Trouble in Little China, and that’s the thanks I get. Bloody charming.
I think you need your bottle and a lie down.
Perhaps you’re right.

Anyone object if I take the toaster with me too?

Good grief.
In fairness though to Dan’s sensitivities, I did find myself wondering about the gun scenes with Bobcat. I mean is he really trying to kill Murray? Then when he is holding the control room hostage and the gun goes off, those people look terrified. I doubt you would get away with that today, I certainly think the ratings board would take a close look at those scenes.

It does make me happy that the ratings board don’t go back and try to re-rate old films.

To be fair though, he was holding people ransom whilst using a silly voice. That’s got to count for something right? At least a few years knocked off the rating scale?
That’s the only voice he’s got!!!!

Even earlier in the film when he is playing normal the voice is still there!! Granted I would have Bobcat no other way.

For the purposes of research I looked into his later career. He’s a bit of a indy film writer/director these days you know. His last movie starred Robin Williams as a dad who faked his son’s suicide note after he died from auto-asphixiation.
Wow. That’s good for him though.

You should have researched that moustache dude’s career. We should at least get a name for him. We should use his moustache as a rating system.

Marvelous plan! He could become our offical mascot (seeing as though he’ll be in 80% of the films we review)
Well at the very least we should do a ‘watch’ for him and acknowledge his presence in each film

The actor’s name is Al Leong. His wikipedia page is great as instead of a photo it is an artist’s rendition of him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Leong

Maybe no camera is big enough to handle that mighty moustache
He looks like he should be in Mortal Kombat.
Listen, I think we’re getting a little distracted here. perhaps it’s time for our final thoughts.
I think it’s fair to get distracted by the mighty Leong, despite him not actually being in this movie. Instead of a Christmas tree I want Al Leong standing in the corner of the living room defending our presents.
With baubles hanging off his ‘tash.
duh, it IS christmas.

…the Christmas spirit seems to manifesting itself in me through sarcasm.

Everyone got what they wanted for xmas

So, to sum up: Scrooged stands up as well today as it did when it was made. In fact apart from a few cheesy 80′s suits and the lack of mobile phones it could be completely contemporary. Bill Murray is at his comedic best, and is ably supported by a cast of great character actors.

I’d even go so far to say that this is the best movie version of the Scrooge story out there, and that includes the Muppet Christmas Carol.

I’m going to give it eight diet cokes out of ten. I’d give it eight and a half except I can’t be bothered working out how to do that in photoshop.
Dan gives this film 8 out of 10 diet cokes

And so all that’s left is to wish a Happy Christmas to you all. See you on the other side.

My final thoughts echo what Dan has already said, I certainly agree that this is the best adaptation of Scrooge out there.

So I will blatantly rip off his rating and give Scrooged eight double shot soy flat white out of the potential ten. If you are looking to watch something this Christmas Eve and you think Lethal Weapon is not festive enough, watch Scrooged!
Lee gives this an unoriginal 8 out of 10 double shot soy flat whites

Oh yeah and Happy Holidays!

next week is Back To The Future

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