A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of those tales that can be told in many ways, all while keeping the core fundamentals of the story the same. You basically need a cruel, miser of a boss in the leading role, and they must be someone who has lost – or has potentially never known – the spirit of Christmas. In most cases, A Christmas Carol is just remade, with Scrooge center stage and a new actor filling his ghost-guided slippers. This was the case with a favourite in my household growing up with The Muppet Christmas Carol, which starred Michael Caine as Scrooge, and everyone’s favourite Muppets in the majority of the supporting roles. Four years before that movie, however, screenwriters Mitch Glazer and Michael O’Donoghue wondered what a more modernized telling of A Christmas Carol would be like, and from that Scrooged was born.
That was 35 years ago and the year was 1988. Bill Murray had stepped away from acting after the success of Ghostbusters four years earlier, and feeling enough time had passed Murray agreed to star in Scrooged, which saw him take on the role of Frank Cross, one of the top television executives at IBC. Frank, also being the youngest TV executive on any network, felt the need to reach a wider audience using a much more hostile – and threateningly aggressive – marketing campaign for their live Christmas Eve production of A Christmas Carol. When he’s called out on the intense nature of his ads by Eliot (Bobcat Goldthwait), one of his subordinate execs, Frank has him fired and removed from the building minutes later.
So clearly we’ve got the cruel boss characteristic checked off, and bolded when he tells his personal assistance, Grace (Alfre Woodard) that she’ll need to reschedule her son’s doctor’s appointment that she’d had in the books for months now because Frank wants to work late, and when he works late, she works late. What truly makes or breaks any rendition of A Christmas Carol is the film’s Scrooge, and while Frank Cross doesn’t even have the middle name of Ebenezer as a nod to the iconic character, Murray does a fantastic job of embodying everything that made Scrooge Scrooge.
Yes, Murray is the perfect actor for this sort of role, as when he’s mean, boy is he harsh; however, he’s also got an incredible charm to him, so while you dislike his actions, he has the ability to make the audience laugh at how cruel he can sometimes be. The important part is that the actor has to be able to sell this road to redemption, all while resisting it at first, and again, Murray is a great choice to get the job done. He’s a superb villain-like boss, with no regard for anyone else’s life or what pain his actions may cause them, but once the ghosts come in and the layers start getting peeled back, Murray is allowed to branch out and let the walls come down brick by brick, and in doing so we get behind wanting to see Frank make right all the wrongs he’s made throughout his life.
Once the Ghost of Christmas Past (David Johansen) arrives we get to briefly understand why Frank is obsessed with television, and why he finds it so important to have it be there for people to tune in for; however, even though the Scrooge character has to be a, well, scrooge, Frank is a bit extreme in his disregard for others, so his transition from “Bah humbug!” to “Merry Christmas to all!” can be seen as rather jarring in the short period we’re with him. He’s so over-the-top hateful towards others that firing Eliot the day before Christmas Eve wasn’t Scroogy enough, no, he also had to look down towards the street with a telescope in his office and cheer that extra bit when Eliot was escorted off the property. Frank’s disregard for Eliot as a person would’ve actually been stronger had he not given the man a second thought once he gave the word to fire him.
There’s also the one who got away in Claire (Karen Allen), a kind-hearted woman who puts others – especially those in need – above her own needs and desires. Their relationship is believable enough, as Frank seems like a nice enough guy when they meet, he just puts his career above all else, which ultimately is too much for Claire. As a whole the love story subplot works, as the two do seem like they’d be good together if Frank hadn’t grown into such a, well, pretty evil person.
I’ll be honest in that some things fall flat, and some of the story is a bit messier than I’d wager was initially written. Eliot’s life absolutely crumbling after being let go was definitely an extreme way to go, and him showing up at work with a shotgun looking to kill Frank for revenge roughly 24-hours after being let go seems drastically out of character, even though we’ve only met him the one brief moment prior to his firing. Still, he seems like a genuinely good guy, which is why the firing works for the story. But he’s also not the Bob Cratchit character, as that’d be Grace, who also gets a rather rushed closing out to her story. There just isn’t time to have Frank run around to each person making amends, so they went a bit overboard with Eliot to get him back into Frank’s vicinity in a way where I’m not sure everything will be okay for him after holding his co-workers at gunpoint.
Co-writer O’Donoghue said at one point that he believed less than half of Glazer’s original script made it into the story, and that director Richard Donner just didn’t understand comedy well enough to leave in some of the subtler jokes and storytelling aspects. This is unfortunate, as the puzzle pieces are clearly there that this could’ve been a classic Scrooge tale instead of the fairly straightforward one that it is. The film’s saving grace and what makes it fun and entertaining on any level is definitely the work of Murray, and fans of his shouldn’t think twice about picking up this 4K remastering. To everyone else I say that the movie is at least worth a watch, and there’s no better looking way to do so in the comfort of your own home on a chilly winter day or night than with this remastering.
Overall Movie Score: 3/5
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
Visually, the movie looks phenomenal. The 4K remastering done by Paramount is beautiful, and the 2160p/Dolby Vision picture is gorgeous. The film was actually up for an Academy Award for Best Make-Up, and rightfully so, as the work done here is fantastic. Frank’s former boss and mentor, Lew Hayward (played by John Forsythe), looks incredible with all practical effects and makeup to make him look as though he literally just crawled out of a grave after being worm food for years so he can warn Frank about the spirits he’s about to encounter. Sometimes the upgrade in visuals would actually harm a movie like this, becoming too clear and clearing up some of the smoke and mirrors used; however, here’s it’s the opposite, as you get an even better look at the superb details used by the make-up team throughout the film!
On the audio side of things we’ve also got a fantastic DTS-HD 5.1 lossless track, which is carried over from the Blu-ray release, but that’s okay because it works. There’s a great sense of being surrounded by various noises when the movie calls for it, which always helps engross the viewer. There are knocks at the door, or ghostly noises that come from behind you, and as the room spins they do too. It’s a really well handled mix that compliments the brand spankin’ new visuals incredibly well.
Special Features
Speaking of new, we’ve also got a handful of never-before-seen special features here to enjoy as well! It’s a pretty solid and fun mix, so much so that it’s fairly surprising that they hadn’t been released on a prior Blu-ray before. But hey, now you get the best picture possible with all the bonuses in one place, so that’s another point in the win column! The special features break down as follows:
Director’s Commentary – Here we’ve got a commentary track by Donner who, despite the claims of the writers, did enjoy working on the film and has a lot to say about it. He and Murray did butt heads during filming, but Donner still only really praises him, which is good, as that’s the healthiest – albeit sometimes hardest – way to come out of a scenario where two creatives are trying to make the best product possible in their own minds.
A Christmas to Remember – This feature comes in at 14-minutes in length and sees the cast and crew talk about working on the film, how it came to be, what went into the making of it, and various other behind-the-scenes bits between clips of those involved talking about their experience.
Updating Ebenezer – This feature comes in at just under 14-minutes and focuses more on the decision to modernize the tale, the reasoning behind Frank being a TV exec, as well as some of the other choices that brought this version of A Christmas Carol into the modern day – well, modern day 1988!
Bringing the Ghosts to Life – This one is pretty self-explanatory! Coming in at just under 10-minutes, we get to see how the Oscar nominated make-up crew brought the ghosts to life, decisions made to help give them each their own identity and persona, as well as hearing from some who played the parts.
The Look of Scrooged – This featurette comes in at just over 6-minutes and focuses on the style of the film, the vibe they were going for, with a lot of the same cast and crew members being heard from in clips from past interviews.
On the Set with Bill Murray – Here we’ve got two smaller featurettes, one being “Brother’s Apartment,” and the other, “Frisbee The Dog.” Both are just under 4-minutes in length and are fun to watch, as we get a brief look at the set-up to each scene, with Murray talking with Donner, or make-up, or a co-star, and then we see the scene in action before finally seeing the final product found in the movie. It would’ve been great to have had more of these, but it’s nice to have these two at the very least.
Showest Clips with Bill Murray – I believe these are clips that would be shown before a movie in the theater, as that’s what they feel like. I can’t be 100% certain, but they’re definitely fun, quick watches, with Murray playing himself, talking about how Paramount spared no expense and to check out Scrooged in theaters when it comes out.
Paramount Pictures Presents Scrooged. Directed by: Richard Donner. Written by: Mitch Glazer, Michael O’Donoghue. Starring: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Alfre Woodard, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, David Johansen, Carol Kane, Lee Majors. Running time: 101 Minutes. Rating: PG. Released on 4K Blu-ray: Nov. 07, 2023.
