Scrooged

By Sherril Steele-Carlin

Funny but overdone.

"Scrooged" is another one of our new favorite Christmas films, even though it's not so new itself.  It was released in 1988, but even the special effects still seem pretty fresh, because it was made well and used good techniques.

It's a funny movie, if a bit strained at times, but it's good to see Bill Murray get the spirit of Christmas. Perhaps the best part of this remake of Charles Dicken's Christmas Classic, "A Christmas Carol," are the three ghosts who spook Murray on Christmas Eve. They're each a bit off the wall, and some are scarier than others, but the best is Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present, who conks Murray on the head with a toaster when he won't pay attention to her valuable lesson about himself and the way his family sees him.

The story parallels the Dicken's story in a variety of ways, with a story inside a story. Murray is a selfish and self-important network TV executive who has forgotten his past in his rise to the top. In a clever plot twist, his network is planning a glitzy television special on Christmas Eve, of, you guessed it "A Christmas Carol." The over the top TV announcements are hilarious, and they were surprisingly reminiscent of the recent NBC ads for the Kelsy Grammer remake…which made us laugh. Murray is visited by three Christmas ghosts, who show him the real meaning of life and get his life back on track, just like the original story.

Some of the film drags, and the part where his old girlfriend, played by Karen Allen, calls him "Lumpy" is almost painful to watch. However, most of the film is funny if not totally fresh, and it's a nice break from some of the more sentimental shows. "Scrooged" is certainly worth a watch this season, even if you fast-forward through the slow parts.