Directed by: Richard Donner
Starring: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Robert Mitchum, Carol Kane, Bobcat Goldthwait, Michael J. Pollard, Alfre Woodard, John Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, John Forsythe
Scrooged is a modern-day retelling of A Christmas Carol with Bill Murray as the Scrooge-like Frank Cross, the head a television network who couldn't care less about Christmas, but is promoting a live retelling of A Christmas Carol on his network. "People need to be absolutely terrified to miss this," he tells his Bob Cratchit in the form of his loyal assistant Grace (Woodard), who is among the many Frank takes for granted. When he learns an elderly woman died after watching the commercial for the show, Frank is borderline elated. His heart is as cold as the temperatures.
There is hope, however, in the ghost of Lou Heywood (Forsythe), the Jacob Marley who warns Scrooge, er, Cross to change his ways before it's too late, and to also tell him of the visit from the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. Cross is taken on a tour of his life, which includes a former girlfriend (Allen), who is still alive and available, and a cruel father who thinks he should've gotten a job at four years old.
I don't need to tell anyone how the story turns out. Scrooged is a middling telling of this classic tale. Murray tries mightily to add sarcasm and a comic twist on the character, but we've seen Murray and Scrooge told better before.
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