Scrooged is a funny retelling of the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The movie has a great cast of players and funnyman Bill Murray plays a central character called Frank Cross.
Like Ebenezer Scrooge, Frank is an extremely selfish and often deliberately cruel man. At one point in the movie, he tricks an older woman who has her arms full of Christmas gifts.
He jovially asks her if she’s dropped something. When she looks back to see if she has, he steals the cab she was about to get into. In another scene that shows how cruel Frank is, he suggests using a stapler to fasten antlers to a cute little mouse?s head.
He’s just as cruel to those he was once close to as well. His selfish actions have caused a relationship break with the woman he loved. He treats his brother disdainfully and when he does give a gift, it?s a thoughtless, cheap gift.
Frank works in the television industry and it?s his job to make program decisions. Varying a bit from the Dickens? classic, Frank has a female assistant like Ebenezer had Mr. Cratchit. It’s the female assistant who has the son that needs medical help. Frank?s underpaying habits and his drive to be the best often forces the assistant to spend long hours at work.
When Frank makes a terrible commercial and shows it to the staff, one man has the courage to point out how awful the commercial truly is. Frank promptly boots the man from the company and even goes so far as to make sure the guy won?t get the Christmas bonus. When the assistant protests that it’s Christmas Eve, Frank makes a snarky comment to her, clearly showing he has no compassion for his fellow man.
Trouble for Frank begins when he has to oversee the live production of the Dickens? classic tale. He unknowingly unleashes the same events that happened in the original A Christmas Carol into the present in his life.
He first gets a visit from a rather icky looking ghoul who once acted as Frank’s business idol. The ghoul, Lew, warns Frank that he?s about to get visits from ghosts and in the tradition of A Christmas Carol, Frank does – but these ghosts aren?t anything like the original ones. These ghosts fight back and take potshots at Frank. He delivers some funny one-liners, despite his fear at what he sees.
After his visit by the ghosts, Frank realizes he wants to change and sets out to undo all the wrong he’s done. He reconciles both with his brother and the woman he loved. The movie is a great Christmas comedy that you?ll enjoy.
