Scrooged is one of dozens of cinematic Christmas Carol riffs that have been made over the years, but it’s also one of the most quietly timeless. Directed by Richard Donner, Scrooged is a loose adaptation of Charles Dickens’ immortal story that served as Bill Murray’s big cinematic return following the success of Ghostbusters.
Co-starring Karen Allen, Alfre Woodard, John Glover, John Forsythe, and Carol Kane, Scrooged was met with mixed reviews when it came out. However, it’s grown into a seasonal classic with a dedicated fan base. The reason Scrooged endures so well is that it has the right balance of prickly 1980s satire and a timeless version of the story.
Scrooged Is The Most 1980s Christmas Carol Ever
There’s something so wonderfully and deceptively timeless about Scrooged‘s dark humor, harsh edges, and sweet core that makes it one of the best ever movie adaptations of A Christmas Carol. The film stars Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a shallow, cruel, and short-tempered TV executive. It’s a role that pushes Murray’s typical comic identity to the extreme.
It could only really work with someone like Murray, who plays Cross’ outbursts for pure laughs but knows how to find the vicious edges and surprising moments of vulnerability. As a 1980s stand-in for Ebenezer Scrooge, Cross is a businessman who makes his fortune by controlling others, albeit in the form of the entertainment they consume.
Cross’ efforts to draw in the most eyes possible for his network’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol actually give an old woman a heart attack, something Cross celebrates as a successful piece of publicity. At the same time, his casual dismissal of the less fortunate as sub-human is consistent with many other portrayals of the Scrooge character.
The culture of the film is unapologetically rooted in the 80s era, with plenty of nostalgia for the 50s, financial divisions growing between classes of people, and darker visions of a crueler America coming to life. The movie even includes an attempted shooting, which hits a lot differently now than when Scrooged debuted.
Scrooged has TAB, references to the Berlin Wall, and VCR’s as a luxury gift. The social values and norms are also at play, especially when it comes to the depiction of Calvin Cooley’s mental health and his inability to speak after witnessing the death of his father. There’s a definite layer of 80s city grime that’s absent from many adaptations of the story that actually helps make it so effective.
There’s a harshness to the comedy of Scrooged, an awareness of the rough elements of the 1980s. Its reimagining of characters like Scrooge, Cratchet, and Jacob Marley are all very rooted in the time, in a way that makes them firmly of their era that still highlight their core timeless qualities as characters.
Scrooged Is A Harsh Satire And A Sweet Story
I watch Scrooged every year because it’s one of my favorite versions of the Christmas Carol story. In particular, it’s the harsh contrast from the film’s darker elements to the enduring humanity at the core of the story that appeals to me. Cross is a genuinely cruel version of Scrooge, who spends much of his visions in denial.
Maybe the most haunting moment in the film is when Cross, exiting one of the fantasies of the ghosts, stumbles across the frozen corpse of a man he encountered at a shelter. Cross rages, wondering angrily why he didn’t find shelter or help, in direct contrast to his argument that people like him need to be brushed off.
He’s not a Scrooge who adjusts to the lessons quickly. Cross highlights how good of a satirical character Scrooge is, a terrible person who only cares about himself until he’s forced to finally confront that fact and what it costs him. That’s what makes Cross’ final evolution, finally begging for help himself to escape his future, so powerful.
Cross is a Scrooge who has to learn his lesson. He tries to logic his way through visions, bargains, denies and sadly accepts them as lessons. None of that stops them until he’s literally begging for another chance. That it then shifts not just into genuine heartfelt emotion but wacky dark comedy gives Scrooged a uniquely effective heart.
Scrooged is funny, harsh, and just like almost every good holiday story, reassuring. The film ends with Cross genuinely making amends, opening up to his loved ones, and asking everyone else to do the same. It’s a Christmas miracle that pays off the film’s version of Tiny Tim in the most heartfelt way possible.
Scrooged is a holiday constant for my household, with a dark sense of humor that makes the better aspects of the holiday season shine all the more brightly. It ends with a song sung across the lines of life and death. Scrooged is an amazing version of the Christmas Carol story, and the perfect blend of timely and timeless.
