Richard Donner's Scrooged, although fairly odd in places, is a visual opus of glassy New York nightscapes and a prancing Bill Murray sporting a grinchy attitude and a hairdo that would make Sonic the Hedgehog jealous. Murray plays ad TV mogul Frank Cross with a bitter resentment that's just this side of mean, but that's always been his charm, blurring the lines between comedy and drama, seriousness and farce until we're not quite sure what kind of performance we're getting from him. Thrill follows the standard Dickens play by play, showing us a regressed, antisocial prick who gradually opens up over the course of one magical Christmas Eve, after being visited by three ghosts. The standout here is David Johansen as the Ghost Of Christmas Past, here manifested as a howling lunatic of a cab driver, a decrepit old ghouls that keeps Frank on his feet via manic energy for his segment of the film. Carol Kane will puzzle as the swooning, creepy Ghost Of Christmas Present, a doped out Tinkerbell in her twilight years. There's wicked fun from other actors including John Forsythe, John Glover, Karen Allen as Frank's old flame, and a nice Yuletide vibe that's only hampered by an extremely out of place third act monologue from Murray that feels forced, demented and uncomfortable, otherwise, solid holiday fun:)
Review of Scrooged
