After Bill Murray struck gold with Ghostbusters in 1984, he dropped off the radar a little. His personal project The Razor's Edge flopped with audiences and critics, and I think that must have been a blow to him. Besides making a cameo in the amusing Little Shop of Horrors, he stayed away from the Hollywood circuit for four years.
But then in 1988 he resurfaced with Scrooged, an update on the classic Charles Dickens tale. Obviously trying to repeat the success of Ghostbusters, Scrooged was a modest hit with audiences, who considered it Murray's comeback role.
When I was younger, I loved Scrooged. I thought it was funny and delivered on so many levels. But as I've gotten older, Scrooged has gone down considerably in my estimation. Instead of feeling funny, it now feels laboured, and forced. And I never thought I would say this, but the main reason Scrooged doesn't work is because of Bill Murray.
Bill Murray is one of my favourite comedians. In fact I think he's one of the funniest men alive. His dry, laconic outlook on life is nearly always hilarious. Just look at some of the gems he's turned out. Ghostbusters. Groundhog Day. Lost in Translation and the sadly overlooked Broken Flowers.
But then there's Scrooged. A film that should have been a perfect vehicle for Murray's talents, but it never even gets out of the gate. And I blame that on Murray, sadly. He did the theme of a miser seeing the error of his ways to much greater effect in the absolutely wonderful Groundhog Day, which is my personal favourite comedy of the 90s.
In Scrooged, Murray is the borderline power-mad TV exec Frank Cross. A man so consumed by greed and hate he thinks nothing of firing employees if they even look at him the wrong way. Frank is on a dangerous path, and will lose everything if he doesn't change his ways. And so step in the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future to show Frank what he's missed out on in life.
There is some invention during the scenes of ghostly visitations. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a grizzled New York cab driver. The meter is actually a calender that shows the year Murray is in. The Ghost of Christmas Present (a horribly screechy performance by Carol Kane) is like an insane Sugar Plum Fairy with a nasty habit of punching Frank repeatedly. The Ghost of Christmas Future is just as Dickens left it. Except it has a TV for a face.
Usually I like Christmas tales with dark centres, like the excellent Nightmare Before Christmas and the hilarious Gremlins. Two brilliant films that succeed on every level. But sadly, Scrooged doesn't deliver. Whenever Bill Murray is in a film, he's usually the best thing about it. Here he's the worst. He's clearly not having a good time. He approaches each scene with indifference. When he's hands on with material, he can deliver superb performances. But he's strictly hands off with this film. And as a result, it makes his supposed redemption in the final scenes that all the more false.
There are occasions where his trademark sarcasm shines. I liked the scene where he collects an award for Humanitarian of the Year. Its funny because Murray is notorious for shunning the award ceremonies, and his clear distaste for the Oscars is mirrored in that scene. His acceptance speech is a marvellous send-up of the countless celebrities who stand up to the mike and drone on and on about their achievements.
But elsewhere Scrooged falls flat. There is no evidence that Frank is slowly thawing. And because Murray overacts badly in this film (strange considering that he prefers minimalist acting), I couldn't believe for a second what I was seeing. Murray spends a lot of his time shouting his way through the film to the point that it becomes tedious.
In the supporting cast, we do get some occasional rays of sunshine. John Glover is hilarious as the exec brought in to lighten the burden on Frank's shoulders, when really he's after his job. John Forsythe sports an astonishing makeup job as Frank's old boss, who appears as a decaying corpse, the film's version of Marley's Ghost. And the underrated Karen Allen shines as the woman Frank gave up for the sake of his career.
But its in the final scenes where Scrooged comes crashing down. Frank has seen the error of his ways. And to prove it, he barges on to the set of a live retelling of A Christmas Carol the TV studio is putting on. Frank goes on and on (and on) about the true meaning of Christmas. And its a horrible thing to see. Murray doesn't sound like he believes a word of what he's saying. It seems to go on forever. And I felt really embarrassed for him.
What a pity! Scrooged could have been a hip, witty deconstruction of A Christmas Carol. And nobody does nasty and sarcastic better than Bill Murray. Where did it all go wrong then? How did it so completely miss the mark? Shame considering it came from Richard Donner, the man behind classics like Superman and The Omen. And such a waste of Robert Mitchum and John Houseman.
Very poor, and ultimately very depressing too.
But then in 1988 he resurfaced with Scrooged, an update on the classic Charles Dickens tale. Obviously trying to repeat the success of Ghostbusters, Scrooged was a modest hit with audiences, who considered it Murray's comeback role.
When I was younger, I loved Scrooged. I thought it was funny and delivered on so many levels. But as I've gotten older, Scrooged has gone down considerably in my estimation. Instead of feeling funny, it now feels laboured, and forced. And I never thought I would say this, but the main reason Scrooged doesn't work is because of Bill Murray.
Bill Murray is one of my favourite comedians. In fact I think he's one of the funniest men alive. His dry, laconic outlook on life is nearly always hilarious. Just look at some of the gems he's turned out. Ghostbusters. Groundhog Day. Lost in Translation and the sadly overlooked Broken Flowers.
But then there's Scrooged. A film that should have been a perfect vehicle for Murray's talents, but it never even gets out of the gate. And I blame that on Murray, sadly. He did the theme of a miser seeing the error of his ways to much greater effect in the absolutely wonderful Groundhog Day, which is my personal favourite comedy of the 90s.
In Scrooged, Murray is the borderline power-mad TV exec Frank Cross. A man so consumed by greed and hate he thinks nothing of firing employees if they even look at him the wrong way. Frank is on a dangerous path, and will lose everything if he doesn't change his ways. And so step in the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future to show Frank what he's missed out on in life.
There is some invention during the scenes of ghostly visitations. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a grizzled New York cab driver. The meter is actually a calender that shows the year Murray is in. The Ghost of Christmas Present (a horribly screechy performance by Carol Kane) is like an insane Sugar Plum Fairy with a nasty habit of punching Frank repeatedly. The Ghost of Christmas Future is just as Dickens left it. Except it has a TV for a face.
Usually I like Christmas tales with dark centres, like the excellent Nightmare Before Christmas and the hilarious Gremlins. Two brilliant films that succeed on every level. But sadly, Scrooged doesn't deliver. Whenever Bill Murray is in a film, he's usually the best thing about it. Here he's the worst. He's clearly not having a good time. He approaches each scene with indifference. When he's hands on with material, he can deliver superb performances. But he's strictly hands off with this film. And as a result, it makes his supposed redemption in the final scenes that all the more false.
There are occasions where his trademark sarcasm shines. I liked the scene where he collects an award for Humanitarian of the Year. Its funny because Murray is notorious for shunning the award ceremonies, and his clear distaste for the Oscars is mirrored in that scene. His acceptance speech is a marvellous send-up of the countless celebrities who stand up to the mike and drone on and on about their achievements.
But elsewhere Scrooged falls flat. There is no evidence that Frank is slowly thawing. And because Murray overacts badly in this film (strange considering that he prefers minimalist acting), I couldn't believe for a second what I was seeing. Murray spends a lot of his time shouting his way through the film to the point that it becomes tedious.
In the supporting cast, we do get some occasional rays of sunshine. John Glover is hilarious as the exec brought in to lighten the burden on Frank's shoulders, when really he's after his job. John Forsythe sports an astonishing makeup job as Frank's old boss, who appears as a decaying corpse, the film's version of Marley's Ghost. And the underrated Karen Allen shines as the woman Frank gave up for the sake of his career.
But its in the final scenes where Scrooged comes crashing down. Frank has seen the error of his ways. And to prove it, he barges on to the set of a live retelling of A Christmas Carol the TV studio is putting on. Frank goes on and on (and on) about the true meaning of Christmas. And its a horrible thing to see. Murray doesn't sound like he believes a word of what he's saying. It seems to go on forever. And I felt really embarrassed for him.
What a pity! Scrooged could have been a hip, witty deconstruction of A Christmas Carol. And nobody does nasty and sarcastic better than Bill Murray. Where did it all go wrong then? How did it so completely miss the mark? Shame considering it came from Richard Donner, the man behind classics like Superman and The Omen. And such a waste of Robert Mitchum and John Houseman.
Very poor, and ultimately very depressing too.