I'm only 9 days into this and I am already on to my third film which is directly related to 'A Christmas Carol', and I can tell you now that it will definitely not be the last. Out of the 3 films I have watched so far I can say that 'Scrooged' (1988) has been the one I enjoyed most. I have been meaning to watch this film for about 5 years, but every year Christmas comes and goes and I can't watch it until next year. With this challenge I set myself I had no excuse this year. And I am very lad I finally got round to watching it. This film is not only a great adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol' but it is also a great comedy, unsurprising as it stars Bill Murray. The film follows Frank Cross (Bill Murray), a mean spirited and cynical TV executive who treats his family, friends and colleagues with contempt. He cares only for money and views and this has warped his personality beyond recognition (sound familiar?) He is soon visited by the zombie of his old boss who warns him that he will be doomed to damnation if he carries on his ways. He is then visited by three ghosts, the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future who are sent to teach him the error of his ways and accept the spirit of Christmas into his heart. I feel like I have wrote this plot synopsis before...
As you can tell from my description of the plot, this film follows the plot of 'A Christmas Carol' extremely closely. Its about a cynical man who is consumed by money being visited by three spirits and changing his ways. Classic tale. What makes this a good adaptation is that it takes the story and adapts it brilliantly into a more modern setting. This goes from the basic setting, with the film taking place in 1980's New York instead of Victorian Era London, to the design of the three spirits. This is one of my favourite changes within the film. the Ghost of Christmas future stays pretty much the same, a tall, hooded figure resembling the grim reaper. Not much is changed with this design except for the zombie like figures which live within the ghost's rib cage, the reveal of which is great moment of comedy thanks to Murray's fantastic reactions. But the design of the two other ghosts are drastically different and I really enjoy the changes. The ghost of Christmas Past is shown as a stereotypical New York cabby, from the accent to the mannerisms, it takes the stereotype and turns it up to 100. The Ghost of Christmas Present is portrayed as a hyperactive fairy with a tendency for violence. Again, this is very far away from the way the ghost is presented in the original story. But in this film it works brilliantly. Both new portrayals allow for moments of comedy to come much easier than they would if they had kept the original designs of these characters. This is especially true with the Ghost of Christmas Present. In the original story he is a jolly giant filled with Christmas cheer. In this film it is similar, except the characters tendency for violence is it contrast to her mannerisms and facial expressions, which leads to several comedic moments. It is these adaptations within the film which makes it stand alone as its own film while also clearly being an adaptation of the classic story.
The performances in the film are all very solid, with one which is fantastic (one guess who that is from). Karen Allen puts in a good performance as Claire Phillips, Frank Cross' former lover. The character is not that brilliantly written. She seems to have no real arc. She loves Frank despite him treating her like shit in all honesty, which is not necessarily a bad thing. But she is won over constantly. He will just appear and she doesn't seem to care that he treated her badly until he does it again. But he will again show up and the cycle continues. Despite this she puts in a really charming performance and the chemistry between her and Murray is really strong. I have already mentioned the Ghost of Christmas Past, played by David Johansen, and the Ghost of Christmas Present, played by Carol Kane, and the solid comedic performances they both deliver. Another great comedic performance comes from Bobcat Goldthwait playing Elliot Loudermilk, a member of Frank's staff who is of a nervous disposition. He is sacked very early on in the film and is shown throughout as his life comically crumbles in front of our eyes. John Glover plays Bryce Cummings, and he is the most stereotypical 80's character in the film. He is a sleazy, two-faced exec who plays up his respect for Frank too his face but is more than happy to see him supposedly losing his mind so that he can steal his job. He plays the sleaze ball really well and you can't help but hate the guy. The creme de le creme of the performances within this film is of course from Murray. This is a performance that shows off the peak of Murray's comedic powers. His reactions to every situation he is put in is classic Murray and it is ridiculously entertaining. But we also get moments of genuine emotion and stellar acting that Murray has delivered in some of his later roles. It is well rounded performance by the actor and it his performance which carries the film from being good to being great.
It shouldn't have taken me this long to get to watching this film, but better late than never. This film is a great adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol'. It manages to stick very closely to the original story whilst having enough changes so that it feels like its own separate creation. the performances are all strong and allow for the comedic elements of the film to really hit home. And, of course, Bill Murray is yet again superb. His performance alone is worth the time needed to watch the film. It is most definitely a recommend from me. I do advise you don't take as long as I did to watch it as it is very much worth your time.