Scrooged (1988)
Retro Review #27: A film that tries to get away with putting lipstick on a Christmas pig that's impersonating a Christmas classic.
Scrooged (1988) — A film that tries to get away with putting lipstick on a Christmas pig that’s impersonating a Christmas classic.
+ Feature film, 1h 41m
C ^
Family Suitability
+ ❌1️⃣ Light adults-only content. | PG-13
Alignment with Judeo-Christian Values
+ ⛔4️⃣ Horrible/Extremely Unfavorable
+ Based on literature (novella) A Christmas Carol. (1843)‼️🔙⭐ by Charles Charles Dickens ⭐
Scrooged (1988)
Grade: C ^ (0.0) / HOF: 0
EQ 👍B | 📖C+ 👥B- 📽️A+ 🎼B
DW 🚫5.6 | 🌚12 🌝5
POPCAP 💯n/a 🍿n/a 🧢n/a
L-R ☮️n/a ◀️n/a ▶️n/a 🛐n/a
I wanted to love Scrooged, I really did. I somehow missed this in the theaters, and as a bit of a Bill Murray fan, I’ve been intending to watch it for years.
The film opens with a scene of Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole, under attack from terrorists. Lee Majors, the Six Million Dollar Man, arrives to protect Santa. It’s an exceptional Dark Whimsy opening, but it turns out to be just a preview commercial for The Night the Reindeer Died, a movie in the fictional Scrooged universe. The Night the Reindeer Died is scheduled for Christmas Eve on the TV network run by the main character of Scrooged, Frank Cross.
Cross is played by Murray and is the Ebenezer Scrooge stand-in in this modernized adaptation of A Christmas Carol. by Charles Dickens. Sad to say, but in my opinion, the opening was the best part of the whole film and Murray wasn’t even in it. As for the parts he was in, I was disappointed. It wasn't his best work. I felt like he was just mailing it in.
The film definitely scored high on the Dark side of Dark Whimsy. It fizzled on the Whimsy side though. The costumes and makeup were great, adding to the Whimsy. And there were some funny parts. Carol Kane, as the Ghost of Christmas Present, was quite funny, and the second best portion of the movie. But overall, there weren’t many laughs. The Whimsy scale wants more!
Dark and Whimsy are always at odds. Whimsy involves childlike storytelling methods. Ideally, you use it to soften the darkness. This movie is too Dark for younger kids. It would scare them.
In fact, Scrooge got a PG-13 rating. I really don’t know what the MPAA was thinking here. There is a lot of adult language, several innuendos and off-color joking, and some borderline nudity. I don’t think it’s appropriate for teens, but I guess that’s usually how I feel about PG-13’s. Mind you, in theory, I’m OK with making movies that are only appropriate for adults, if there's a solid (non-gratuitous) reason for the adult content (in this case there wasn't). But let’s admit teens shouldn’t be watching such films.
And it isn’t that I’m automatically docking the film for the adult content. I mean, I just gave Die Hard an A+^, and it had adult content that makes Scrooged a sweet bedtime story in comparison.
Here’s my issue: Adult content, especially language and sexuality, eventually destroys Whimsy. Children learn to understand and can cope with violence at a fairly young age, and Dark Whimsy can aid that process. They learn about pain, and have an idea about death. Dark and Whimsy may always be at odds, but it’s a balancing act. Extra violence can increase the Dark, but up to a point, you can get away with it if you add extra Whimsy. (Dark is heavier than Whimsy, so at some point too much Dark can’t be balanced!)
On the other hand, adding adult language or sexuality puts a limit on Whimsy, by altogether removing some of it from the balancing act. They serve to counteract Whimsy, not balance it. The more you add those adult elements, the less Whimsical you can be, no matter how many Whimsy elements you add that would normally work. You can sugarcoat violence—for example, Road Runner cartoons. But adult language and sexuality remain inappropriate for kids, even if put into a cartoon. Likewise they reduce Whimsy to some degree, even in content meant only for adults.
I was hoping Scrooged would be a solid Dark Whimsy entry, and was disappointed. I guess it’s tolerable if you’re just looking for a more adult Christmas comedy, but in that case, Trading Places is a better and funnier choice.
In addition, Judeo-Christian morality is mocked in Scrooged. That would bother me in any film, but it’s far worse when one of the great pieces of literature, celebrating Christian values on a Christian holiday is twisted and perverted into this mess called Scrooged.
This was most evident with the movie’s ending. I don’t want to say exactly why and be a spoiler, but lets just say that the story of redemption is the powerful core of the Dickens tale, and it was really ruined in Scrooged. If you have already seen Scrooged (or better yet, don’t care to see it), please go on to read my post that kicks off our Chat for a fuller, but spoiler-filled, explanation, and feel free to join in and discuss.
And all that said, even if I wasn’t a Christian I’d only give this film a “B” as far as entertainment value, considering its other few strengths and many weaknesses that I’ve already mentioned.
Onwards!
+ last viewed (2) 2025-12-16, HDX7, 1.85v, 2M
+ first viewed 2024-12-14, HDX7, 1.85v, 2M
+ Genre Line Goes Here
Family Suitability Detail
+ ❌1️⃣ Light adults-only content. | PG-13
+ 😡+0 😵💫-1 🤬-1 🤭-2^ 🫣-1
Judeo-Christian Values Detail
+ ⛔4️⃣ Horrible/Extremely Unfavorable
+ ✝️ -4 ➕(😇)❤️🩸(🥴) ➖😐😍😍🗿👹(🤬)💣💣❤️🩹♂️👙👙(🚬)🍺
+ ✡️ -4 ➕✡️🌗💎 ➖😐😍😍🗿👹🤬🤬💣💣🌓🌓🫢🫢
+ 🗽 -4 ➖😐😍😍🗿👹💻(⏰🇺🇳🇨🇳🤎)
Please do not include spoilers in the comments.
Spoilers are permitted in the Chat for this work.
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J: Maybe another year an Advent of Very Special Christmas Episodes? Though I imagine that would take more effort to find the best ones.
W: Have you ever watched The Tick Loves Santa? I think it would score high for Dark Whimsy but M owns it on a pirated file, don't know if maybe YouTube has it.
Also, does Elf make any of the lists? I admit I really liked that one!