12 Days of Christmas Movies: Scrooged

by Tyler Glover
It’s the most wonderful time of the year where we all gather as families (though, unless they’re already in your bubble we don’t recommend that this year), decorate the house and tree with Christmas lights and ornaments and sit down in front of our television screens with a nice hot cup of cocoa to watch some of our many favorite Christmas movies. This year The Word is celebrating 12 Days of Christmas Movies with our favorites to watch around the happiest time of the year. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do and if you haven’t seen them be sure to seek them out. 

Photo: Paramount Pictures

​One of my favorite Christmas movies to watch every holiday season is the 1988 comedy, "Scrooged." It is a modern day re-telling of "A Christmas Carol" with Bill Murray starring as IBC Television president Frank Cross, who is doing a live production of "A Christmas Carol" on Christmas Eve. Due to the demands of a live production, his employees will be working long hours on Christmas Eve. When he is met with opposition from an executive named Eliot, Frank fires him. Frank is more concerned about the business and does not really care about his employees. However, to help him see the error of his ways, Frank is visited by three ghosts: the ghosts of the past, present, and future. Their goal is to get him to reflect on his life and help him realize what decisions he needs to make to be the best version of himself that he can be. The standout in this film is the performance of the Ghost of Christmas Past played by Carol Kane. Kane may only be in the film about 15 minutes but makes you laugh hysterically the entire time. Kane's ghost kicks him, slaps him and hits him with a toaster. The line I always laugh at so hard is "Sometimes you have to slap them in the face to get their attention." Murray is also splendid and as we see Frank begin to turn a new leaf, we all get a reminder about what is important in life. While this could have been a cheap knockoff of the Dickens' classic novel, it did an incredible job of updating it to a new audience and giving it a new but familiar perspective.

"Scrooged" can be rented on Amazon Prime Video for $2.99