This one has been on my list for quite some time. Not that I knew much about it going in, but this is a modern comedic re-telling of “A Christmas Carol” starring ’80s-era Bill Murray. What else matters?

So after scouring my local rental stores for quite a few Christmases, I was finally able to track down a copy of Scrooged that hadn’t already been let out. I popped in the Blu-Ray and immediately started wondering if I’d put in the right disc. For one thing, the scene looked like a Tim Burton movie, complete with a bombastic score from Danny Elfman in full-on Beetlejuice mode. In fact, I’d say that this movie heavily ripped off the uber-stylized gothic horror/comedy blend of Burton’s opus, except that Scrooged came out only nine months after Beetlejuice. I’m not sure if that’s enough time to reshape a film to this degree, but I digress.

Anyway, the opening scene takes place in Santa’s workshop, which is inexplicably being raided by men with machine guns. Even more strangely, the workshop is stocked with its own heavy artillery, which is quickly passed among the elves. And this is all before Lee Majors comes in, playing himself for whatever reason. Fortunately, this turns out to be a crappy TV show that’s being promoted alongside other crappy TV shows.

Yes, this movie is set inside a TV studio. As such, this story is uniquely positioned to talk about the growing cynicism and superficiality of society, especially with regards to the forced cheer of Christmas. Even better, these TV shows are played to an absurdly heightened degree, which means that their commercial and mean-spirited nature is played for laughs. To sum up, this opening sequence implicitly sets the tone for the rest of the film, doing so with some brilliant satire and visual humor. Genius.

There are so many reasons why the setting of a TV studio is conducive to the arc of a character like Ebenezer Scrooge. For one thing, it allows the character to assert himself in a creative and visual way, as opposed to just more of the same “Bah, humbug!” verbal abuse. Additionally, part of why Scrooge’s change of heart was such a big deal in the source text is because his outlook on life affected so many. When he was miserable, he worked to make everyone else miserable. When he learned how to be happy, the whole town was richer and happier for it. The difference is that Scrooge could only do as much for a single town, so just imagine what he could’ve done for a nationwide audience. Furthermore, Scrooge only had one employee to make amends for, but the protagonist in this film has hundreds of people working for him.

Anyway, Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, our Scrooge character for the film. He’s every bit the cold-hearted bastard you’d expect a Scrooge to be, except that it’s Bill Murray in his prime. Throughout his career, Murray has had a very unique ability to play sleazy in a charming way, to play charming in a sleazy way, and to repeatedly bounce from one to the other. I suspect that a lot of this has to do with Murray’s wit, which is amazingly straight-faced for how quick and destructive it is. In Murray’s hands, this Scrooge is a malicious and miserable man who’s nonetheless hilarious to watch from start to finish.

Cross’ main conflict is that while he’s going through his spiritual transformation, he’s putting on a multi-million dollar live adaptation of “A Christmas Carol.” Yes, that’s another interesting novelty about this film: These characters are already aware of the story that they’re retelling. Obviously, this leads to the TV show and Frank’s hauntings being staged in such a way that they comment on and play off each other, which leads to a few funny moments (the Ghost of Christmas Future, for example). What’s more important is that because Frank already knows the story, the hauntings have to be that much more strange and outlandish in order to surprise him and — by extension — us. Luckily, the ghosts in this movie deliver.

For one thing, the ghosts in this film were clearly designed without regard for staying true to the source material. As an example, in Dickens’ original story, the Ghost of Christmas Past was a light and airy thing while the Ghost of Christmas Present was considerably more hearty and human. In this movie, it’s sort of the other way around. The Ghost of Christmas Past (David Johansen) is a snarky New York cab driver, and the Ghost of Christmas Present (Carol Kane) is an oppressively sweet woman dressed up like a fairy. The Ghost of Christmas Future is mostly the tall, dark, and imposing hooded figure of the traditional depiction, though he’s also given a technological motif (elevators and TV, mostly), presented in a very creative way that inexplicably blends with the “Grim Reaper” look.

Oh, and there’s also Lew Hayward (John Forsythe), the movie’s Marley figure. He doesn’t have any chains or notable disfigurements, aside from the fact that he’s decomposing. Instead of being some ethereal being, Hayward — and all the other ghosts, come to think of it — is very much a material creature until he disappears from the scene. As a result, Marley and the other ghosts lend themselves to heightened moments of physical comedy, as well as scary moments that are legitimately threatening to Cross.

When you really think about it, all of the ghosts in the original text were actually quite gentle with Scrooge. Yes, they did show him visions that were specifically designed to frighten and/or guilt trip him into changing his ways, but they never showed any need or desire to reinforce the point by way of verbal or physical abuse. By contrast, the ghosts in this film do nothing but abuse Cross. Not only do the ghosts mock our protagonist without any mercy or reprieve, but they also throw him out of a skyscraper, burn him alive, and slap the shit out of him. Sometimes this is scary, but it’s actually very funny more often than not. Sorry, but there’s something inherently hilarious about an adorable little old lady beating the crap out of a grown asshole (Ghost of Christmas Present and Frank Cross, respectively).

Then there’s the Belle character, here named Claire Phillips and played by Karen Allen. Again, this movie plays fast and loose with the canon, since Cross’ old flame is currently single, keeps in touch with him throughout the film, and gets back together with him at the end. The relationship mostly works because Allen and Murray have great chemistry, both romantically and comedically. Allen very effectively works as a sounding board against Murray’s craziness, though she shows a great sense of humor as well. Furthermore, this movie took the step of showing Cross and Claire at the happiest point in their relationship, which bolstered the romance subplot to such a degree that I’m disappointed Dickens didn’t think of it first.

From a technical standpoint, this movie is incredible. The visuals are great, the makeup and costumes are very impressive, and the special effects are spectacular. Additionally, the cast defies description. The credits are a veritable who’s who of great character actors, including such names as John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, David Johansen, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Anne and Logan Ramsey, and many more. Hell, that isn’t even including Buddy Hackett, Lee Majors, Jamie Farr, Robert Goulet, Paul Shaffer, Miles Davis, and all the other many and varied celebrities who show up for cameos.

Unfortunately, where this movie really suffers is in its pacing. Unlike the source material, this movie shows Cross going about his day-to-day life in between hauntings. It’s a great idea in theory, since it might be used to show some mundane contrast against the supernatural happenings and illustrate Cross’ moral improvement. In practice, it sends the film off-kilter. Frank’s attempted returns to situation normal don’t bring him closer to being a decent human being, but rather make it easier for him to try and get back to his comfortable, miserable old self. As such, Cross spends the entire film taking one step back between every two steps forward.  It might actually be worse than that, since his apparently crazy ramblings don’t endear him to the other characters in any way until the ending. Then Cross hijacks an entire TV station during a live broadcast to make an extremely long-winded (albeit very heartfelt) speech and all is immediately forgiven.

Then again, Cross’ supposed mental breakdown does make for some very funny moments. The aforementioned Ghost of Christmas Future gag is one of them, and I admit that I laughed out loud when Cross was mistaken for a homeless person.

Scrooged holds up incredibly well. It’s a very fresh modernization of a classic story that takes extreme liberties with the canon while simultaneously honoring those ideas that make it so treasured. Pacing issues aside, the film is very funny, wonderfully presented, and cast to perfection. It’s definitely worth a watch.

Thanks so much for reading. Have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.