A Christmas Carol is a timeless tale that has been passed on for generations and generations. Many movie studios have taken it upon themselves to try and make their best version of Charles Dickens’s grand opus. Some versions are stranger than others, however. Especially when they’re trying to parody the source material and at the same time honor what made it a classic to begin with. That seems to be the case with the cult Bill Murray movie simply titled Scoorged.
Frank Cross is a young and selfish Tv executive who makes some very absurd choices for the tv company he works for. He also tries to push away anybody who cares for him, especially the love of his life. Soon he is visited by his old boss in the form of a ghost and he tells him that he’ll be visited by three other ghosts who will show Frank the cost of his actions and how it may not be too late for him to have a change of heart. Unfortunately, that may be easier said than done.
The overall story does seem a little confused as to whether it wants to be a full-on parody or a modern retelling of A Christmas Carol. a lot of time, it feels like they’re trying to make fun of the source material, and other times. It feels like the creators were trying to have fun with putting a cynical spin on the source material but they still needed to keep true to the Christmas Carol story. There are also the story beats when things start to become more emotional and at least for me it just doesn’t quite balance out the same way as something like Groundhog Day did expertly.
Don’t get me wrong though, when it’s funny, it’s really funny and a lot of that is due to Bill Murray being Bill Murray. His delivery and down to earth comedy make this movie so much fun to revisit. You just can’t help but laugh at how much of a horrible executive he is. He is one of the few people who can play a selfish person and yet still get a humorous response. Even when he’s going through his change of heart he still keeps his humor going and it just never lets you go until the end. The supporting cast is quite good too and they are good at working off of Bill Murray’s insane acting. I’ll admit, I got a laugh out of the characters who get bad luck thrown on them every time whether it’s getting hit or just plain classic slapstick.
Some of the effects in the movie were impressive to witness especially when we see the costumes of the three ghosts. The ghosts are just like the ones in the original story but with a bit of a modern twist. Their personality works just as well on a comedic level as it does on a visual level. I also like how they were visually interesting with how they show the past present and future of Frank Cross and each time Frank ends up in one of the visions it can quickly shift from being normal cinematography to something weird and puzzling. Danny Elfman makes a surprisingly good score to accompany the film and boy does it deliver. This was done a little before he rose in popularity with Tim Burton movie’s and yet it’s quite outstanding to hear his score with his trademark choir that does all the la’s and oo’s.
It’s hard to describe this movie for what it is trying to be. It tries to make fun of A Christmas Carol while at the same time retelling the original story in a modern setting. It’s a little confused in its tone but it sure does make up for it with some really funny comedy and some pretty darn good effects. If it wasn’t for Bill Murray, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this movie as much as I did. This movie has been growing more and more as a cult Christmas classic. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it sure is a fun ride even with a few bumps in the road.
(Final Grade: B)