Before we start this journey together, I know. “Scrooged” is not currently on Netflix. A point we are all very sad about. However, it’s a holiday staple. “Scrooged” is a version of the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol,” but before you decide to skip over another version, you should hear the twist. The movie is about a television station putting on a live version of Scrooge on their television station Christmas Eve.
Frank Cross (Bill Murray), the station’s president, is as cruel and unhappy as the character that their network is trying to portray. So it’s only fitting when real life starts to imitate what’s happening on stage when Cross gets visits from the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
Now, “Scrooged” should already be waiting in your Netflix queue from last but if you’re still looking for reasons to watch it, I have one. His name is Bill Murray. He could easily be crowned as one of the funniest men ever and his role in “Scrooged” is only more evidence to that fact. Not only can he deliver even the most serious lines in a side splitting manner but his speech at the end of the film about how special Christmas is is so full of emotion and improv that you can’t help but be tossed into the holiday spirit.
“Scrooged” is the antidote to Christmas movies. It’s covered from head to toe in cynicism for the television and the holiday season. It constantly cracks jokes at the sappy and soulless crap that networks continue to pump out when the weather gets cold. What makes the movie a must-watch film this time of year is how it can poke fun at everything that makes us hate the season while still showing us the reasons that we look forward to it every year.
So if you’re taking a break from studying for finals. If you’re home for break wondering if you’re actually related to people around you.
If you just don’t want to go outside because it’s too damn cold and there’s too much snow, then give “Scrooged” a watch. There’s a chance it might warm your icy heart, but if not, maybe it will remind you what this holiday season is all about.
