Scrooged

One of my all time favourite Christmas movies.  We watch it every year.  The final scene always brings tears to my eyes.  Bill Murray is fantastic as the ridiculously mean Frank Cross, the TV executive who schedules a live production of A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve.  The story uses all the essential elements of the Dickens novel, updated and set in 1980s New York.  I love Carol Kane as the wacky Ghost of Christmas Present.  The bit where she belts Frank with the toaster never fails to make me laugh.  Bill’s real-life brother James Murray plays his brother in the movie.  The Murrays are a large family of 9 kids, 5 of whom are actors (well - of sorts – one sister is a Dominican Sister who travels around the US portraying St Catherine of Siena).  It was nominated for an Oscar for best makeup.  The work on the Ghost of Christmas Future and the very funny ghost of Frank’s old, dead, boss was pretty much state of the art at the time.  Bill got a Saturn (Academy of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Films) nomination for best actor.  I think he deserved much more for this role, particularly the over-the-top, but seemingly completely sincere, speech that he delivers at the end.  You can’t go wrong with settling down to watch Scrooged at any point of your Christmas celebrations.