'Scrooged' review by Captain Raptor
I expect a few of you are already sick and tired of the ubiquity of Christmas on the internet at the moment, so in that respect I'm sorry for the subsequent festive review. Counter-productive as it might be, this next review is dedicated to you - those called Scrooge and Grinch on a daily basis, who roll their eyes at the inundation of Christmas jumpers and who will most definitely be receiving a stocking full of coal. Not only shall I assess Scrooge's quality, but I'll assess its appeal to your misanthropic sensibilities.
What better antidote could there be for over-earnestness than Bill Murray, man of a thousand smirks? Updating the classic Charles Dickens parable to the modern day doesn't really sound like the most amusing of concepts (because it isn't), but I'm willing to give anything with Bill Murray a try. He does his usual schtick with the customary charm, but that's pretty much all the film's got going for it. The script is mostly just dull attempts at wit, only improved by Murray's delivery, and the gaps are filled in either by pop culture references - which normally I'm in favour of but given that they're from 1988 it went more than a little bit over my head - or lazy slapstick. Scrooged is funny in parts, but it feels dragged down by an overly sentimental concept and a desire to balance snark and sweetness that wasn't effectively carried out. On the plus side, this keeps the film from being overly saccharine and the cornier parts are closer to pleasant than irritating. On the negative side, the lack of conviction leads to a boring film that's neither charmingly cheesy nor subversively dark.
It's not a simple case of writing bad, Murray good. The lead actor does almost totally carry the film, but it's not a particularly energetic performance and he's made more of lesser roles before. The film has a few engaging, if not particularly entertaining, side characters, and the final scene in which our modern day Scrooge learns his lesson and speaks on the true meaning of Christmas is actually quite well done. The supporting cast isn't spectacular, and although there's nobody that actually gives a poor performance, maybe the film wouldn't drag on so much if Murray had some above-adequate back-up.
So, Scrooged isn't particularly good, but nor is it overwhelmingly poor. It's entertaining enough to be passable but you shouldn't expect too much from it. Now, for our less than enthusiastic about Christmas viewers, this film is far from being as nauseatingly sweet or as unabashedly stupid as some Christmas films can be, but it's still pretty focused on tidings of comfort and joy. It's inoffensive and enjoyable to a degree, but it's not a film worthy of much praise.
I expect a few of you are already sick and tired of the ubiquity of Christmas on the internet at the moment, so in that respect I'm sorry for the subsequent festive review. Counter-productive as it might be, this next review is dedicated to you - those called Scrooge and Grinch on a daily basis, who roll their eyes at the inundation of Christmas jumpers and who will most definitely be receiving a stocking full of coal. Not only shall I assess Scrooge's quality, but I'll assess its appeal to your misanthropic sensibilities.
What better antidote could there be for over-earnestness than Bill Murray, man of a thousand smirks? Updating the classic Charles Dickens parable to the modern day doesn't really sound like the most amusing of concepts (because it isn't), but I'm willing to give anything with Bill Murray a try. He does his usual schtick with the customary charm, but that's pretty much all the film's got going for it. The script is mostly just dull attempts at wit, only improved by Murray's delivery, and the gaps are filled in either by pop culture references - which normally I'm in favour of but given that they're from 1988 it went more than a little bit over my head - or lazy slapstick. Scrooged is funny in parts, but it feels dragged down by an overly sentimental concept and a desire to balance snark and sweetness that wasn't effectively carried out. On the plus side, this keeps the film from being overly saccharine and the cornier parts are closer to pleasant than irritating. On the negative side, the lack of conviction leads to a boring film that's neither charmingly cheesy nor subversively dark.
It's not a simple case of writing bad, Murray good. The lead actor does almost totally carry the film, but it's not a particularly energetic performance and he's made more of lesser roles before. The film has a few engaging, if not particularly entertaining, side characters, and the final scene in which our modern day Scrooge learns his lesson and speaks on the true meaning of Christmas is actually quite well done. The supporting cast isn't spectacular, and although there's nobody that actually gives a poor performance, maybe the film wouldn't drag on so much if Murray had some above-adequate back-up.
So, Scrooged isn't particularly good, but nor is it overwhelmingly poor. It's entertaining enough to be passable but you shouldn't expect too much from it. Now, for our less than enthusiastic about Christmas viewers, this film is far from being as nauseatingly sweet or as unabashedly stupid as some Christmas films can be, but it's still pretty focused on tidings of comfort and joy. It's inoffensive and enjoyable to a degree, but it's not a film worthy of much praise.
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