Scrooged

(Richard Donner, US 1988, 101 min., 35mm)

No holiday season is complete without a version of Charles Dickens’s timeless parable. Here, director Richard Donner updates the tale by transposing the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge into irascible television network executive Frank Cross (Bill Murray). Cross, planning complete television domination with a live broadcast of A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve (with Mary Lou Retton as Tiny Tim!), keeps his disgruntled employees late, as they were hoping to get home to their families. Cross’s deceased mentor, Lew Hayward (John Forsythe), takes on the Marley role, sending three spirits to Frank to help guide him on his way. Surprisingly prescient commentary on America’s media obsession is peppered with an all-star comedic cast, including Karen Allen, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Alfre Woodard, Bobcat Goldthwait, and all three of Murray’s brothers.