Why is SCROOGED So Hated?

'Tis the season once again, and everywhere you go you're sure to find countless film adaptations of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Everyone has their own personal favorite, mine a tie between the 1984 TV movie starring George C. Scott and the 1993 Muppet version. But the one adaptation that I think gets the most bad press is 1988's Scrooged, starring Bill Murray.

The story is a modern retelling of the tale starring Murray as Frank Cross, a cold tyrant of a TV exec making preparations for the live broadcast of A Christmas Carol on his station. And you know the drill, three spirits come and show him his Christmas past, present, and future if he continues his unfeeling ways.

Now despite being a more comedic take on the story, Scrooged is actually a fairly faithful and very unique adaptation. The events leading up to Cross's present are treated seriously and once again you can sympathize that this guy would hate Christmas. Bill Murray is excellent as the bitter Cross, portraying him as utterly unfeeling and cynical. Other highlights are Karen Allen as Cross's heart broken ex and Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present, almost like an abusive version of Glinda the Good Witch (from which most of the film's funniest moments occur).

However, to this day Scrooged remains one of the most hated adaptations of the story. In fact, a book on Christmas Carol trivia calls it "The Worst Adaptation" and the film didn't put the critics in '88 in a very holly jolly mood. It has a strong fanbase today, but why is this film still a humbug for others?

I think that this film is just far too dark for a lot of people, and I can understand that. Scrooge in the original story was always a mean old man, but Frank Cross is just plain cruel in this movie. It's like he has absolutely no feelings towards other human beings, including his brother, his overworked secretary, and the woman he once loved. Bill Murray is always great at playing the eccentric jerk, but this character is downright despicable in most of the movie, probably making him the coldest Scrooge adaptation ever. Not only that, but just a lot of the film's tone in general is very dark. The Jacob Marley-surrogate and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come are downright disturbing, as are most of the events that will take place in Cross's future if he doesn't wise up. The dark comedy takes a nose dive and becomes depressing when we see Karen Allen's character become just as cruel as Cross and the Tiny Tim-surrogate being placed in a mental asylum.

However, I think the greatest turn-off for most of the people that hate this movie is the ending. When Cross announces that he has finally realized the wonders of Christmas and love for his fellow man it seems kind of....faked. In the original tale, Scrooge promises the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come that he will change his ways. Cross comes into his live broadcast and starts yelling it like a lunatic, making you question whether he's really changed or petrified as to not have something like this happen again. I just caught the end of Scrooged on TV the other night and I realized why this might not click with some people.

So, that is my diagnosis as to why Scrooged is so hated. If you have a different reason, let the Doctor know. I can understand why some people wouldn't like this movie, but I'm going to keep enjoying its dark humor and Christmas lunacy. And Bill Murray.