Scrooged (1988)
This is Bill Murray at his finest. There is a sense of anarchy in his performance. There is no sense that he’s pretending to be mean, Frank Cross is a git. He thoroughly deserves the pasting he gets from Carol Kane’s Ghost of Christmas Present.
Frank is the Scrooge character. Successful but selfish, mean-spirited, climbing and a proper sod. In his path to the top, he’s screwed people over and lost the love his life but the Christmas ghosts do their thing and the Christmas spirit prevails. Yay!
I love everything about this movie. It could be the years of repeat watching, it’s definitely Bill Murray. It could be Robert Mitchum or Karen Allen or the fizzy ending. It’s brilliant.
Richard Donner directed The Goonies, then Scrooged and then Lethal Weapon. A perfect 80’s trio but this is the best.