As much as I'm sure that there are plenty of other modern day adaptations of the classic Dickens story that are played out for laughs (Especially on TV Christmas Specials) the one that people usually think of right away when they think of a modern day version of "A Christmas Carol" is this film. Actually I can't think of any other modern day telling of the story that's just as a famous as this film, and when you have an actor like Bill Murray as your star who's best know for playing cynical characters to have him once again encounter ghosts, it does sound like the perfect comical modern re-telling of this timeless Dickens story despite sounding like a cheap cash-in on "Ghostbusters" (The film's tagline actually says "Murray is back among the ghosts. Only this time, it's three against one"). Still as much as the film sounds like its marketing off of Bill Murray's "Ghostbuster" fame and yet is still being remembered and shown countless times on TV every year, is it actually a good movie that's a smart and fun modern twist of the famous Christmas tale that we all know and love? Well, before I start talking about the plot, I just want to let you know that this review will be different from the other "Christmas Carol" reviews. Instead of me walking through the film and talking about every key scene and moment from the story and how the film executes it, I'm just going to review this movie like every other review. I know the film follows the same exact formula that the classic Christmas story is known for, but since the film has different characters and that the story itself is set a different time with a few new twists, I feel like it's best for me not to give too much away. With that said, ON WITH THE REVIEW!
Set in 1988 in New York City, Bill Murray plays the successful, yet selfish, greedy and cynical youngest TV executive in history Frank Cross, who's forcing his staff at the "IBC" network to work on a live televised broadcast of "A Christmas Carol" during Christmas time. One night as Frank is working late in his office, his old boss Lew Hayward (John Forsythe) comes back from the grave to warn him that he must change the error of his ways or else he'll suffer the same doomed fate that he's suffering. The following day during Christmas Eve as Frank is trying to run the televised broadcast, three ghost visit Frank to help him change his ways and embrace the Christmas spirit as each of them show him segments of his life during the past, present, and future.
Casting Bill Murray as a comical and self-fish modern day Scrooge is just as hilarious as it sounds. We all know how great Murray can be at playing selfish and cynical characters and this performance is no exception. Every time you see him yell at people, boss his employees around, and give snarky comments to everybody that he meets (Including the ghosts) with his I don't give a crap attitude is just priceless. He really plays the mean side of his character so well that you hate him, but at the same time can't help but laugh at him for being this bossy attitude. The best part about both the film and Murray's performance is instead of just seeing Murray act as a jerk in the opening act and having him being visited by all three ghosts in one night or having him encounter each of the three ghosts back to back that lasts the whole day, each of the three ghosts come to visit Murray as he goes on with his day and give him time after each visit to think about his encounter with the ghost that he just met. The idea of having each of the three ghosts appear as Murray goes on with day is a new and smart twist to the classic Christmas story that gives us more time to associate with Murray's character and watch him slowly change as he goes on with his day, while also making the appearance from each ghost less predictable and more of a surprise.
Outside of Murray's scenes of being a complete selfish jerk to everyone that he encounters, seeing him breakdown during and after each visit is also very fun to watch due to the amount of energy that he puts into it. I also love how subtle and yet at times humorous Murray's reactions to the things that he witnesses in the past, present, and future are. They're not emotionally powerful or even that depressing for that matter, but you do get a sense of Murray's grief, even when he tries to humorously shrug it off. As much as I praise Murray's performance, in the end when he finally changes and redeems himself, I always find myself a bit mixed on this. On one hand he has some really funny moments, and seeing him get together with everybody he knows, talk about the spirit Christmas (that's mostly Murray ad-libbing), as well as leading everyone in a sing-along of "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" is pretty nice and a bit uplifting. But on the other hand, though, the speech he gives does goes on a bit too long, and above all there's hardly any subtly and gentleness in his redemption. In many other Christmas films and Specials (Especially in many film adaptations of "A Christmas Carol") when we see a character like Scrooge or George Bailey from "It's A Wonderful Life" change, they have their moments when they act crazy and overjoyed after learning the lesson that they've been taught, but there's still enough subtly and actual emotion put into both the character and performance that you feel everything that they feel which as a result makes you feel just as emotionally happy as the character is. With Murray on the other hand, he seems more like he lost his mind and is suffering from a nervous breakdown rather than feeling like that he actually learned the true meaning of Christmas. Even how he delivers that message as good as it is, he makes it sound like he’s forcing the message rather than inspiring people. To make matters worse, he interrupts a live airing of a Christmas show aimed for millions of viewers just to talk to the people that he know and love through the camera instead of actually approaching them or waiting for the Christmas show to nearly rap up (he interrupts the part when Scrooge finds out it’s Christmas, couldn’t he have waited once Scrooge tells Bob Cratchit that he’s going to raise his salary), and he hires a former crazy drunk employee with a shotgun to hold people in the staff hostage just so that he can give his speech. Do you see the problem yet? Like I said, a decent half of Murray's redemption does feel nice (I always get chills when he and the cast all sing together), but on the whole it just doesn't feel as emotionally touching as seeing someone like Scrooge, George Bailey, or even the Grinch (The cartoon) change their ways. Well it could be worse; at least Murray's transformation isn't as painful and boring as seeing Jim Carrey as "The Grinch" learning the true meaning Christmas.
Aside from the fitting casting choice of making Murray the modern day Scrooge, the rest of the cast are just as suitable for their roles. Starting with a few of the characters who are similar to the characters in the Charles Dickens story, Alfre Woodard plays Frank’s over worked and under-payed secretary Grace who has a son named Calvin (Nicholas Phillips) who remained mute after seeing his Father die. Woodard's character is obviously supposed to be the film's Bob Cratchit and she does a wonderful playing the modern day Bob Cratchit, while still given a performance and character that's fresh and new. I also really love the idea and concept of having her Tiny Tim like son not being able to speak, instead of being a crippled sick boy who's slowly dying. That's another twist to the classic story that I really admire the film for changing that's new and fits perfectly with the modern day setting of "A Christmas Carol". Still I'd be lying if I said that I was touched by the kid not being able to speak because I wasn't. As good as the idea is, and as hard as the kid and the actors interacting with the kid try to make this concept sad, it to me felt more like an afterthought, instead of coming across as emotionally powerful. As Frank enjoys working his secretary to death, Frank has a brother named James (John Murray) who he keeps neglecting around Christmas time, who is of course supposed to be based on Scrooge's only living relative his Nephew Fred. Much like how I praised Alfre Woodard's character and performance for being similar to the character in the Dicken's story that her character is based on, but still comes across as a new character with the modern day twists that her character is given, the same can be said about John Murray's performance as the Brother. He carries nearly the same personality and role that Scrooge's nephew played in the original story, but he's still given enough material to make his character standout on his own, and the idea of having our modern day Scrooge have a Brother who he grew up with, instead of a young Nephew is another interesting twist to this modern day re-telling of the story that I admire, and it seems very fitting to give Bill Murray's character a brother, since the guy playing the brother is Bill Murray's actual brother.
The film isn't completely filled with characters that are clearly based on the characters from "A Christmas Carol" because there are plenty of original characters as well. There's Robert Mitchum as Frank’s boss who Frank hates with a passion and yet feels intimidated by him which is always fun to watch as Mitchum plays it straight, while Murray tries to keep on his good side. You also have John Glover as the young cocky and full himself assistant that Frank’s boss hires who clearly wants Frank's job and the rivalry that he and Frank share is just as fun as seeing Frank kiss up to his boss. Out of all the supporting characters in the film that are not dead, the character I always get a huge laugh out of is Bobcat Goldthwait as the timid yes-man that Frank fires. Watching Goldthwait's character go from a shy and nervous yes-man, to a homeless drunk with a shotgun is so hilarious to watch that it never fails to make me laugh, especially when seeing the amount of abuse he goes through just to get a bottle of whiskey. The only supporting character I actually didn't care much about is the homeless guy Herman (Michael J. Pollard) that Frank encounters. Pollard's performance isn't bad and there is a scene that involves his character that I found to be both humorous and sad that makes Frank realize the impact of what a simple gift can bring, but I don't know, a part of me feels like that the film really didn't need him, and the interaction that he and Frank have together when they first meet as funny as some of it is, it mostly felt awkward and kind of forced. And when we do get to the scene when we're supposed to feel bad for the guy, as good as the scene is, it just kind of felt out of nowhere. I feel like if they gave Pollard's character a little more screen time and show at least another scene of him trying to interact with Frank as Frank once again tosses him aside, it probably wouldn't feel as random and might make his tragic scene a little sadder and more warranted.
As good as most of Murray's interactions with the other characters are, the relationship that I found to be the most intriguing is Murray's relationship with his old girlfriend Claire (Karen Allen) who is based on Scrooge's old girlfriend Belle. I really love that the film doesn't decide to just show us our main character's past relationship with his old girlfriend to only never see her again like in the original story, we actually get to see the two get reacquainted and try to build their relationship again. Out of all the changes to the story in terms of characters this to me is the most ingenious and effecting parts of the movie. Every time you see Murray and Allen together on screen they make such a charming couple that it's hard not find yourself engaged in their relationship. Every emotion that they have for each other really does seem real, instead of feeling phoned in. Even when they get one or two moments where they keep breaking up that feel rushed and forced, you still feel the emotional connection between them. I also find it really interesting that he and his girlfriend are the complete opposite from each other. Frank is selfish and only does his job for the money and fame, as Claire is caring and loves to give and help people without pay, especially around Christmas, which makes the idea of them getting back together a lot more difficult and giving Frank more of a reason to change.
I mentioned earlier how this film is obviously marketing off Bill Murray's fame from "Ghostbusters", and with good performances from the characters aside, are the ghosts that Murray encounters cool, imaginative, scary, and fun, instead of feeling like their rejects from "Ghostbusters" that now have the title of the three ghosts from the Dickens story, my answer to that is a big yes! These ghosts are so creative and fun to watch that the performances and effects are what make them so memorable. John Forsythe as Frank's old boss Lew Hayward who's the modern day Jacob Marley, at first plays his role as Frank's dead boss for laughs, but once he starts warning Frank about his fate that's when he starts becoming as frightening, intimidating, and sympathetic as the Marley character that we're all familiar with. The Makeup that they put on Forsythe is also really cool to look at. There's so much detail put into it that it looks very realistic and frightening, and the special effects that are used when we're in his presence are really impressive. Another ghost that I find to be very creative is the Ghost Of Christmas Future, who's design is faithful to the classic Dickens character, but has plenty of new twists to make him new and original, like giving him a TV for face and having poor souls trapped inside his chest, and the effects for the ghost are just as amazing as the effects used for Forsythe as Frank's dead boss. The ghost that I always get a kick out of whenever I watch this film is David Johansen as the Ghost Of Christmas Past, who's a New York City cab driver that takes Murray back to the past in his cab. The concept and effects for the ghost are just as creative as the other ghosts that I just mentioned, but David Johansen's performance is what makes this ghost so fun to watch with his crazy and eccentric personality as he constantly makes fun of Frank for his decisions as Frank tries to defend himself but in the end fails at doing so. The only ghost that I really didn't care too much about was Carol Kane as the Ghost Of Christmas Present who's a happy fairy that resembles Glinda The Good Witch from "The Wizard Of OZ" who loves to beat up and annoy Frank. As funny as some of the slapstick between them is, it feels unnecessary. I get that the idea for the ghost is for her to be the opposite of sweet and gentle, despite that she looks and sounds like she is, but the slapstick to me just seemed kind of forced, and the design and idea for the ghost isn't as creative and cool when compared to the other ghosts. Also as much as I enjoy Carol Kane in many other comedies, the voice she puts on along with her over the top childish behavior just gets irritating after awhile. The score for the film is composed by Danny Elfman (Who also composed the music for "Beetlejuice" that same year) and before we knew him best for his Christmas scores in Tim Burton films like "Batman Returns" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" that were both dark and fun Christmas films, this would be his first which surprisingly isn't a Burton film. The score like the other films I just mentioned does bring that comical and yet dark and edgy Christmas atmosphere along with that Christmas choir, and what makes this score so special and interesting is a lot of the cues that's used in the score would later be re-used in some of his other works, including "Batman Returns". It still amazes me that some of the trademarks that we know and love from Elfman originated from this movie, which makes me a bit sad that this score isn't as known or appreciated as some of Elfman's other works.
RATING 4/5
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
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