Bill Murray, playing a nasty network-TV executive, winds up director
Richard Donner's Scrooged (Paramount), a modernized spin-off of the
Dickens classic, with a dollop of yuletide cheer and bonhomie that would
choke Rudolph the reindeer. Playing the Scroogelike tycoon with a
god-awful production of A Christmas Carol in the works, Murray gets to
have it both ways, because the rest of the time-or most of it-Scrooged
is sock-full of rudely hip hilarity and sick seasonal jokes. John
Glover, Karen Allen, Robert Mitchum and Bobcat Goldthwait add dandy
contributions as Murray's helpers, though Carol Kane -- sporting angel
wings and a good right hook -- delivers the comic knockout punch as the
Ghost of Christmas Present. Pour an eggnog, too, for whoever had the
temerity to cast Buddy Hackett as Scrooge and gymnast Mary Lou Retton as
Tiny Tim in the TV special within the movie. If your funny bone has a
mean streak, here's a gift rap of wicked wit and spoofery to brighten
the holidays.
Copyright © 1989 Playboy Enterprises Inc.