After half a lifetime of neglecting his friends and family and forsaking the love of his life for power, money, and just plain old self-serving meanness, Frank Cross (Bill Murray), the youngest top executive in television history, spends his latest Christmas Eve cutting Christmas bonuses, firing employees, and basking in self-generated misery while he reaps the benefits of his latest despicable promotional campaign. While preparing for a live version of A Christmas Carol, he will undergo his own transformative experience of Dickensian proportions before the night is through. Richard Donner's Scrooged is a generally welcomed retreat from the usual holiday fodder and an eccentric and often wickedly funny comedy until the fun starts to peter out around the halfway mark. Bill Murray is mostly amusing and receives swell support from an unexpected cast which includes Robert Mitchum, Karen Allen, and Alfre Woodard, although this lends to considerable disappointment later on when the lackluster ghosts are introduced. The opening spoof holiday trailers are a highlight and include titles like The Night the Reindeer Died, Father Loves Beaver, and Bob Goulet's Old Fashioned Cajun Christmas.
