Overview
A cynical TV executive learns the true meaning of Christmas through a supernatural journey.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- sardonic
- irreverent
- christmas viewing
- holiday movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film an energetic and sharply conceived modernization of Dickens, praising its satire and Bill Murray while noting uneven humor and an increasingly sentimental, darker tone.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Frank Cross runs a television network and shapes programming around ratings, advertising, and audience manipulation.
Three ghosts force Frank to confront his past, present behavior, and possible future.
The film pairs christmas music and holiday programming with hostile workplace behavior, ghostly confrontations, and darker visions.
Frank's television ambition has alienated his assistant, his brother, and Claire while the ghosts challenge his priorities.
Films like Scrooged, and why
a christmas carol
shares a christmas redemption framework, supernatural visitation, and dark comic tone
bad santa
shares caustic workplace satire, abrasive comedy, and a redemptive character arc
it's a wonderful life
shares holiday fantasy, warm moral transformation, and christmas sentimentality
the family man
shares high-concept christmas comedy, family reconciliation, and buoyant holiday energy
Movie Details
- Director
- Richard Donner
- Release Date
- 1988-11-22
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (1765)
Cast
- Bill Murray
- Karen Allen
- John Forsythe
- John Glover
- Bobcat Goldthwait
- Robert Mitchum
- David Johansen
- Carol Kane
- Nicholas Phillips
- Michael J. Pollard
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Scrooged about?
- A vicious television executive receives a supernatural christmas intervention that turns ratings obsession into a reckoning with empathy, loneliness, and lost human connection.
- What is Scrooged like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Scrooged as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Scrooged violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Scrooged as mild.
- What did critics think of Scrooged?
- Critics broadly found the film an energetic and sharply conceived modernization of Dickens, praising its satire and Bill Murray while noting uneven humor and an increasingly sentimental, darker tone.
- Which films are like Scrooged?
- Films with a similar feel include a christmas carol, bad santa, it's a wonderful life, and the family man.
- How long is Scrooged?
- Scrooged runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch Scrooged?
- In United States, Scrooged is available to rent or buy from JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex.
