"It's Christmas Eve! It's... it's the one night of the year when we all
act a little nicer, we... we... we smile a little easier, we...
w-w-we... we... we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the
whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be!"
The above quote comes at the end of this film and I love it. It's the best ending speech I can remember for a Christmas film, aside from Gregory Peck in Meet John Doe( another film I reviewed here in the past for Christmas)
I just recently watched this 1988 version of a Christmas Carol starring Bill Murray, I have no idea why it took me so long, perhaps it's because this story has been re-done over and over, but I loved this one.
It was written to fit in and relate to the culture it was filmed in, the 1980's.
Bill Murray plays Frank Cross the youngest president to oversee a television network. Here in the beginning we see Frank and his staff choosing some productions to show on Christmas day, their goal is for their station, the IBC Network, to own Christmas. It would be kind of like TBS today which shows
A Christmas Story over and over for 24 straight hours so they can own Christmas ratings.
Three of the amusing shows they are thinking about for their Christmas lineup:
1. The Night the Reindeer Died (the Six Million Dollar Man Lee Majors comes to Santa's rescue)
2. A Robert Goulet Cajun Christmas (opening shows Goulet in a tuxedo rowing a boat while singing)
3. Father Loves Beaver (an updated version of Leave it to Beaver)
Frank Cross laughs off at his staff. Frank wants high flying action and drama, and chooses to do a live version of A Christmas Carol with risque dancers and Olympian Mary Lou Retton to play Tiny Tim.
Tiny Tim will rid himself of his crutches and vault through the air acrobatically.
Frank Cross is such a scrooge, his Christmas gifts to his brother and staff...a Christmas towel.
So, how did Frank become such a scrooge? When the ghost of Christmas Past appears in the form of a cab driver, he takes Frank on a trip to his childhood. Their first stop is Frank's childhood home.
" I get it. You're here to show me my past, and I'm supposed to get all
dully-eyed and mushy. Well, forget it, pal, you got the wrong guy", Frank shouts.
"That's exactly what Attila the Hun said. But when he saw his mother... Niagara Falls!" says the ghost as he wipes his eyes as if crying.
Frank's childhood consisted of only one form of relationship..with his television set. When he asks his father what he brought him for Christmas, his dad's reply along with telling him to get a job,
"All day long, I listen to people give me excuses why they can't work...
'My back hurts,' 'my legs ache,' 'I'm only four!' The sooner he learns
life isn't handed to him on a silver platter, the better."
What I love about this version is we get to see how Frank became who he was through his rough childhood, and television was his way of escaping reality. A lesson to learn if you come across someone who may always appear angry at the world. Some people may have had a bad childhood or bad parents, so we need to take that into consideration when dealing with or ministering to people within our society.
As Frank got older we see his love affair with a woman named Claire, but the relationship goes sour when Frank chooses a career over love. Something he regrets later in life we see through the Ghost of Christmas Present.
The Ghost of Christmas Present appears in the form of a fairy godmother, only with different ways of communicating with Frank. Instead of a prissy approach as a fairy might do, this one appears annoying and violent..she like to head-butt.
This ghost take Frank to visit his brother who loves Frank and only desires to see him more. Frank would rather work and be cooped up in his own little soap box world.
She also takes Frank to look in on his assistant Grace who is living in poverty with kids and could use a real raise.
Grace's daughter asks," Mom, when are we gonna get a real Christmas tree?"
"
When they're free!"
Just like the other versions of A Christmas Carol
, Frank doesn't see the errors of his ways until he's visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future and sees his death in an incinerator. Frank Cross now has remorse for becoming who he is and, just like the other stories of Scrooge, he changes.
He interrupts the live telecast of the IBC Network's A Christmas Carol, and admits his faults in life in front of millions of people. Frank even hands out pointers to the audience,
"There are people who are having trouble making their miracle happen;
there are people who don't have enough to eat, there are people who are
cold, you can go out and say hello to these people. You can take an old
blanket out of the closet and go to them and say 'Here!', you can make
them a sandwich and say 'oh by the way, here!"
Frank even apologizes for the programming he was producing on his network,
"The Jews taught me this great word: Schmuck. I was a schmuck, and now I'm not a schmuck!"
The lesson learned from this version of the nasty old Scrooge, is exactly what Frank Cross tells the audience:
Be a miracle to someone in need this Christmas Season.
