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Scrooged

Scrooged

Fantasy · Comedy · Drama · 1988

Frank Cross is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life. But after firing a staff member on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past.

Movie details

Scrooged

“The spirits will move you in odd and hysterical ways.”

1988 Fantasy · Comedy · Drama 1h 41m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

Frank Cross is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life. But after firing a staff member on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Scrooged?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Richard Donner

Written by

Mitch Glazer · Michael O'Donoghue

Bill Murray

Bill Murray

Francis Cross

Karen Allen

Karen Allen

Claire Phillips

John Forsythe

John Forsythe

Lew Hayward

John Glover

John Glover

Bryce Cummings

Bobcat Goldthwait

Bobcat Goldthwait

Eliot Loudermilk

Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum

Preston Rhinelander

David Johansen

David Johansen

Ghost of Christmas Past

Court is in session

Put Scrooged on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.