Line #9 YMMV/Scrooged


1	* AluminumChristmasTrees: Younger audiences may be confused at the appearance of a cellphone in 1988. Notice how the phone is on a cord that goes to a larger part in Grace's purse. That's a real 1988 cellphone, top of the line.
2	* BrokenBase: Is the movie too mean spirited? Defenders say no, it balances enough real Christmas cheer with the darker comedy, and the meanness was already present in the original book. Detractors say that the nastiness goes too far in this version, and combining it with comedy can make the moments where you're supposed to be laughing uncomfortable instead.
3	* CriticalDissonance: Critics heavily bashed the film on its release for its dark tone and "mean-spiritedness" (what did they expect from a modern update to a story about a dark, mean-spirited protagonist?), but audiences liked it just fine, making it #1 at the box office and Creator/BillMurray's most successful movie to that point since ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}''.
4	* CrossesTheLineTwice: Frank looking under the Ghost of Christmas Future's giant robe and seeing the distorted, snarling faces - horrifying. Frank checking again to make sure that, yes, that's exactly what he saw - hilarious.
5	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Creator/CarolKane's Ghost of Christmas Present was by far the most praised character in contemporary reviews, the worst even calling her its sole redeeming feature. The Ghost of Christmas Past is also quite popular for his attitude and antics.
6	* EsotericHappyEnding: For Elliot Loudermilk. Frank rehiring him as a high level executive is certainly a good step forward, but he's still got his fair share of problems that we never see get resolved. He lost his wife and child in the wake of his firing, and there's no indication of reconciliation. And while his bender was hopefully a one time thing, there's a very real chance he could continue to have issues with alcoholism. And then there's the potential legal trouble he'd face for his use of a firearm. Frank will most certainly not press charges, but the other people he held at gun point more than likely will.
7	* HarsherInHindsight
8	** Frank's ''Scrooge'' promo becomes this for two reasons, either because of the 9/11 attacks (so much that the scene is occasionally edited out, namely the "international terrorism" and the exploding plane or just after the tragedy, the whole promo was removed) and that less than a month after the film was released, The Lockerbie Bombing occurred.
9	** Frank's ''Scrooge'' promo is apparently so shocking that it killed an old woman. As absurd as it may sound, [[http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/02/26/passion.death.reut/ such a thing has since happened]].
10	** There's also the fact that if anything, many of the problems alluded to in the promo have gotten ''worse'' in the years that have gone by.
11	** Eliot's rampage at the end is played for comedy, but with the rise of high-profile mass shootings and the growing awareness of how easy it is in America for someone to bring a gun to the workplace, it can definitely make modern audiences uncomfortable.
12	* HilariousInHindsight:
13	** At one point, Frank's boss asks a bemused Frank if he has any idea how many cats and dogs there are in America, and proceeds to press Frank into including 'pet appeal', which soon appears in the form of some mice in the ''Christmas Carol'' adaptation. While farcical in the film and yet appearing to work, certain pet food companies have since experimented with the concept of including sound and noise to capture the attention of cats and other animals in their commercials, and there's even a cable service called DOG TV along those lines.
14	* IconicCharacterForgottenTitle: The promos for IBC's version of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' continually refer to it as "Creator/CharlesDickens's immortal classic, ''Scrooge''."
15	* JustHereForGodzilla: Even people who didn't care for the film have admitted to finding The Ghost of Christmas Present hilarious.
16	* OneSceneWonder: The Waiter; Christmas Future; the Antler guy; Frank's dead boss; the homeless gent.
17	* RetroactiveRecognition: The company nurse who takes care of the censor is rather plain. [[Series/TheDrewCareyShow She gets better?]]
18	* SpiritualAdaptation: This macabre and modern take on the classic Creator/CharlesDickens tale, with a score by Music/DannyElfman to boot, sounds like something Creator/TimBurton would do...but he was busy with ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' that year!
19	* UnintentionallySympathetic: Bryce Cummings may be a BitchInSheepsClothing, but he's sexually assaulted near the end and it's PlayedForLaughs.
20	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
21	** Frank refers to Leroy Nieman painting a mural on the Berlin Wall, and one of the cities that the [[ShowWithinAShow Scrooge telecast]] was supposed to be live from is ''West'' Berlin. The Berlin Wall would fall within a year.
22	** Grace has an anti-Apartheid poster on the wall of her apartment. Apartheid did not last much longer than the Berlin Wall did.
23	*** The Anti-Apartheid poster was likely a throw-in by Creator/RichardDonner, as he was an outspoken Anti-Apartheid activist at the time (and similar posters were featured on ''Film/LethalWeapon1987'').
24	** The idea of a VCR as a premium gift strikes audiences today as a little amusing, though in 1988 the price of a VCR ranged from $500 to as much as $1'500! Adjusted for inflation, that's the equivalent of $1'000 to $3'000!
25	** "...AndStarring Mary Lou Retton as 'Tiny Tim.'" If you're into gymnastics, you might know who Mary is, and why she was famous in TheEighties. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Lou_Retton If not, well...]]
26	** "No, you are a hallucination, brought on by alcohol. Russian Vodka, poisoned by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster Chernobyl!]]
27	* ValuesDissonance: Given women physically abusing men is taken much more seriously nowadays, it's unlikely you'd see The Ghost of Christmas Present beating the shit out of Frank nonstop being PlayedForLaughs if the film was made nowadays.
28	* ValuesResonance: Nowadays ''Scrooged'' is viewed as having been ahead of its time given its portrayal of a Scrooge-like character as a high-ranking executive who's more concerned with making money and advancing his career over the common good. Today, ''Scrooged'' can be interpreted as a criticism of the continuing rise of "hustle culture" and its corrosive effect on society.
29	* VindicatedByHistory: While few critics have softened their position on the movie, it's become a holiday classic among more irreverent viewers because, much like ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'', it emphasizes comedy over {{Glurge}}, but still plays the Christmas-y aspects straight enough that it doesn't feel like a {{Deconstruction}}.
30	* TheWoobie: Grace and Calvin Cooley. The rest of the family (save for the eldest daughter) arguably qualifies as AngstWhatAngst.
31	** Eliot Loudermilk. Within the span of fewer than 24 hours, he's fired on Christmas Eve, his wife leaves him, taking their baby girl with her and he goes on an alcoholic bender and soon wanting his revenge. Despite GoingPostal, he quickly finds himself out-crazied and terrified before the now reborn Frank. At least Frank now welcomes him back to the company in a high paying job, but even then, he's still got other issues that need working out.
32	** The homeless people at Operation Reach Out, but especially Herman.
33	** Frank himself is mostly a JerkassWoobie, though he becomes a full-on Woobie as a child and during his terrifying future vision. And while he's a bigger jerk than Scrooge ever was, that means the ghosts are even harsher on him than they were on Ebenezer, to the point of physical violence.
34	* {{Woolseyism}}: The [[Main/CompletelyDifferentTitle german title]] of the film, "Die Geister, die ich rief"[[note]]"The Ghosts, I called for/summoned"[[/note]], is a universally known reference to Goethe's Main/SorcerersApprentice.

Context YMMV / Scrooged