Headscratchers / Scrooged

• Frank Cross is producing a live televised version of A Christmas Carol, yet he never seems to recognize the events of Dickens's story are happening to him in real life. He even quotes the story while visiting Claire at the homeless shelter, so he's clearly familiar with it, but when the Ghost of Christmas Future shows him the casket, he doesn't know who's inside there. What gives?
  • I think he does recognise what's going on, but imagine if you were subjected to the events of a story you're televising — I think we'd all struggle with the rather convenient irony and timing of it. Frank seems to accept what's going on by the time the third Ghost of Christmas arrives, too, but I think because the Ghost shows him his assistant's son, then Claire - both of whom have basically suffered and changed because of him, he initially assumes his brother's in the casket, and then... Well, I guess he struggles to accept at first that even his level of jerkassery means he'd die alone with no one really caring to attend his cremation but his brother and sister-in-law. The Ghost then goes the extra mile by putting him inside the casket as it burns, to make the point; Whereas before, Frank was still being cynical and slightly wisecracky and claiming that he could solve things - most likely assuming that they could be solved with money. Putting him inside the casket tells him he's going to burn, as he emphasises when taking over the broadcast. That his level of jerkassery will leave him alone and dead and miserable with no one but his ever-reliable brother; So I think it's initially disbelief. Certainly, he may have expected to see something hokey, like his own tombstone, but... Yeah. I think he's in disbelief that his attitude may lead to his lonely death, at first.
  • He just didn't realize it because the first thing he saw was his sister-in-law. Presumably, he didn't think she was close enough to him to come to his cremation, he just assumed the casket was his brother's (which on its own would've been plenty depressing for him). It wasn't until his brother walked into the room that it clicked, leading to the knowing question, "Who's in there?"
  • Scrooge has always been a dipshit regarding his death. He's being shown visions of the future intended to change his ways, who does he think is going to be on the headstone?
• We're told that Calvin hasn't spoken in 5 years, but just how old is this kid? He couldn't be older than 6 or 7, meaning he was talking when he was 2?
  • Two's about an age where a lot of children start developing verbally, and it was probably disturbing for it to suddenly stop.
  • In fairness it's not uncommon for kids to be speaking at that age, not necessarily in complete sentences, but words for sure. I'm also unclear as to how much of it is developmental issues and how much is a lack of desire to talk. He certainly understood English well enough.
  • Calvin is also very intelligent (as Frank notes when he completes a puzzle that confounds his older siblings). It's not surprising that he started speaking at an early age.
  • Writers Cannot Do Math.
• So, Attila the Hun celebrated Christmas?
  • The Ghost of Christmas Past might have been joking
  • Just a theory, the Ghosts aren't exclusive to Christmas, they're just beings that take on forms ideal to causing certain people to examine their past, present, and future relative to their own social values system. So the Ghost of Christmas Past might have shown up to Attila not to teach him the meaning of Christmas but to properly honor his ancestors or somesuch.
• Elliot Loudermilk holds a room full of people hostage at gunpoint, using a shotgun that he discharges several times in the IBC building. He was clearly doing so at the behest of Frank Cross. How could this end up working out well for either of them, legally speaking?
  • They'd likely play it up as part of Frank's taking over the finale; anyone who could potentially have been put in harm's way by Elliot's antics could be paid off to keep quiet and act like it was all part of the show.
• How bad was Elliot's life and marriage before the events of the movie? He was fired and his wife took their child and left already even though the events of the movie take place over just two days. He also despaired over the lack of ability to continue to pay for their apartment despite only having been fired minutes ago.

• The scene where Frank encounters the homeless guy who mistakes him for Richard Burton makes no sense. First of all..Richard Burton died in 1984..four years before this movie was made. If this guy was such a Burton fan, wouldn't he have known that the guy has been dead for four years? Also..he thinks a celebrity of that stature would just walk into a random homeless shelter (without an entourage)? It is also strange he is so calm about meeting him if he really thinks he is Richard Burton..he casually just calls him Dick and acts like they are old friends. Wouldn't he be saying something like "Oh my God! It's Richard Burton!! I can't believe this! I am such a big fan of yours!!"
  • Homeless guy probably has mental illness. It’s not uncommon for homeless shelters to shelter those who suffer from a mental condition, sometimes being the cause of homelessness, and it's not always recognized. Assuming he’s truly a big Richard Burton fan, he might have become homeless before Burtons death, or only been a fan of his earlier work and stopped following his career after a time. Even if he has steady access of media to report on the demise of a beloved big time celebrity to begin with, he could have just missed it. Again, likely his mental state isn't consistently stable, his awareness of reality could fluctuate, forgetting information he once knew. Besides, he keeps company with an eccentric kooky bunch with different takes on social norms, like personal space for example. Certainly there are celebrities that sometimes go out alone so as to not draw attention or not cause a commotion and remain inconspicuous. Just as there are fans out there that feel a closeness to certain actors, thinking they know them and believing that this familiarity entitles them to nicknames, first name basis relationships and even friendships due to just being a fan. Crazy yes, but they’re out there pushing the limits of interaction with the stars of Hollywood. Casual conversation while keeping one’s cool with famous people as if they are just like everyone else certainly isn't unheard of. Neither is mistaking someone for someone else. Plus he had liquor in his hand at some point, so boozing too will do that.

• When Frank is with the Ghost of Christmas Future he is shown his own funeral. We see his brother James in attendance. James looks a bit older but not too much(maybe about five to ten years). So we are led to believe that Frank dies in the not too distant future in this reality. Frank would still be relatively young so his death would not be from old age or natural causes but rather from something like maybe cancer or a car accident. If that is the case then Frank simply becoming a nicer person would not prevent his death. He would still die young anyway.
  • Those might be the causes of his death, but based on Frank's personal trajectory very closely following that of Lew Hayward, whom died from a heart condition before the film proper, it's likely that would have taken Frank out as well. Hayward even suggests as much. Even if he is a jerk, Frank's shown as being beyond dedicated to the job, overworking even before he was an executive, and has his own private bar, indicating at least a mild problem with liquor. Those two factors plus the inherent stress of the job in general would be taxing in the long term. The visits, and reuniting him with Claire have put him on a new trajectory to have more of a balance in a personal life as well as a professional life, appreciate both, and help him stop being an uncaring asshole due to his socially awkward obliviousness. The ghosts are presented as omnipotent, so as you stated, it doesn't make much sense for them to put all the effort into changing him if his death wasn't the direct result of the way he was living his life currently. It was more about opening him up to things outside of his office. Even in the original story, Scrooge didn't close the shop. He just became feeling again. He rekindled his relationship with Fred and his wife, thus gaining a new base of friends, and "adopted" the Cratchitt family. He still ran his business, he still made money from that business, but he paid and treated his maid, Bob, and the community, with decency. He did good, and by doing good, felt good, which is ultimately, with Claire at his side, what Frank will end up doing. So if Frank wins humanitarian of the year again, this time, he'll have truly earned it.
  • It can still be from natural causes. Something like a heart attack due to stress/depression/overworked. If it's an unnatural death like a care accident though, that's is easily preventable. His new outlook on life could prevent him from being a participant in the accident. His speech at the end might cause a butterfly effect that prevents the conditions for the accident. Even something like cancer. Maybe he's encouraged to get checked sooner or is nice to the right people that they find a way to save his life. Maybe having the will to keep going for his family and friends. Or 10 years is of kindness is better than 10 years of cruelty.
  • there could also be a much darker explanation. Think about it: We know that later in the real timeline, Frank will get ambushed by his former employee with a shotgun. This ends the way it does in the movie because Frank comes around and starts being a better person. So then the implication if he had not done that...

• The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Frank to the years 1955 and 1968-71. It is established that Frank is only four years old in 1955 making him between the ages of 17 to 20 for 1968-71. Frank is supposed to be in his late teens and early twenties during this period yet no attempt is made to make him look any younger. The only difference in his appearance is longer hair in the back. Bill Murray was pushing 40 in real life at the time and he looked it. It would have made sense to either cast a younger Bill Murray looking actor to play Frank at this stage or at the very least make Murray himself look younger (like wearing a wig to cover his receding hairline). Was this supposed to be a joke on the part of the producers or just pure laziness on the part of the makeup department?

• How the hell did Frank become a TV executive if he thinks an ad that doesn't tell you anything about what you're gonna watch is a good idea? His ad was basically the television equivalent of "John Romero's gonna make you his bitch".

• Wouldn’t it have been better to have The Ghost of Christmas Future be called Yet-To-Come like in the original Dickens story?