And at the other end of the spectrum....

Day 2: SCROOGED

As much as Scrooge is classic, traditional English Dickens, Scrooged is not. This movie was released in 1988 with Bill Murray playing Frank Cross, an Ebeneezer Scrooge type character who is the head of a huge television network. Greed and the lack of building relationships and caring for your fellow man are still the running themes, but we are thrown into a totally different world. As you can expect from a movie starring Bill Murray, there are plenty of laughs, but don't think it's played totally for comedy because that's just about the time you'll be surprised as you're shedding a tear. This cast is packed with stars: Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Robert Mitchum, Carol Kane (my personal favorite as Christmas Present), Buddy Hackett, Bobcat Goldthwaite, and Alfre Woodard, just to name a few. So many times when someone tries to reinvent a classic, it comes off stale or just plain bad, but not this story by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. It's so inventive and fresh. Christmas past is played by David Johansen in the form of a cigar smoking cab driver that transports Frank through his past. Christmas present is played deliciously ditzy by Carol Kane as a fairy princess type who can really pack a punch and the scene between Frank Cross and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in the elevator is priceless! If you're not that into Dickens traditional telling, you'll love this rendition. It promises laughs. Few people have a way with comedy the way Bill Murray does, but it will warm your heart as well at this season.

Let's go to the movies!

Christmas Eve is a week from today. I have a ton of stuff to do, and it will all get done even if I am still driving around next Monday for the last, final thing I need. Because life has been so hectic, I have not been able to do something I love at this time of year, watch my collection of Christmas movies. I have caught a some bits and pieces of a few standards on television, and actually made a point to sit down to watch one, but there are some that I never miss, and so I thought in this last week I would pass on a pick a day to you. So, pop a big bowl of popcorn and settle in front of the TV and try to see some of these before the holiday is over.

DAY 1: SCROOGE

It is no secret that there are countless renditions of Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" out there on film. They run the gamut from Silent film to Cartoon animation. This 1970 musical version starring Albert Finney in the title role is one of, if not the best! I first saw this in the theater at the age of 7. I had been invited to a classmate's Christmas birthday party, and we were all taken to the movie. I remember sitting in the theater alongside my other second grade friends with a scarf I had worn to the party strategically placed near my eyes so I could cover them during the particularly scary scenes. As I grew older, I would catch it on television occasionally, and then the invention of the VCR and videotape. I was able to find a copy several years ago on VHS. I hope I can soon find one on DVD as I am sure my VHS will wear thin with time, and this is one I want to preserve. The score is amazing with songs like Father Christmas, December the 25th, and Thank You Very Much, but what makes this version of the classic tale so enthralling is Albert Finney's portrayal of Ebeneezer Scrooge. When this film was released he was only 34. You would never believe the Scrooge you are watching is a man in his early 30's. I remember watching the film years later and realizing that the actor playing the dashing young Ebeneezer in Fezziwig's shop was actually Albert Finney, the same actor playing Scrooge. He won the Golden Globe that year, and deservedly so. 

If you've never seen it, you are missing out. Don't write this one off as just another rendition of "A Christmas Carol". It's not. And after you've seen it, don't blame me if you find yourself singing, Thank You Very Much while you're wrapping your Christmas presents.