Saturday Night Live- Danny Devito (1988): "Bankrupt Scrooge"

First aired December 3, 1988.
  
"Last Christmas...that was a doozy, wasn't it!  Those three ghosts coming to visit me, and me changing from mean and all happy and everything.  Boy, that was something!"  
-Scrooge (Danny DeVito)

This is a bit of a change of pace for this blog.  This sketch came from an episode of SNL that featured no other Holiday-themed material, so I won't review the whole episode, or give it our traditional "candy canes" rating.  But I figured it was worth mentioning this sketch during Dickensfest 2012.  

Back in 1988, I remember watching a sketch that featured Danny Devito playing Scrooge the year AFTER he was visited by three spirits who convinced him to change his ways.  This is something I'd thought about ever since I became aware of A Christmas Carol when I was a kid.  I recently sought it out to see if it was still funny 24 years later.

Scrooge (Danny DeVito) talks to Bob Cratchit (Dana Carvey) on Christmas Eve.

It's Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge is working hard, trying to get some things done before the Holiday.  He asks if his employee Bob Cratchit (Dana Carvey) can work late that night.  Cratchit says he was planning on leaving early, he expected Scrooge would allow him that the after the way he acted last year.

 Scrooge relents and tells Cratchit it's okay to leave.  He gives Cratchit a chicken for Christmas Dinner and calls it a turkey.  Cratchit is a grateful, but a bit disappointed, since Scrooge gave him the "prize turkey" the year before.

In the year since his transformation, Scrooge has "taken it in the pants" financially.   Cratchit hopes he hasn't lost the Christmas spirit.  Scrooge says he hasn't and tells Cratchit to go ahead and leave early.

We also learn that Scrooge has had to move Tiny Tim to a less expansive hospital.  Scrooge says the hospital was "coddling" Tim and he was never going to walk if he stayed there. 

Scrooge's business is visited by Mary Whistlesnick (Victoria Jackson).  She's collecting alms for the Spendthrift Drunken Sailors Home.  Whistlesnick thanks Scrooge for his donation last Christmas and figures he can give more.  When he declines, Whistlesnick tells him a sob story, if Scrooge doesn't help, some sailors might have to face Christmas without getting drunk.  Scrooge loses it a bit, turns into his old self for a moment. He calls Christmas "a humbug!".  Scrooge catches himself, then decides to give 10 pounds to the Sailors Home.

Mary Whistlesnick begs Scrooge for a donation.

 Cratchit says Scrooge needs to learn to say no.  He invites Scrooge to come to his house for dinner, Scrooge declines, saying he has to much work to do.  He's suddenly visited by a familiar spirit:Marley's Ghost (Kevin Nealon) has returned.  He's worried that Scrooge is losing his Christmas Spirit.  Marley sends Scrooge off to dine with the Cratchits and offers to finishes Scrooge's work.  Scrooge complies and departs with Cratchit.

Marley returns!

This sketch is not included in the version of this episode that streams on Netflix and isn't transcribed on the excellent SNL Transcripts site.  Which means it's a bit obscure even among SNL enthusiasts. 

 It's not the funniest SNL sketch ever, not even the best Scrooge parody.  But there aren't many sketches/films/episodes that deal with Scrooge's life after A Christmas Carol.  So if you're a hardcore Scroogeophile or Christmas episode fanatic (like you know I am!), "Bankrupt Scrooge" is worth seeking out. 

Blackadder's Christmas Carol

First aired December 23, 1988

"In the reign of good Queen Vic, there stood, in Dumpling Lane in old London Towne, the Moustache Shoppe of one Ebenezer Blackadder -- the kindest and loveliest man in all England." -Opening narration.

"In the feeling good ledger in life, we are rich, indeed!" - Ebenezer Blackadder

Ebenezer Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson, who plays all the members of the Blackadder family in this special) is, as the above narration says, the kindest and most charitable man in London.  He is constantly donating money and offering assistance to poor citizens who visit his mustache shop.  Blackadder is assisted in his shop by a man named Baldrick (Tony Robinson), who is a bit of a dim bulb, but well-intentioned.

"Congratulations, Mr Baldrick! Something of a triumph, I think — you must be the first person ever to spell `Christmas’ without getting any of the letters right at all."

On Christmas Eve, the mustache shop is inundated with people seeking money, food, or anything they can get.   Blackadder's tree is a mere twig. "Yes, but size isn’t important, my friend — it’s not what you’ve got; it’s where you stick it."

His business has earned him 17 pounds and a penny for the year.  Baldrick suggests that Blackadder would have made more money if he wasn't so gullible.

"Yeah, I just wish we weren’t doing so well in the bit-short-of-prezzies-and-feeling-a-gullible-prat ledger."

Shortly thereafter, a woman named Mrs. Scratchit (Pauline Melville) gets Blackadder to pay her £17  for a matchbox (£1 per match).  A neighborhood boy takes the penny to go buy gin.

"Mrs Scratchit, you have the body of a weak woman, but the mind of a criminal genius!"

Blackadder's shrill niece, Millicent (Nicola Bryant) pops in and walks out with all the presents and the Christmas Twig.  The Mr. Bumble-esque beadle (Denis Lill) from the local orphanage takes their bowl of nuts on behalf of the unusually rotund orphans in his charge.

"Oh, I just thought I pop round, you know, just on the off chance. Well, you know, Christmas is a time traditionally connected with presents…"

This is followed by a visit from Queen Victoria (Miriam Margolyes) and Prince Albert (Jim Broadbent), who are having a "Christmas adventure" in which they (unconvincingly) disguise themselves as common folk to "go out amongst the people to reward the virtuous and the good."

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria discuss their plans for a "Christmas adventure"

They have heard of his kindness and ask him for a £10 donation.  All they have left to give is their Christmas turkey, which is taken by the royals.

Queen Victoria: "Give us ten pounds for the virtuous old lady next door."

Blackadder heads off to bed, resigned to the fact that they'll have a "thin Christmas".  But Baldrick remembers something he forgot to mention earlier:

Oh by the way ...

 "‘Night ‘night. Oh! By the way — I forgot to mention: When you were out there… …there was this enormous ghostly creature coming here saying, “Beware! for, tonight, you shall receive a strange and terrible visitation!” I just thought I’d mention it.  It come through the wall, it said its piece, and then it sodded off.

Sure enough, when he is sleeping, Blackadder is visited by the Spirit Of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane).

"How do you do? Just doing my usual rounds, you know: a wee bit of haunting, getting misers to change their evil ways. But you’re obviously such a good chap, there’ll be no need for any of that nonsense!"

The Spirit tells Blackadder he makes the rounds on Christmas Eve, convincing "misers to change their evil ways".  The Spirit has just stopped by to say hello to Blackadder, since he is such a good man.  But when he mentions that Blackadder's descendents were evil, Ebenezer wants to hear about them.

Ebenezer Blackadder is shocked to learn that his ancestors were bad and wants to know more

The Spirit shows Blackadder visions of  Edmund, Lord Blackadder, who lived during the Elizabethan Era.  Edmund is always scheming and manipulative of Queen Elizabeth I (Miranda Richardson) and her advisor Lord Melchett (Stephen Fry).

"And, look, there’s a surprise present for you inside. It’s a novelty death warrant, and you give it to a friend."

Edmund is a lying scoundrel who gains wealth and power by any means necessary.  Ebenezer begins to wonder if Edmund was doing something right.

The Spirit then shows Ebenezer scenes from the Regency featuring the behavior of his grandfather, Mr. Edmund Blackadder, Esquire, butler to Prince Regent George (as played by Hugh Laurie).

"Right, Balders…  I’m sick of getting no presents and the Prince Regent getting the lot, so this is the plan: We play our traditional game of charades, and, when he gets bored and asks for a story, you come out here, stick the dress and the hat on, and then knock on the door. I’ll take it from there. Have you got it?"

In this era, we witness Blackadder and Baldrick trying to steal the Prince's collection of Christmas gifts.  A poor old woman shows up and asks for the gifts and George gives them to her.  Blackadder chases her down and steals the presents for himself.  Upon seeing this, Ebenezer says of his grandfather "his behavior, as you say…disgraceful. But, he actually got the presents!"

Hugh Laurie as the Prince Regent

Next, in an attempt to undo the damage he fears he may have done, the Spirit shows Blackadder what the distant future will hold for his  family.

Husbands: Hail Queen Asphyxia, Supreme Mistress of the Universe. Asphyxia:
…and hail to you, my Triple-Husbandoid. I summon you here to group-greet our swift imperial navies home.
 Approach, Grand Admiral of the Dark Segment and Lord of the High-Slung Bottoms of Zob!

Apparently, if he is bad, Blackadder will become ruler of the universe, with Baldrick's descendent as his slave.  But if he behaves kindly to his fellow humans, he will end up poor and the slave of Baldrick.

"For God’s sake, Baldrick — if you’re going to wear that ridiculous jockstrap, at least keep your legs together!"

The visions of past and future convince Ebenezer Blackadder to change his ways ... for the worse!

 He wakes up Christmas morning and punches Baldrick twice as a jumping off point for his new-found nastiness.

Ebenezer makes Baldrick a fist for Christmas

 Millicent shows up with her fiance Ralph, Blackadder is cruel to them and tosses them out.

"Oh, my dear Millicent come for her dinner. …And she seems to have brought the fish course with her."

Ebenezer throws several more people out of his mustache shop before the night is over.  His newfound bad attitude will lead to the acquisition of wealth and power for himself and future generations of Blackadders...or will it? 

  


J.A. Morris says:
 Blackadder's Christmas Carol was my introduction to the BBC's Blackadder series and it's a good gateway to the characters.  It gives us a "reverse-Scrooge" scenario.  A good, generous man is visited by a Spirit, wakes up on Christmas morning and decides "that bad guys have all the fun."  I would like to think that Mr. Dickens himself would appreciate this parody.  If you watch through the end of this special, you'll see that its message is not quite as cynical as it first appears.

Instead of presents, Lord Melchett and Edmund Blackadder exchange insults for Christmas.

If you haven't seen this series, please check it out.  Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson were always hilarious as Blackadder and Baldrick, respectively.  They were assisted by one of the greatest ensemble casts of all time.  Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent and Robbie Coltrane are all stars in their own right and they're all great here.

In this version of the story "Scrooge" buys the "prize turkey" for himself

This special can be found on dvd and also streams on Netflix (as does the entire Blackadder series).

Blackadder give the Spirit a "medicinal" beverage.

Blackadder's Christmas Carol is one of the best parodies of this story and it's all the funnier since (like the original) it's set in the Victorian Era.  Highly recommended!

J.A. Morris' rating:
4 candy canes

 

RigbyMel says:

The Blackadder series is one of my favorite British tv shows ever and this snarky Scrooge-in-reverse takeoff on A Christmas Carol is laugh out loud hilarious.   Ben Elton and Richard Curtis' acerbic script is very well rendered by very talented comedic actors.   I particularly enjoy the over the top ridiculous performances of the various royal personages.

Queenie (Miranda Richardson) and Nursie (Patsy Byrne) with paper chain Christmas decorations

 I still laugh out loud each time I watch this episode and it is a nice antidote to the sometimes overly-treacly Dickens adaptations floating around this time of year. 

RigbyMel's rating:
4 candy canes (or should I be giving naughty Mr. Blackadder a lump of coal?)

Closing credit card with bonus Christmas message courtesy of Baldrick

Scrooged (1988)

Dickensfest 2012 continues with a guest review by Ian Rennie, a long time friend of ours.    RigbyMel first met Ian via a Ben Folds Five message board back in the late 1990s. He has worked as a librarian in both the U.S. and the U.K. We at Holiday Film Reviews have always enjoyed his writing talent and wit -- you can check out some of his flash fiction on 365Tomorrows.com and can follow him on Twitter as @theangelremiel.  Many thanks for being a part of our Dickensfest 2012 project, Ian!

Scrooged (1988)

When RigbyMel and J.A. Morris approached me with the idea of reviewing a Dickensian holiday movie for the blog, I had a hard time saying yes, for two reasons, both of which were kind of stumpers.

1) I don't really like holiday movies.  Without becoming too true to type, I tend to say a mild "bah, humbug" at films that depend on the season for their effectiveness.  I'm not joking at all when I say that my favourite christmas film is Die Hard.  I can see the appeal, but at the same time I know in my heart that they're not for me.

2) This one may get me crucified, but... I don't think Dickens adapts all that well to the screen.  I want to like films of his books, and some of his books I absolutely love.  I love The Mystery of Edwin Drood enough that I once read an Italian novel called "The D Case" which features Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot trying to work out how the novel would have ended.  Unfortunately, and again this is only my opinion, but the Dickensian dialogue that thrives on the page dies in the mouths of actors.

So, I was going to politely decline and wish RigbyMel and J.A. the best, and then my wife reminded me of Scrooged.

Oh yes, I'd forgotten about Scrooged.

Bill Murray in that magical period between the two Ghostbusters movies.  Karen Allen. Bobcat Goldthwait. John Glover.  Robert Mitchum. ROBERT MITCHUM.

A razor sharp self-aware script by Mitch Glazer, who would go on to be one of the writers on the Alfonso Cuaron version of Great Expectations.  A score by Danny Elfman at the height of his powers.  And just to make it perfect, the following words:

"A Richard Donner film"

I've changed my mind.  I love holiday movies.

Scrooged, for those who haven't seen it (and if you haven't you should go get it on Netflix right now.  This review can wait) is, as the title suggests, a rather loose adaptation of A Christmas Carol.  Loose enough that there is a film-within-a-film adaptation of A Christmas Carol inside it.  It might be more true to call it a modernization of A Christmas Carol, or even a "scroogealike".  Nonetheless, even though it is somewhat of a potsmodern look at its subject matter, the atmosphere of the original shines though.

Frank Cross is a TV executive who views Christmas as a commodity.  It's there to be sold for ratings, not enjoyed.  The years as a TV executive have made him cold and hard, to the point where he fires an employee on Christmas Eve merely for expressing an opinion about a trailer for their Christmas programs. 

When Frank is given personal responsibility for the success of the station's live action presentation of A Christmas Carol, his life begins to mirror that of Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Much like Scrooge, he is visited in the night by his former business partner, Lew Hayward, who is a little more zombified than Jacob Marley, and adds an unsettling touch of An American Werewolf In London to the proceedings.  Like Scrooge before him, he is told he will be visited by three spirits.

The first finds him as he leaves his office and hails a cab.  The Ghost Of Christmas Past is a crazy taxi driver played with scenery chewing zeal by David Johansen.  Yes, as in the singer of the New York Dolls. The ghost shows him his past, as a young and idealistic gofer at a TV station, and shows him meeting Claire, the love of his life. 

In this sequence we see the slow jading of a man as he falls out of love with everything but success.  By the end, when he chooses his first onscreen TV job over his three year relationship, the seeds of the man Frank Cross would become are planted.

Christmas Present appears in the form of Carol Kane, and shows Frank the people he has shoved out of his life: his assistant Grace who hardly has time for her mute and possibly autistic son, his brother who still loves him, Claire, the woman he had loved who now runs a homeless shelter.

The next visitor Frank receives is a sharp left turn from the source material, as Frank encounters the disgruntled employee he fired earlier in the day, who has come back to his former workplace with a shotgun.  A near miss leaves frank running into an elevator, only to be faced by a shrouded figure with a TV screen as a face: the ghost of Christmas Future.

The future is just as dystopian as might be expected.  Claire has become as cold and uncaring as Frank ever was.  Grace's son is committed to an institution.  Only Frank's brother cares that he has died.

 From here, proceedings take not so much a sharp left turn as a gentle right.  A Christmas Carol had Scrooge waking up and being a better man, but this being an eighties movie, Frank Cross still has to deal with a man with a shotgun in a TV studio and a live broadcast.

 In a spectacular fireworks show of loose-end tying, we manage to get a happy ending that includes impromptu singing, a soliloquy about the true meaning of christmas, and a mute boy being healed by the power of love.  His first words?  You guessed it: "God bless us, every one".

This could have been a spectacular failure.  Attempts to modernize classic literature are frequently terrible, especially when they play for laughs.  What makes this work is that it feels like everybody involved is willing this into being a good film.  The ensemble cast is astounding, and I know I've missed out half a dozen names from it.  Richard Donner does as good a job on this as he did on Superman.  Danny Elfman is Danny Elfman and thus the music is amazing.  Everythinhg about it has a pace and a joy that it feels more like an hour than 101 minutes.

Plus, in a very important way, it's an eighties comedy.  It's cynical, it's snarky, it's ultimately family friendly.  It goes for the smart joke rather than the dumb one in a way that mainstream comedy movies seem to have forgotten.  It's part of a dark but not mean-spirited action comedy tradition that includes Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Coming To America and Trading Places.

If you want your costume drama to feature shoulderpads instead of silk bonnets, if you feel like Bob Cratchit should have gone postal on Scrooge, if you want your Christmas Carol to feature trumpet from Miles Davis... 

This is the film for you.