The Top Ten Best Christmas Movies - 7. Scrooged

Hey Everybody,

We had such a good time doing our Halloween top ten that we thought we would do another one! Christmas is upon us and we thought we would try to come up with the ultimate top ten list that, in our minds, embodies the true meaning of Christmas.

Now, lately it seems as if the networks aren't interested in playing the classic Christmas movies of old. I keep seeing these crappy Scrooge rip offs over and over on all of the various networks. Like Mrs. Scrooge, Ebenezer, A Diva's Christmas Carol, A Carol Christmas. (With Tori Spelling, need I say more?) Not to mention these vapid, crappy and sacchrine kid flicks that are so PC they make me want to vomit. Thankfully I got our artist friends over at Cave Drawing Ink to help us conceptulize those memorable Christmas flicks of old. You can see our top ten here on the Bucket and on the Cave Drawing Ink site. Enjoy and have a Happy Holiday!

So far......

8.) Elf
9.) Santa Claus: the Movie
10.) Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
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7.) Scrooged Frank Cross: "The Jews taught me this great word. "Schmuck". I was a schmuck, and now I'm not a schmuck."

- Sketch by Ori Ayalon

Jeff: After the first few seconds of seeing fictional IBC's lineup at the beginning of the film I knew without hesitation that this was one of the funniest Christmas movies in a long time. The Night the Reindeer Died with Lee Majors, Bob Goulet's Old Fashioned Cajun Christmas and Father Loves Beaver, who can beat these wonderful titles? I just watched it again for the bajilionth time and, yes, on all cylinders it still holds up beautifully. Bill Murray is at top form playing cold hearted bastard Frank Cross, a tv exec, who is trying to put on a live version of Scrooge on Christmas Eve. Just like with all of the other Scrooge stories the main plot is the same. He is visited by three spirits from the Past, Present and Future. But these ghosts steal a large part of this show.

You have David Johansen, also known as Buster Poindexter as the Ghost of Christmas Past. His smart ass taxi driver from hell gets under Frank's skin in the best way. "Go Back to Jersey, you Moron!" Carol Kane is perfect as the masochistic Fairy who has to always remind Frank that sometimes the truth hurts, alot. She's got that airy fairy accent that is perceived as naive and then she turns around and uppercuts Frank with a toaster, classic. The last guy, doesn't speak--but--one of the funniest scenes is Frank thinking the Ghost of Christmas Future from the show is the real deal. "You think I'm afraid of you, the day I've had? I know what you came for. Come and get it, you pussy." This one always gives me a chuckle.

I know you have the old staples, It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, blah blah--but if you want a great holiday movie with a little message and a lot of laughs pop in this DVD I promise it won't disappoint. You can play a drinking game with your friends about how many times posters about Freeing South Africa appear in the movie, there are more than you think.

Jen Huber: Oh Bill Murray, you can be a comedic genius when you put your mind to it. I like that this one takes a modern look at the Christmas Carol story instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. I remember seeing this one for the first time on TV, no one else I was watching it with liked it but I saw the entertainment in the story. It's a showcase for Murray, and being a huge fan of his, I dig it.