Movie Review: Looking to fill your Christmas Movie watching list? Bill Murray's "Scrooged" isn't one of them but "Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas" worth watching with your kids

I never saw "Scrooged" with Bill Murray and after trying to watch it on NetFlix, I now know why.  I must've been warned not to waste two hours of my life by someone who cared about me.  Even Bill Murray couldn't save this meandering diatribe of cinematic futility.  So, I'm passing the advice on to you, in case you stumble across "Scrooged" somewhere in the $.50 DVD bin at the Goodwill or you roamed past it on your NetFlix movie list.

Let me just summarize it this way:  It's one of the worst movies ever made, empty of anything resembling Christmas -- more than Scrooge's twisted soul at the beginning of the Charles Dickens tale it butchers at every scene's cut.  If only the editor would have just kept cutting the original film until it was chopped into confetti, millions of American viewers would have been spared up to this time and perhaps some of the actors in it would have enjoyed prolonged acting careers.

Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas

It being around Christmas, I have to end on a positive note and that's Jim Henson's "Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas."  I remember watching this as a kid and loved the music -- I still do.  If you have kids between 2 and 8, reserve an hour to watch this Christmas classic.

Its puppets are mostly controlled with strings, and you can even see the strings as the loveable otter and his mom skate on the ice.  "Emmett Otter's" has charm and memorable scenes that will stay with your kids for years to come.  It's a good Christmas memory, its miniature set of snow falling on a poh-dunk town to a distinct banjo/washboard/jug band sound.  Buy a copy -- it's during the "master of the muppet's" beginnings (remember "Fraggle Rock"?!) and it's worth watching their unapologetic ode to simple country Christmas traditions!