User Reviews

I think A Very Murray Christmas could have been spectacular period. I mean he managed to get together some very big stars, have a fun silly little plot, sing some songs, have a throwback to old variety shows and there were some good performances and some fun moments but if this had been me I would have made it longer, more skits and more comedy and more Murray in general. I feel like someone wrote this and said "Hey Bill come and do this for an hour" and he did instead of giving it real thought and care and concern. It just isn't the type of thing I would watch every year. There are so many celebrities and they are underused and too quickly passed over. Bill Murray has such avid fans that he could have made this memorable and it's just very rushed. Still being so short and simple and fun, you can't really "dislike it" either. He interacts with lots of different stars, sings some songs, has some fun and it's lovable because of that. I just think the idea behind it could have been a ten and instead its run of the mill and okay at best.

You'll see a ton of SNL alum (mostly modern not from Murray's own time on there) and one of my bizarrely favourite numbers is involving Bill Murray and Miley Cyrus following a George Clooney gag. I also find it extremely odd that Sofia Coppola directed and co-wrote this and while Bill Murray also supposedly co-wrote this I think they either didn't have a lot of time to do it or a lot was cut (which I doubt because it seems Netflix gives a lot of creative green lights) The point is that it is fun. If you don't go in with the expectations that the idea gives you as Murray fans and just look for something simple then you will enjoy it a lot more. 7/10

I am not giving this movie a one, because while I found it terrible, it's not the worst thing EVER. This film is simply a bewildering waste of your time. It's not funny, and it lacks any sort of narrative. It boasts several cameos from actors in the comedy field, but the film is essentially just Bill Murray dreaming of singing carols with them.

Murray stands in what I initially believed to be his apartment, and sings a song for two minutes, is greeted by Amy Poehler, who wants him to film a Christmas special, which he begrudgingly does, and sings another song with Chris Rock. He then loses power, no longer has to do the show, and is snowed in. He subsequently sings 15 more carols, passes out drunk, meets George Clooney and Miley Cyrus, and for 15 minutes, I sh*t you not, sings Christmas carols uninterrupted. He then wakes up in his apartment, sings "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", and left me in shock as the credits rolled. My middle finger slowly extended.

By the time I was finished, I was just left confused. Confused as to who wanted this, and why. I swear, it borders on being an opera. Knowing this, I'll allow YOU to decide whether or not this is your cup of tea.

Billy Murray is tasked with trying to put on some type of successful live Christmas television program in the Hotel Carlyle as a blizzard blitzes New York City. He contemplates often just calling it quits on the show but with help from "visitors" and influenced somewhat by producers (one of which is Amy Poehler) and his "entertainment entourage" Murray is able to soldier through. Not without the "blues", Murray battles woe and is plentifully discouraged by the unfortunate circumstances that surround his disastrous Christmas special, undermined by the elements which keep away much-needed celebs. "Inserting" Chris Rock (who happens by while on his way home, trying to free himself from Murray's desperate grasp) into a musical number while undermining agent/manager Michael Cera's (Cera plays a character, not himself, although one might say he's basically playing a version of his own cultivated persona) attempts to woo him. With all the nonsense involving some offended by "Baby, It's Cold Outside", the song offers us a fun musical number in this Murray special as a waitress (wonderful cameo from Jenny Lewis) providing a rather depressed Bill a drink as Paul Schaffer (I just loved is inclusion in this special as a Murray tagalong) plays it on piano...Murray actually trying to convince Lewis that he's serious that it is very cold outside in and out of the music number just cracked me up for some reason. "Wow, you are so wasted on the hospitality industry." Maya Rudolph belting out a Christmas tune (she sort of saunters in, makes Schwartzman gulp down a martini, takes a mic, and lets it rip as Paul piano plays) is quite a highlight while Murray serves as a salve to the souring evening for engaged couple Schwartzman and Rashida Jones whose marriage ceremony (and honeymoon) was interrupted by the storm much like Murray's television special...Murray hands them a mic and has them reach back to that moment they fell in love, singing to each other as to rekindle that spark dour due to events beyond their control. "Fairytale of New York" is probably my personal favorite number, if just because Johansen (of "Scrooged" and his New York Dolls), Lewis, and Murray work so effectively together as a unit, in and out on the lyrics singing before all in attendance join in for a chorus. Cyrus and "Silent Night" was a surprise (Murray passes out after downing shots, awakening on a glistening white "set in Queens", with Paul on piano, as George Clooney and Miley Cyrus arrive in a sleigh to join him) because I wasn't anticipating any Christian songs to be featured...and Cyrus, whose vocal caliber is unquestionably excellent, really has the octave to reach quite a range. But don't worry because that is followed up by Murray and Clooney jamming to bluesy "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'", surrounded by white trees beaming with white lights under an odd blue hue for a peculiar aesthetic choice. Murray wears a Santa cape and hat in that one, while returning to the tuxedo for "Let it Snow". Murray seems to have fun chemistry with Cyrus who is chummy and comfortable with him as well...considering she seemed to be a quick addition to the special makes her work all the more impressive. Clooney understands that he is in the Cary Grant stage of his career, working his charm without too much heavy lifting dramatic-wise. Fans of Murray I think will appreciate this perhaps more than just casual fans of the Christmas season. The Coppola connection (directed, written and produced by the likes of Sophia and Roman) makes sense considering their relationship with Murray. Murray's connection to Christmas through "Scrooged" is somewhat played for amusement here as he mentions being a Ghost of Christmas Past (and Johansen appearing, too) to Schwartzman. I am curious if this 56 minute Christmas special has any enduring legacy or cult value in correlation with this time of year. Perhaps it might function well as a companion to "Scrooged". It does offer plenty of songs connected to the holiday and Bill performs throughout. I think it is entertaining if perhaps not a serious treasure, but Murray's involvement does maybe give it some gravitas. It is very breezy in presentation and there is really no attempt at developing any sort of story beyond Murray wasting Christmas Eve with whoever is available in the hotel (and his dream). Not for everyone.

I like Bill Murray and like most of his roles. "Groundhog Day" and "Lost In Translation" are two of my favorites. But I find Sophia Coppola more hit-N-miss, I don't like most of her stuff.

This one is a Netflix special, just less than one hour long. It is in New York and there is a bad snowstorm that virtually closed down NYC as Murray (playing himself) is about to host a Christmas Special. He has a number of guests all playing themselves. Maybe it is a spoof of the old variety shows that actors and singers like Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole used to have. But for me it was mostly tedious, it never grabbed my interest.

And as much as I like Bill Murray the actor, he is a very mediocre singer and I really did NOT enjoy hearing him sing Christmas songs.

Oh well, a good experiment, to me a failed one.

There's a legend of a jogger in Central Park who stopped to catch his breath, only to have a stranger creep up behind him and cover his eyes with their hands. The startled jogger turns around, and, to his surprise, sees Bill Murray to be the culprit. Murray shrugs, remarks "no one will ever believe you," and strolls off. It's a great story - uncorroborated, of course - and fits perfectly into the mystique of Hollywood's most beloved melancholy clown. And if the objective of Sophia Coppola, reuniting with her Lost in Translation star, was to encapsulate the feel of that anecdote in A Very Murray Christmas (a title that sounds like it was stolen off a t-shirt) - charming, but left in a bemused, fuzzy "did that just happen?" daze - it's a feat she accomplishes with (jingle) bells on.

'Pleasant' is the first adjective that comes to mind in describing the film, but it's swiftly followed by 'odd' and 'non-narrative'. For every enthusiastic fan prone to extolling hyperbole like "I would literally just watch Bill Murray's face for an hour," Coppola appears determined to take you at your word, with this cheerfully ramshackle vision of sugarplums loosely structured around Murray's Christmas variety show being unattended and cancelled due to a raging snowstorm. At least one part of the film is a dream sequence - I'm still skeptical that more isn't - but mostly an excuse for Murray to croon Christmas carols and banter with his celebrity guest stars who flit in and out - a cute, albeit somewhat dusty premise. As with much 'Hollywood does Hollywood' schtick, the disjuncture between celebrities playing themselves (Chris Rock, Miley Cyrus, and, yes, Clooney) and celebrities playing characters (Amy Poehler, Michael Cera, Rashida Jones and Jason Schwartzman) can be a bit rocky, but Coppola largely skirts the fourth wall with cheeky grace, landing a choice Monuments Men gag amongst others (which is already probably more laughs than the film itself yielded).

What the film lacks is much of a payoff or sense of purpose, which can make Coppola's trademark dreamy, leisurely pacing really start to grate as the festive sparkle wears off. There's a woven in subplot involving Murray reuniting Jones and Schwartzman's feuding couple after their wedding is postponed, but the strength of the actors' performances (particularly Jones) makes the 'sing your love to one another' sit uneasily, even amidst the kitschy, meta variety show aesthetic presiding over the film as a whole. As our host, Murray, playing the Bill Murray of Zombieland, birthday party crashing lore, is charm and class personified, compensating for the lack of plot with sheer charisma, but even he looks desperate for more to do, making it hard to avoid the feel of a wasted opportunity. The celebrity cameos are fun (Clooney in particular, who looks like he was paid for the gig in champagne, appears to relish the rank weirdness of his bit), but it all wears thin so soon that it's akin to the hangover hitting before you've left the party.

Coppola's Christmas Carol is as insubstantial as a Christmas cookie, but a largely cheerful evening for all who have ever wanted to spend their Christmas doing karaoke with Bill Murray (and let's face it - who wouldn't?). But, like all good Murray stories, it fades from consciousness almost immediately, unlikely to ever be revisited, but leaving a pleasantly confusing after glow. Is it likely to worm its way into the pantheon of annual holiday viewing? Nah. Give Scrooged another go instead. Ho-ho-ho-hum.

-6/10

I can't quite put my finger on it. This special starts out bad, possibly purposely so, with Amy Poehler hamming it up something awful. But it grows on you with memories of Christmas's past. By the time Murray is singing a surprising non-rapey version of Baby it's Cold Outside we are in full Christmas swing. Capped off with a blast of nostalgia for Christmas Specials past with a surprisingly talented Miley Cyrus and a ridiculously charming George Clooney.

I used to be a Love Actually Christmas Eve traditionalist. This however has been my go to Christmas special the last two years and I see no reason not to continue that tradition again next year.