A Very Murray Christmas

A BIG thank you to Bill Murray, Chris Rock, George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, et al. for making me laugh (and cry...Miley Cyrus's rendition of Silent Night brought tears to my eyes.) when I needed it most. Bravo to those who bravely took the mike while they obviously cannot carry a tune,(eh Chris and George?) Have been watching Bill Murray since his debut on SNL. And who would ever guessed that Clooney would be where he is today after watching him on Roseann?! Despite the negative reviews here, this little gem created some much needed Christmas cheer. I hope to see another Murray Christmas next year! And for all of you who were disappointed...bah humbug!

This Christmas special has a very 2020 vibe even though it was made 5 years ago. A blizzard in Manhattan on Christmas? Unable to see your friends and Family? Sounds familiar. Stellar performances all round, although I do wonder how much acting was actually done. Still, one of my go-to Christmas watches for a nice somber vibe.

Anyone looking at a Christmas special written by/for Bill Murray and expecting a plot and story line is either too young or too dumb to just enjoy it. It is Bill at his best. Calm, collected and one hell of a showman. It's dark and bright in the best of ways. Great sound quality, good people being people.

The progression of the movie was very well done. I was content with it initially; but as it went on I loved it more and more. I watched the musical scenes twice (Silent Night maybe more) in one sitting.

In 10 years everyone will be calling this a Christmas must watch. If you know Bill Murray and enjoy him, you can't lose.

A Very Murray Christmas (2015)

** (out of 4)

This Christmas special was made for Netflix and when you've got a talented director like Sofia Coppola and a talented actor like Bill Murray you expect much better. The story has Murray set to perform a live Christmas show but NYC has been hit by a major snowstorm so he's worried none of the stars will show up. Not only do we get Murray but we also have Paul Shaffer, Michael Cera, David Johansen, Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, Jason Schwartzman, Miley Cyrus and George Clooney.

There are many problems with this 56 minute special but the biggest is the fact that it's simply not funny. While watching the film I couldn't help but wonder what they were even trying to do. Show off a great cast? Perhaps because that's really the only thing that the movie accomplishes. Murray is always fun to watch but he really isn't given much to do here outside of singing some songs, which he adds a nice spin on. Clooney shows up towards the end and while it's fun seeing him in something like this he really isn't given too much to do. The scene-stealer is Cyrus who sings three songs but takes the movie with a wonderful version of Silent Night.

Bill Murray worries no one will show up to his T.V. show due to a terrible snow-storm in New York City.

I may be rating this special a little low. It is hard to say, because I did not know going in to it what this would be, and I was somewhat disappointed that it was not funnier or more silly. It basically amounts to a series of special guests singing Christmas songs. Which is nice, but really nothing all too different from any other special, and seems like a waste of Murray's talent.

One thing I found the most confusing was that some people were themselves (Murray, Chris Rock, George Clooney) while others (Jason Schwartzman, Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones) were not. Why not just have everyone be themselves?