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Critics Consensus: A Very Murray Christmas preaches effectively to the converted with a parade of superstar guests and hummable songs that - combined with the host's trademark presence - adds up to a unique holiday experience.
Critic Consensus: A Very Murray Christmas preaches effectively to the converted with a parade of superstar guests and hummable songs that - combined with the host's trademark presence - adds up to a unique holiday experience.
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (14)
This is the show at its best, effectively balancing wry humor with a straightforward affection for the Christmas songbook (the regular one, not some hipster alt-holiday universe version).
It's beautiful and haunting and and commercial and confusing and cringe-worthy. So maybe it's also Christmas.
When everyone's gathering around the piano to sing The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York", or when Coppola's filming Murray looking out over a beautifully chilly city on Christmas morning, well - that sweetness ain't artificial.
We have A Very Murray Christmas, and at the very least there are certainly worse ways to spend 56 minutes on a wint'ry December evening than watching it.
A Very Murray Christmas is an unexpectedly tender little TV jewel from the man who built his early career on being a wisecracking cynic.
A Very Murray Christmas is so much of what Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola fans would expect it to be that it's almost perfect.
The whole idea of Bill Murray is that he's funny when he's not trying to be, and that his persona works best when scored against substantial narratives or absurd scenarios.
2015's Netflix one-off A Very Murray Christmas seems half-finished, like a good fruitcake recipe that could have used another 20 minutes in the oven.
The fun all of these major celebrities are having isn't very infectious to the audience. This is clearly more entertaining for them that it is to us
... this is a case of all the good stuff being in the trailer.
Murray, who genuinely seems to fancy himself as a bit of a crooner, bludgeoning his way through a number of Christmas standards in a cracked, scratchy voice suggests he's taking his ego for a sleigh ride.
And it's true: The production values are not high. The transitions are awkward. The scripted jokes do not land. The actors seem unrehearsed. Many of the songs do not work. But, somehow, Bill Murray still charms.
With the exception of one song I liked (Baby it's cold outside) I really could have taken or left this.
Super Reviewer
The narrative element is almost non existent, and the music isn't executed well enough to make up for it.
With a play on his own name, Bill Murray leads this Netflix Christmas Special, "A Very Murray Christmas." Breaking the fourth wall, this film is essentially about Bill Murray's Christmas special as the power goes out and he remains stranded in a restaurant where celebrity cameos, Christmas carols, and love letters ensue. This is a holiday special with the best intentions, that only works about half of the time. This is a very slow moving piece that you really have to be in the holiday spirit to love. For what this film is, it is a brilliant watch on a winter night when you want to get into the Christmas spirit. Other than that, it really is just a bunch of segments strung together with musical numbers, that are quite enjoyable to watch. As a whole, it is not much of a film, but it is a very pleasant music-filled holiday special. It is not that great, but I would still highly recommend it. With cameos like George Clooney, Rashida Jones, Miley Cyrus, and many more, it is a lot of fun. "A Very Murray Christmas" is full of holiday spirit.
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