We Wish You a Murray Christmas
This one hour long Netflix special is directed by Sofia Coppola and features Bill Murray alongside a bunch of his celebrity friends - Chris Rock, George Clooney, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler and Miley Cyrus to name a few. "Bill Murray worries no one will show up to his T.V. show due to a terrible snow-storm in New York City". Netflix has definitely succeeded in the television market but can it crack the film market too? The jury is still out on Beasts of No Nation and The Ridiculous 6 is getting slammed by pretty much everyone - where does A Very Murray Christmas lie?

I didn't know that much about this 'film' until I saw it advertised on Netflix whilst I was watching Jessica Jones - I kept note of its release date and watched it as soon as I could. I have to say, the best parts for this film are all in the trailer - it is definitely not as cheery or joyful as the trailer makes out - it is a very depressing and gloomy Christmas film. Even though it definitely sticks to the general message of a festive film - it is just executed in a very depressing way. I have to say, I was pretty disappointed with A Very Murray Christmas - there is definitely a reason for why they removed 'merry'. 

Like I said before, the whole tone of the film is very grey, depressing and dull - it never really goes anywhere. It is quite promising at first and ends on a good note but that long 40 minute chunk in the middle is almost a chore to sit through. The whole idea of a snow storm at Christmas which disrupts life has been done so many times. However, Murray Christmas fails to make anything new out of the idea. To add to the depressing tone, every rendition of usually cheery and fun Christmas songs are slow ballads. Now, I may have to say that the reason I may not have been a fan of this film is that I am not the target audience - being a 17 year old, this dreary and depressing look at Christmas doesn't appeal to me. I think the film is more aimed at older audiences. I also don't really understand why Netflix picked it up - it would have worked a lot better as a TV special as it definitely doesn't deserve the 'film' status. 

I also had a problem with the cast - it changed as fast as a revolving door. The first segment had some celebrities and then the second segment had another bunch (the old ones were never referred to again) and the third segment had another set as well. This made it really clear that anyone involved in the film was just there because they are friends with Murray or just wanted the paycheque. Everyone was playing themselves so there were no bad performances. However, I found Murray himself very unlikeable - I don't know whether that is because he didn't display Christmas cheer - he seemed to be quite laid back and not bothered at all by the season. Surely if you were going to create a Christmas special, you would have a little bit of cheer? His grumpiness didn't even add any humour - he was just unlikely and added to the boringness of this film. 

Even though it is generally a big let down, the film was helped out a little by Amy Poehler and Miley Cyrus - both were probably the most high-energy out of all the cast and actually seemed to be excited about Christmas. Cyrus by far had the standout appearance - she has tamed down a lot which is good but she also added a lot of life to this film. George Clooney also had his moments and Maya Rudolph has a really good singing voice!

A Very Murray Christmas may as well call itself A Very Grey Christmas as it just wasn't uplifting, festive or cheerful at all. The cast revolved like turning tables and Murray himself was quite unlikeable. Poehler and Cyrus did add life to the film but that wasn't enough to save it from being a depressing and gloomy drag. Unless you are a huge Bill Murray fan, I would advise you to skip this one as it is nothing special and will be forgotten this time next year - definitely not a classic.