It's a strange thing: I don't think I would have taken so much of a liking to A Very Murray Christmas had I not avoided most of the Christmas music this season. Sometimes it's shoved in your ears in such a way that you can possibly feel blood running out (it may depend how much time you're stuck or need to go for some reason to the mall or certain stores where there's some madman's idea of a joke to keep Christmas music going, some of it recorded before your grandparents could walk). But I think by mostly not hearing too much of it this time - also I didn't see it last year when it premiered, and it'd be too hipster-ironic-dumb of me to see it during the summer - I quite enjoyed it. I might even go so far as to say it's one of the better things Sofia Coppola's directed... maybe ever?
That may speak to me not being a huge admirer of her films since Lost in Translation. But here, I liked that she was cutting loose and trying her hand at more improvisational comedy (if it was improv, some of it certainly feels that way and Murray gets a co-writing credit with Coppola) and at filming musical sequences. Except for the last few numbers near the end, when it turns into "dream sequence" time, she keeps her camera and cutting simple, not too showy, letting the performers take center stage. Does that mean all of these people sing well? Maybe not, but since I went in with somewhat low expectations, I was delighted to see the actors who I never thought could sing much - Maya Rudolph especially with a cover of 'Christmas Baby Please Come Home', and also Rashida Jones and whoever played the one waitress at the bar - so that made up for duds like Jason Schwartzman (and holy god that IS David Johansen!)
This has been fairly low rated, and I think I can understand what might be high expectations for such a thing; Bill Murray has been elevated to the status of a cultural icon over time (by hipsters, sure, and there's even a nod to that with the whole 'want your picture with me?' bit where Murray offers to the Jones character, a bride, that he does that sometimes, but also the general public), and so one might expect a lot of hilarity. I found myself laughing a lot through this because the tone is so loose and not really caring about pleasing anyone except themselves. I think I was hooked once Chris Rock showed up as the most reluctant 'No, I'm NOT singing' performer here, and while some numbers are stronger than others, the energy and fun is always there.
This all said, I don't know if I'd watch it more than once, at least for a while, and it certainly gets an extra point for including the Pogues 'Fairytale of New York' (if only it included Tom Waits's 'Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minnesota'!) and a surprisingly great turn from Miley Cyrus (the first time I connected with a performance of 'Silent Night' in as long as I can remember). But I wasn't going in expecting a whole lot, which may have been part of it, and yet at the same time I was impressed by what Coppola and Murray were able to pull off with a silly premise that everyone acknowledges is silly, and all led by Paul Shaffer who, come on, who doesn't like Paul? If you're in the right frame of mind (and not too burnt out) for Christmas covers and some bits of self-referential comedy, this is a nice slice.
