Next up is 2015 Bill Murray-starring curiosity, A Very Murray Christmas and, well, this is very Bill Murray - very dry, rather brill and more than a little self-indulgent. I'm not sure if this one really counts as a movie but I had to watch it.
It's an odd one from director Sofia Coppola, a sort of intimate musical drama, masquerading as a fly-on-the-wall, behind the scenes peak at the ill-fated attempts to film a Murray-starring holiday variety show on Christmas Eve in New York. Unfortunately, a blizzard has hit the city and Murray, pianist Paul Schaffer and their production team are trapped in the beautiful, upmarket Carlyle Hotel. Amy Poehler (Sisters) is a gas as Murray's determined producer, egging him to go ahead with the filming, even though the star-studded list of celebrity guests can’t make it in.
A chance encounter in the lobby with Chris Rock sees this unlikely duo performing a hilariously awkward rendition of 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' (a song I still can't hear without thinking of that freaky kitchen scene in Gremlins). That's when the power goes out and the team decamps to the hotel bar.
There, Bill's encounters with the hotel staff and guests prompt a number of tasteful, wistful musical duets before Bill collapses after a few too many whiskeys.
This is a subtly moving twist on the traditional holiday TV special, as various celebs turn up in small roles to dazzle us with their singing. Michael Cera is sleazy as a predatory talent agent. Rashida Jones is melancholy as a bride-to-be whose wedding has become a disaster after the power cut causes both real and metaphorical cold feet. Jason Schwartzman is her fiance who Murray will try to help reconcile with her, with a little help from rock band Phoenix and a little Murray magic.
Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis is a cute waitress who dazzles Murray and his entourage with a shiver-inducing version of 'Baby, It's Cold Outside’ and later, Maya Rudolph steals the show as a lounge singer, ripping into a jaw-dropping 'Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home).' I had no idea she had it in her - it's stunning.
At a minute past midnight, all the guests band together to sing 'Fairytale of New York' right before Murray blacks out. Magically, the film then continues in Murray's subconscious as George Clooney and Miley Cyrus show up on a glorious, bright white Christmas soundstage to mix martinins and perform the 'real' special of Bill's dreams. It's surreal but altogether very tasteful.
It won't be for everyone but is a dryly entertaining yuletide curio that feels perfect for sticking on late on Christmas Eve to enjoy over a glass of scotch. It's also well worth watching to behold the Murray and Clooney performing a slightly pervy/wrong funk-fuelled version of Albert King’s 'Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’. It's slightly cringey but also very, very Christmassy. I think I love it, but I'm not sure.
Very Murray... comes in at just under an hour long, so I'm worried it doesn't really qualify as a full-fledged 'movie'. To make up for this, I make sure to chuck in another Netflix bonus short. It's the sublimely warm and witty Angela's Christmas, a critically acclaimed animated tale from 2017.
This one's penned by Frank McCourt, the Irish author behind the hard-going Angela's Ashes. Thankfully, this one is far more uplifting and hopeful, though it may still bring a tear to your eye. Set in Limerick on Christmas Eve in the early 1900s, little six-year-old Angela (Lucy O'Connell) causes quite the stir by accidentally pinching the church's wooden baby Jesus nativity display doll. She's only trying to keep it warm, you see, but things get out of hand.
I find this totally charming as this is absolutely the kind of thing I can picture my Amelia doing - getting into mischief but only for the most honest, purest of reasons. It's hard for me to resist adorable lines of dialogue like "We'll get you all warm and snuggly and wrap you up like a little holy sausage!"
The short is fun, affecting, but also optimistic. Little Angela gets into a few scary scrapes but inspires feelings of warmth, joy and charity in everyone she meets on her quest to keep that little baby safe.
I'm moved to tears by her mother (Ruth Negga)'s oh-so-sad story within the story and, when the film's theme song, sung by the recently departed Dolores O'Riordan plays out over the credits, there surely isn't a dry eye in the house. Love it.
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