‘A Very Murray Christmas’ Trailer: The Booze-Soaked Holiday Variety Special You’ve Always Wanted
Once upon a time, a holiday variety special hosted byBill Murraywould have been a star-studded live affair airing on a major television network. As a sign of changing times and tastes,A Very Murray Christmasis heading straight toNetflixand it looks like it captures the kind of melancholy and dryly funny humor that infect so many of us during the more festive months of the year.
Aftera series of brief teasers, the first actual trailer forA Very Murray Christmashas arrived and it feels far different than what we were expecting.What initially looked like it was going to be a riff on kitschy Christmas specials of oldnow appears to be very much a project of late-era Bill Murray: the comedy is only matched by loneliness, sadness, and sense of detachment. But if there’s one thing we know, it’s that few people are capable of mining comedy from those concepts quite like Murray.
So grab some eggnog, load it up with the alcohol of your choice, and watch the A Very Murray Christmas trailer after the jump.
The plot of this movie – or is it a TV special? Streaming is weird – is actually fairly ingenious. Bill Murray, playing himself, is hosting a star-studded Christmas special from a New York City hotel. Unfortunately, winter storms have shut the whole show down and none of those stars are coming. So Murray decides to make the most of a bad situation and parties on, celebrating the season with the friends who showed up and the hotel workers who happen to be in the vicinity.
With a cast that includesGeorge Clooney,Paul Shaffer,Tina Fey,Amy Poehler,Julie White,Dimitri Dimitrov,Michael Cera,Chris Rock,David Johansen,Maya Rudolph,Jason Schwartzman,Jenny Lewis,Phoenix,Rashida Jones, andMiley Cyrus,A Very Murray Christmasfinds our star interacting with folks from across the entertainment industry, many of whom seem to be playing self-deprecating versions of themselves. Poehler goes total Murray fangirl. Cera is an obnoxious jerk. Murray even suffers a hilariousMonuments Menjoke. The whole thing looks laid-back and low-key – this is a bunch of funny people hanging out, being charming and a little sad.
The special/movie/streaming event is directed bySofia Coppola, who previous directed Murray to an Oscar nomination inLost in Translation. She also co-wrote the script alongside Murray and comedy vetMitch Glazer, who wrote the screenplay forScrooged, which just-so-happens to featurethegreat Bill Murray Christmas scene of all time:
Here’s the official synopsis forA Very Murray Christmas:
This winter, Bill Murray brings an extra-special dose of holiday cheer to Netflix with the premiere of an all-star musically-driven holiday special, A Very Murray Christmas. Set inside New York City’s iconic Carlyle hotel, A Very Murray Christmas opens with Murray preparing to host a live, international holiday broadcast. After a blizzard shuts down the production, he makes the best of the situation by singing and celebrating with friends, hotel employees and anyone else who drops by.
