Holiday Bill is back

He gets happier toward the end.

By the way, if you haven’t seen “A Very Murray Christmas” yet on Netflix, we here at the Warehouse have given it four stars and demand that it be required holiday viewing for aging misanthropes everywhere.

There’s something about Bill Murray’s face: Etched with disbelief at the way things have turned out, but with some ghost of hope behind those faded eyes. That’s why he was perfect in “Scrooged” all those years ago. He does cynicism like no other, and when the transformation comes, it can feel kind of poignant.

I guess that’s a spoiler. But it’s a Christmas special, so I think you can assume a happy ending. And it’s Bill Murray, so I think you can also assume that things won’t get too saccharine. This is no Andy Williams cheese-fest. There’s booze and snark in limited quantities. Mostly it’s just Murray playing himself, and fighting against himself to find some holiday spirit.

He’s got a great cast to help out: George Clooney, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Chris Rock, Miley Cyrus(!) among them. I know — I’m not a fan of Miley Cyrus either. But the woman can sing, and her “Sleigh Ride” dance number does much to atone for past sins. Dave Bob says check it out.