I guess I’m not paying much attention to marquee movies coming down the chute of late because I had no earthy idea “Spirited” starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds and Octavia Spencer was released (by the way, it’s currently available on HBO Max). I was excited to watch this, my sixth Christmas movie of the season to be dropped in 2022.
(NOTE: the previous five are all reviewed on this Substack: A Christmas Story Christmas, Christmas With You, Falling for Christmas, Jolly Good Christmas and Hometown Holiday)
Spirited certainly has box office star power. But did it deliver the goods? Here’s my pretty much non-spoiler take and grade:
PROS: I won’t go as far to call this flick unique but nonetheless is a pretty fun adaptation of A Christmas Carol, this time focused centrally on the Ghost of Christmas Present (Ebenezer/Roberto). Speaking of, I think Will Ferrell’s very good in the role both as an actor and---can’t believe I’m saying this, musical performer. By the way, nice supplementary addition to casting with the talented Octavia Spencer as Kimberly/Present’s love interest as well. Several of the music numbers worked, especially the ensemble signing “That Christmas Morning Feelin”, Ferrell solo with “Present’s Lament” and Spencer singing “The View From Here.” Also, I criticize Reynolds’ as a vocalist below but I still thought he was excellent as Clint Briggs, especially as the movie drew closer to its conclusion. Spirited(for the most part) checks most the boxes that make for a good Christmas movie. It’s pretty funny, completely Christmas driven and has the happy ending we should all crave.
CONS: I enjoy an actor or actress showing off versatility and stepping outside the comfort zone but sorry, Ryan Reynolds performing musical numbers ain’t it. His singing felt corny and cheesy, and not the corny and cheesy I typically like. I’m talking verging on cringe, at least for me anyway. Also, Reynolds’ character, Clint Briggs is labeled unredeemable but it’s apparent early on that’s not even close to accurate. Sure, he’s a selfish prick when it comes to business and it too busy and self-absorbed to make quality time for his little brother or niece but still, his “bad” temperament and actions pale in comparison to Bill Murray in Scrooged or the original Ebenezer Scrooge himself. He doesn’t have a long history of treating people badly and if so, it’s not documented in this film—a big miss in my opinion.
I needed to loathe Clint more early on so his ultimate redemption would feel more gratifying---that never really happened for me. Lastly, I don’t think this was a story in need of slightly more than two hours to tell.
VERDICT: It’s not easy to deliver a watchable Christmas musical featuring two Hollywood A-list movie stars but for the most part I think Spirited pulls it off. There’s a genuine comedic chemistry between Ferrell and Reynolds that works well enough to cover up some of its biggest flaws, including the aforementioned Clint Briggs not being as unredeemable as he could’ve been. By no means do I think Spirited belongs in the upper echelon of any Christmas movie countdowns, but it’s a good time and pretty fun twist on a classic Christmas tale. Grade: B-