Spirited
Spirited
Starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Sunita Mani
Directed by Sean Anders
Starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Sunita Mani
Directed by Sean Anders
On December 19, 1843, Christmas history was made when Charles Dickens published his work A Christmas Carol, a tale about an irredeemable old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge who's visited by three ghosts of Christmas (Past, Present, and Yet to Come) who convince him to change his ways and become an upstanding citizen of the community. It's been used as a cautionary tale ever since, and the work has been done to death in films, novels, plays, and television specials that air during the yuletide season. By now everyone young and old knows the story, and it's almost impossible to make it fresh - but leave it up to director Sean Anders to give it the old college try with "Spirited," which turns A Christmas Carol into a modern-day musical that turns the story on its head - and it would've worked if he had cast actors who could actually sing.
Every Christmas Eve, a committee of heavenly helpers band together to redeem a dark soul from the error of their ways in time for Christmas, and to do so they concoct an entire performance piece where the person is visited by three spirits - Christmas Past (Sunita Mani), Present (Will Ferrell), and Yet to Come (Loren G. Woods/Tracy Morgan). This year, Present has a wild idea on who to pick - Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds), a major influencer who utilizes every manipulative trick in the book to get what he wants, and doesn't care about anyone other than himself, even dragging his nice assistant Kimberly (Octavia Spencer) into his mischievous deeds. What Present first thought would be an easy convert turns into anything but, as he develops feelings for Kimberly and Clint is someone who's deemed "irredeemable" by the higher ups. What's worse is that Clint doesn't want to change, and he turns the tables on Present, making him face his own Past, Present, and Future and forcing him to look inside himself to see if he, too, is really changed - or as irredeemable as Clint seems to be.
"Spirited" gets points for crafting a unique spin on the Dickens classic, introducing the story through the eyes of the spirits rather than the person being haunted, and giving them their own in-depth personalities, especially Present. All three spirits have different qualities about themselves - Past is free-loving, Present is always helpful, and Yet to Come wants to be heard instead of just being the spirit that points at things, and this triangle of personalities perfectly work well against one another, delivering delightful banter between the three. We get to see "behind the scenes" as to how they perform, and it's really fun in its execution, thanks to brilliant edits and transitions.
Where it falters is in the multiple musical numbers, but it's not because of the songwriting. The songs were written by seasoned pros Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Oscar-winning duo behind popular musicals "La La Land" and "The Greatest Showman," and they once again infused modern-day topics with classic musical styling that makes for toe-tapping entertainment. The problem here comes with the casting, as Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds really don't hold a tune as well as other actors like Hugh Jackman or Emma Stone. They put their all into the performances, but if they were auditioning for "American Idol" back in the day, they would've been soundly insulted by Simon Cowell after their first note hit the air.
Despite their lack of singing talent, Ferrell and Reynolds both have proven their comedic chops again and again, and while both perform to their strengths (basically it's saying this is Will Ferrell doing Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds doing Ryan Reynolds), their bromistry (bro chemistry) is infectious, and they work perfectly against one another. You sense the backstage comradere between the two, and it shines in their performances. Ferrell's Present wants to change the world in hopes to combat his inner turmoil of once being an irredeemable himself, and seeing a little of his old self in Reynolds' Clint. Their infectious personalities makes for an entertaining ride that'll have you forgiving their sour musical notes. Octavia Spencer rounds out the cast, but her role is very diminished in light of the others. She plays Kimberly, the assistant to Reynolds' Clint who hates what she does - digging dirt on people - and wants to change. When she meets Present, she sees an opportunity to change her life, and she gives the best song of the entire film, but she still has a diminished role compared to the others.
This unique spin pits Present against Clint, and it's like two Ebenezers for the price of one - but in doing so, the film flips from one story to the other, as both men typically try to change the other, and sometimes returns to the same arguments again and again. It does offer some deeply emotional moments that are pulled off well, but its repetition grew stale after awhile. Despite that, overall, it is an enjoyable new addition to the Christmas canon, and while it probably won't be heralded as one of the best iterations of A Christmas Carol, it's still serviceable enough for one go-through.
The Score: B
Every Christmas Eve, a committee of heavenly helpers band together to redeem a dark soul from the error of their ways in time for Christmas, and to do so they concoct an entire performance piece where the person is visited by three spirits - Christmas Past (Sunita Mani), Present (Will Ferrell), and Yet to Come (Loren G. Woods/Tracy Morgan). This year, Present has a wild idea on who to pick - Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds), a major influencer who utilizes every manipulative trick in the book to get what he wants, and doesn't care about anyone other than himself, even dragging his nice assistant Kimberly (Octavia Spencer) into his mischievous deeds. What Present first thought would be an easy convert turns into anything but, as he develops feelings for Kimberly and Clint is someone who's deemed "irredeemable" by the higher ups. What's worse is that Clint doesn't want to change, and he turns the tables on Present, making him face his own Past, Present, and Future and forcing him to look inside himself to see if he, too, is really changed - or as irredeemable as Clint seems to be.
"Spirited" gets points for crafting a unique spin on the Dickens classic, introducing the story through the eyes of the spirits rather than the person being haunted, and giving them their own in-depth personalities, especially Present. All three spirits have different qualities about themselves - Past is free-loving, Present is always helpful, and Yet to Come wants to be heard instead of just being the spirit that points at things, and this triangle of personalities perfectly work well against one another, delivering delightful banter between the three. We get to see "behind the scenes" as to how they perform, and it's really fun in its execution, thanks to brilliant edits and transitions.
Where it falters is in the multiple musical numbers, but it's not because of the songwriting. The songs were written by seasoned pros Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Oscar-winning duo behind popular musicals "La La Land" and "The Greatest Showman," and they once again infused modern-day topics with classic musical styling that makes for toe-tapping entertainment. The problem here comes with the casting, as Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds really don't hold a tune as well as other actors like Hugh Jackman or Emma Stone. They put their all into the performances, but if they were auditioning for "American Idol" back in the day, they would've been soundly insulted by Simon Cowell after their first note hit the air.
Despite their lack of singing talent, Ferrell and Reynolds both have proven their comedic chops again and again, and while both perform to their strengths (basically it's saying this is Will Ferrell doing Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds doing Ryan Reynolds), their bromistry (bro chemistry) is infectious, and they work perfectly against one another. You sense the backstage comradere between the two, and it shines in their performances. Ferrell's Present wants to change the world in hopes to combat his inner turmoil of once being an irredeemable himself, and seeing a little of his old self in Reynolds' Clint. Their infectious personalities makes for an entertaining ride that'll have you forgiving their sour musical notes. Octavia Spencer rounds out the cast, but her role is very diminished in light of the others. She plays Kimberly, the assistant to Reynolds' Clint who hates what she does - digging dirt on people - and wants to change. When she meets Present, she sees an opportunity to change her life, and she gives the best song of the entire film, but she still has a diminished role compared to the others.
This unique spin pits Present against Clint, and it's like two Ebenezers for the price of one - but in doing so, the film flips from one story to the other, as both men typically try to change the other, and sometimes returns to the same arguments again and again. It does offer some deeply emotional moments that are pulled off well, but its repetition grew stale after awhile. Despite that, overall, it is an enjoyable new addition to the Christmas canon, and while it probably won't be heralded as one of the best iterations of A Christmas Carol, it's still serviceable enough for one go-through.
The Score: B
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