Directed By: Sean Anders
Starring: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Patrick Page, Tracy Morgan
Plot Summary: A musical version of the classic Christmas story by Charles Dickens. A miserly man who treats everyone around him with terrible selfishness finds himself on a fantastical adventure into the three phases of time: past, present, and future, in order to discover how he ended up so miserable and alone.
On December 19th, 1843, Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, more commonly known as A Christmas Carol was first published. In its nearly two-hundred years, Dickens’ classic tale has never been out of print and has been translated to multiple languages. The masterpiece of fiction has truly transcended time and medium, having been adapted countless times on stage, television and of course films. With the latest stab at the material, Spirited, director and co-writer Sean Anders had no easy task in modernizing and upgrading A Christmas Carol for the 21st Century. The end result may be kind of a mess, but ultimately it is an entertaining one.
One of the greatest assets of Spirited is its thoughtful and extremely clever world building. In this universe, A Christmas Carol is a beloved classic, only here Dickens was drawing on real events. Taking this a step further, every year in this world a massive team works the entire year constructing the past, present and future scenarios for a chosen terrible individual, referred to as perps. The hope is that by having a positive outcome with one person, it will cause a ripple effect of kindness and good will. There are a lot of really interesting ideas extracted from this concept, and something this detailed and well thought out was more than a bit unexpected.
The comedy of the film is complemented with the fact that it is also a musical, an aspect which it really hits that hard. The music is catchy and fun for the most part, although not so amazing that you will really remember many of the songs once the credits finish rolling. The dancing, on the other hand, is a massive highlight across the board with a staggering amount of time and care put into this facet of the production. Truly, there are so many amazingly choreographed sequences that it boggles the mind. Fans of the old Busby Berkeley musicals of the ’30s and ’40s may experience a twinge of that nostalgia in its execution, only with a more modern flare.
Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds have a really great chemistry together. Yes, Reynolds is basically playing the same snarky character as always. Yet, credit where its due, he does stretch his acting abilities here with some weighty moments. Ferrell also does his usual shtick but, like Reynolds, he does add some depth to his role. Together, the pair really play very well off one another. The supporting cast is also stellar with Oscar winner Octavia Spencer being a national treasure as always. Patrick Page, Tracy Morgan and Sunita Mani all shine in their respective roles.
As enjoyable as the film may be, it is kind of a mess at times. There are some plot elements that do not quite add up if you spend any amount of time actually thinking about them. You also have other elements that somewhat undercut the source material. In a seemingly throwaway joke, which later turns out to be a big plot point, its asserted that Scrooge only lived three more weeks before he died after the story ends. However, in the coda to the novella, Scrooge lives much longer, mentoring Tiny Tim, and later giving him employment when he reaches adult hood. While the Dickens text is by no means too sacred to shape for new interpretations, this only devalues the core concept both in the book and in this re-imagining.
Tonally, some things are a bit uneven, with one very dark turn that was jarring to say the least. Pacing is also a notable issue with this clocking in at just over two hours. Some elements could have easily been cut for pacing and a tighter overall focus since it does wildly sway all over the place at times. While admittedly a minor complaint, the movie suggests Dolly Parton was once on the perp list, which is absurd because she has always been a sweet, lovely person. This goes to one of the larger issues regarding consistency; some of the easter eggs and references work tremendously, yet others, like the Parton joke, fall flat on their face.
For all its bombastic chaos, Spirited certainly lives up to its title and really hits home its message nicely. Not only does it manage to re-contextualize a very popular tale, it does it in some very smart and compelling ways. It is by no means flawless, but it is an immensely entertaining addition to the holiday season.
Spirited is currently playing in select theaters, and it will be available to stream on AppleTV+ on November 18, 2022.
For all its bombastic chaos, Spirited certainly lives up to its title and really hits home its message nicely.
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GVN Rating 8
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Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.