Spirited — Movie Review
by KJ Proulx
Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds have always been enjoyable leads on-screen to me. Hearing they were doing a Christmas musical did pique my interest, but even though I like them, it never screamed must-watch. After sitting down to check it out, I’ll say that I’m very happy I watched it and I had a good time with it, but it’s definitely not perfect. If you’re looking to watch a movie with a lot of holiday spirit and musical numbers, Spirited may just be the movie for you. Here’s why I recommend this one, even though I have issues with it.
In this loose redo of A Christmas Carol, the ghost of Christmas present (Will Ferrell) journeys to try and change a man that has lost his way as a person, Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds). Deemed unredeemable, he truly believes he can change him for the better. This leads to a lot of musical numbers about family, the holidays, and many other cliched topics, but they all work pretty well for the most part. Anytime Reynolds and Ferrell had numbers together were easily the standout moments for me. There is also some solid humour sprinkled throughout and the overall experience was just fun. Where I feel the movie fails is in the editing department. This film is far too long.
Not that it made me dislike the movie by any means, but Spirited did not have to be over two hours. This film felt as though it needlessly dragged on and found ways of making the story longer, just so that more musical numbers could fit in. In between some of the musical numbers just felt boring and uninteresting at times. That may sound like a huge complaint, but I still enjoyed the majority of the movie. I don’t usually say that a shorter movie is better, but I feel like 20 minutes could’ve easily been shaved off here.
Overall, Spirited cares about the material it’s replicating and therefore delivered a fun experience. For being an Apple TV+ original, it’s great, but this is one I kind of wish I saw at the theatre, simply because it feels very theatrical. The life lessons are all the same (for the most part) in terms of comparing it to the classic Christmas Carol story, but they work here as well because care is put in to make you feel for these characters. By the end of the movie I had a smile on my face and walked away happy that I watched it. It doesn’t break any new ground, but I think people can have a good time with this one. It has some dark moments, but that’s what A Christmas Carol is as well. It’s not exactly for families, but adults can definitely have a good time.
Rating: 3.5/5
Check out the trailer below:
