Spirited

Big on spectacle and bigger on life lessons, Spirited manages to surprise, inspire and entertain in equal measure.

The teaming of Will Ferrell (making his return to Christmas movies nearly two decades after “Elf”) and Ryan Reynolds delivers the banter you’d expect and the singing and dancing you might not, and their energetic interplay goes a long way to making Spirited a movie that might become a holiday go-to in certain households.

While not without some issues, the movie lands as a modern-day fable whose colorfully packaged and exuberantly pitched life lessons carry an undeniable timeliness.

Though Spirited comes up short as a musical, it is still pretty enjoyable. Perhaps that’s because it is just so stuffed with everything else: If one part doesn’t totally work, there’s plenty else in the four-quadrant buffet to sample.

Spirited owes its buoyancy primarily to the lively rapport of Ferrell and Reynolds, ultimately playing out the movie’s most convincing love story.

A movie like Elf, as its opening credits suggest, seemingly sprung to life out of a children's book. Spirited evokes the sense that it sprung to life out of a series of focus-group sessions among corporate executives.

To say that the film grows tedious quickly would suggest that it wasn’t already trite from frame one.

Perfect movie -- just great to see Farrell and Reynolds singing and dancing, and that's coming from someone who rarely likes musicals. A really fun version of A Christmas Carol! I saw it on the big screen and was entertained every single moment, just wish more folks had that opportunity.

Spirited is far from perfect, but it honors what has attracted people to the story of Marley, Scrooge and the ghosts. It’s about finding the Christmas Spirit in each of us, with a little help from the supernatural. Mildly recommended. detroitcineaste

"Spirited" (11/18/22, 120 mins, Apple+) stars Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds in a definitely different take on the Cmas classic. This could've been something you'd want to see annually but it's warped by Hollywood's liberal/progressive values yet again, but if you're under the age of 25 you probably don't even know or care. Anyway, the storytelling is further marred by it being a musical, and even that's forced. It's mostly karaoke-quality singing especially when done by Will and Ryan and even the characters often exclaim "oh no, not another one." Will Ferrell, sporting a facelift, seems to be the only one decently cast for this. Ryan is way over-qualified and Octavia Spencer - just how did they talk her into her role?! Again, this could've been Great with better casting and much less singing.

Just finished watching it and I can’t remember a single song (which is pretty bad for a musical). Some light jokes got a smirk but really isn’t anything to write home about. Overall it’s on streaming for a reason. Only desperate & stupid (not to mention Rich) content streaming services would pay for this subpar entertainment. It really is the typical forgettable fluff that used to be straight to vhs/dvd guff back in the day. Save 2 hours of your life, trust me, even thirsty Reynolds fans can give this a big swerve!

bad [ bad ] adjective, worse, worst;(Slang) bad·der, bad·dest for 36. not good in any manner or degree. bad [ bad ] adjective, worse, worst;(Slang) bad·der, bad·dest for 36. not good in any manner or degree.