I’m not sure what happened here. Granted, my friend talked through half the movie, so I may have missed some critical elements, but overall, I thought this film was a disaster and was unable to keep my attention or interest. I’d just watched Elf earlier in the day, which had me laughing in stitches, like always. But, Spirited felt like a waste of talent for both Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. I just couldn’t buy into Ryan Reynolds’ character as the villain, whereas my friend couldn’t buy into the idea of Will Ferrell as Scrooge. And, the opening songs about capitalism and corporate culture were cringeworthy. The only saving grace of this film were the remaining musical and dance numbers, which by and large, were quite good. Overall though, this film couldn’t decide want it wanted to be. Drama, comedy, musical? And, all the jumping around in time made my head spin. Will definitely not be watching this one again next Christmas.

Trailer

Genre: Comedy, Family, Musical
Released: 2022
Running Time: 2h 7m
Studio: Apple Original Films
MPAA: PG-13
Starring: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer
Director: Sean Anders
Writer: Sean Anders, John Morris

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 69% Tomatometer, 80% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️✨

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / NPR

Where to Watch: Apple TV+