Spirited on Apple TV Plus

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 11/18/22 at 2:33pm

Just checked this out, and I was pleasantly surprised!

Ryan Reynolds' specific style of self-aware humor isn't really my thing, and a lot of that humor is in this movie, but enough of it works. He and Will Ferrell both do a pretty great job leading a musical (Reynolds has a particularly nice singing voice). The songs by Pasek and Paul are pretty catchy and clever for the most part, there's some really impressive choreography (very tap-heavy), and a surprising level of emotional depth in the second half.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 2:29am

Watched this tonight and I thought it was just about as overstuffed as your average Christmas dinner. Reynolds and Ferrell are just so unlikable, and the plot went all over the place if you ask me. The saving graces are the pleasant-enough Pasek and Paul tunes (gussied up beautifully by Ian Eisendrath and Dave Metzger) — though nothing requires repeated listening — and the self-aware humor Alex referenced above. The "Elf" reference cracked me up for a solid minute. Patrick Page and Octavia Spencer are underutilized in forgettable roles.

Floparoony.

 

 

Updated On: 11/19/22 at 02:29 AM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 9:50am

Disagree with pretty much everything directly above. I thought it was funny and touching, and both stars were charming. Patrick Page and Octavia Spencer were also great in significant roles.

A joyful, fresh holiday romp that was much better than the trailer. Not amazing, but a solid 3 out of 4 stars. 

 

Updated On: 11/19/22 at 09:50 AM

[perfectpenguin]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 11:10am

I believe I and EDSOSLO858 watch two different movies. I enjoy this very much. A few moments had me laughing. But overall a very nice and modern telling of A Christmas Carol. One song at the beginning sung by Patrick Page gave me Hadestown vibes. Anyone else think this? ( this song )

Updated On: 11/19/22 at 11:10 AM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 11:29am

It was also fun to see Ryan Reynolds doing his best Harold Hill in a big musical number. I usually find him adorable, but seeing him sing and dance takes it to another level.

[bk]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 11:56am

perfectpenguin said: "I believe I and EDSOSLO858 watchtwo different movies. Ienjoy this very much. A few moments had me laughing. But overall a very nice and modern telling of A Christmas Carol. One song at the beginning sung by Patrick Page gave me Hadestown vibes. Anyone else think this? ( this song )"

No, this person watched the exact same movie you did and didn't care for it. They're called opinions and are just that.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 12:26pm

Yesterday I had a streaming double feature at home starting with Disenchanted on Disney Plus and Spirited. So my input on this movie is Ryan Reynolds/Will Ferrel's chemistry and music barely worked. It was too self aware of a Scrooge twist for my liking. And the 2 hour run time didn't keep my interest up too long. Pasek and Paul are starting to become a mixed bag thanks to Spirited and Lyle Lyle Crocodile.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 11/23/22 at 3:18pm

This new modern-day musical of Charles Dickens' ''A Christmas Carol,'' now on Apple TV and screening in limited theaters, left me dis-''Spirited.'' Will Ferrell plays the Ghost of Christmas Present who sets out to redeem Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds), a selfish, amoral media consultant. Ferrell and Reynolds try to give their all, and the cast includes ''Hadestown's'' Patrick Page as Marley. But the plot is so contrived and convoluted, and easily wears out its welcome at 2 hours and 7 minutes. (''Spirited'' gets a 68% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.)

''Spirited'' boasts new songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (whose lyrics I loved in their Oscar-winning ''La La Land'' ). Usually, there's at least a couple of tunes that stand out for me in most any Pasek and Paul score. Even in ''Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,'' for which they also wrote new songs and are credited as executive producers. I really enjoyed their ''Top of the World'' and ''Carried Away,'' a wonderful ballad that deserves Oscar attention. But there's not a single holiday tune in ''Spirited'' that I'd give a jingle about. They're bouncy but bland. What a blah humbug.

Updated On: 11/23/22 at 03:18 PM

[Lola Getz2]

Posted: 11/25/22 at 11:22am

Watched this with the family last night. Not horrible, but way too long and a convoluted mess. Some songs were fun, but others just lackluster. There are worse things out there, but I don't highly recommend it.

 

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And why doesn't Will Ferrell's character have a British accent if he is supposed to be...you know who? 

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/25/22 at 11:30am

It started strong for me and I really dug what it was doing. And then it kind of falls apart about halfway through, and at times you wish a more serious actor was playing the Ferrell part. Enjoyable, but ultimately not great. But I have to applaud it for at least being more interesting than a straight adaptation of A Christmas Carol. And some nice P&P tunes.

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/2/22 at 10:18am

Haven't seen the show on AppleTV yet. Intend to watch this weekend.

I do own the soundtrack however, and it's on my Christmas playlist that's currently on my phone. Regardless of whether the movie itself is lacking in any way(s), I think the soundtrack is extremely good. It tells a story on its own, and I find ALL the songs to be engaging, humorous, and catchy (especially the opening number and its closing reprisal).

After seeing the movie, I may find that the complete package (soundtrack and film) aren't the best, but the soundtrack does stand out on its own as extremely enjoyable. A Christmas Carol is so familiar to so many that it's easy to fill in any blanks, even if what's self-imagined doesn't match the screenplay.

Even if you don't see the movie, I highly recommend buying the soundtrack as (perhaps) a better, "Reader's Digest" musical, without the possible pitfalls of the movie.

I also think it's interesting that Pasek and Paul have written TWO very good Christmas scores (with A Christmas Story). Not sure if any other composers have done that?

 

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 6:47pm

This was really good! Costumes look great and Chloé Arnold's choreography looks good on both the real dancers, and the less trained (I love tap). I liked the choreographed lights in "Unredeemable". I think the first time I saw that done was a group number on SYTYCD, but I don't recall if that was Arnold's season(?)

Could Ryan Reynolds possibly be more handsome? The only quibble I have is a bad wig he wears when he's portrayed as a younger man. Unfortunately his wig makes him look older, rather than younger.

I liked the twists on the plot. The re-purposing of "Good Afternoon" as a sick burn was lots of fun.

I watched this twice this weekend. I agree that some editing would improve it (yup... it's too long). Still, I'm sure I'll stream it every year. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 12/26/22 at 11:09am

I finally watched this movie yesterday while at my sister’s house since they had an appletv+ subscription.

Overall I enjoyed it and think I’d watch it every Christmas season. I do think Ferrell may have been miscast but am loving how Patrick Page, Ryan Reynolds, and Octavia Spencer were all involved in the movie! Two of the songs that stuck with me is Octavia’s song “View from here” and the group number on “Good afternoon.” 
I’ve always enjoyed watching A Christmas Carol or adaptations of the story. I appreciated the modern twist to the Dickens story.

i doubt it would ever go on Broadway but if it does as a strictly limited engagement and stars Ryan Reynolds and Octavia Spencer above the title, I can see people buying tickets.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 1/3/23 at 12:59am

This was also a mixed bag for me, but mostly trending positive.  I liked the story (or at least the idea of it), and I enjoyed how it played out.  Specific lines seemed a little hokey, like I think they leaned a little too much into the breaking the fourth wall and "isn't it cool we're all singing?" *wink*, which I could've done without.  I think part of it also comes down to that it takes a certain kind of director to make a musical work on screen and I don't think this movie had that.

Weirdly at times it felt like they originally wrote this for a stage show and then decided to make it a movie instead (or maybe it's just the aforementioned director issues).  Like with Ryan Reynolds's first song, I could totally see that being an amazing production number on stage, but the way it worked on screen just seemed to fall a little flat, especially the way they transitioned into it.  And there was just SO MUCH dancing going on in the background of the songs that I thought was unnecessary, especially for The View From Here, that it felt like they had choreographed full numbers without as much thought to the purpose of the choreography.

Good Afternoon was definitely the highlight of the show, but I thought Patrick Page in Marley's Haunt was also an underrated bit.  It was nice to actually hear a musical number from a trained singer and I think the way the song was framed worked quite well.  It was a bit of a bold move to cast so many non-singers in a musical and I haven't listened to the soundtrack separately yet, but I couldn't say any of the songs stayed with me except maybe Good Afternoon, but I do wonder if they'd be more memorable if they'd had better singers (which is something I've experienced in the past).

All in all, a fun watch and I'm glad it exists, but I just really wish we had more directors who knew how to film musicals (or at least more chances given to the ones who do).

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 1/3/23 at 1:42am

I actually kinda loved this. Is it the best movie ever written? No. Did I have a GREAT time watching it? Absolutely. And that's really all I'm looking for from something like this. 

Ths songs were a blast and the choreo was AMAZING!!! I am a huge fan of Choe Arnold and it was amazing to see her choreography in something like this and it was a fun little game to spot Chloe, Maude, and the Syncopated Ladies all throughout the movie!

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 1/3/23 at 11:20am

I agree! I laughed so many times! This movie is definitely something that will be on my watchlist for next Christmas!