There’s a tension between sincerity and smarm that often makes it difficult to take Ryan Reynolds seriously. The actor has charisma to spare and is better than almost anyone with a snarky quip; he’s so good at it, that even when he attempts to go earnest, it’s easy to anticipate a joke coming to undercut it. In some movies, that’s a detriment; in Spirited, a new take on the Scrooge story, it’s a benefit.
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is, at its core, not so much about a grumpy man turning jolly as it is about a self-absorbed narcissist realizing that other people matter. It’s a story retold every few years, and it’s a testament to its staying power that neither Muppets, Mickey Mouse nor Bill Murray can fully dull its impact. No matter how many twists are put on the familiar tale, it still manages to move and inspire.
That’s true of Spirited, which not only updates Dickens’ story to modern times but filters it through the lens of both a musical and a Will Ferrell/Ryan Reynolds comedy, while also applying a meta twist. It’s an often overstuffed movie, clocking in at about 30 minutes too long. But even though it hits its lulls, Spirited manages to find moments of uplift, humor and sweetness, and could find its way into the annual holiday rotation.
The film is told from the perspective of the Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Ferrell), who has spent the last several centuries teaming with the ghost of Jacob Marley (Patrick Page), the Ghost of Christmas Past (Sunita Mani) and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Tracy Morgan) to redeem lost souls every Dec. 25. As Ferrell’s ghost is contemplating retirement, which would let him return to Earth and live as a mortal, the group finds their target for the next Christmas, a callous and duplicitous PR agent named Clint Briggs (Reynolds).
Briggs is amoral and jaded, and one of the film’s most clever conceits is to make its target not simply a miser but a modern-day manipulator who manufactures outrage and spins the truth to make his clients rich. Clint is so devious and committed to the idea that people can’t change that his file has him designated “Unredeemable,” which only makes him a more compelling challenge for the Ghost of Christmas Present, who is driven by a personal need to prove that anyone can change.
The retelling of A Christmas Story, coupled with its deconstructionist twist, would already make for a busy film, but Spirited still isn’t done cramming in incidents. The film’s a full-fledged musical, and Briggs’ redemption isn’t the only plot thread. Ferrell’s ghost has his own backstory filled with surprises, as well as a romantic storyline with Briggs’ morally compromised vice president (Octavia Spencer). There are also minor threads with each of the ghosts, including Marley’s annoyance of people breaking out into song and the Ghost of Christmas Future’s desire to do more than just point at tombstones.
Most of these are amusing or interesting; the reveal of the Ghost of Christmas Present’s backstory, in particular, is a concept I’m surprised hasn’t been tackled in these adaptations before. But it’s simply too much. The script is busy and overstuffed, leaving its world-building a bit fuzzy (the details of Ferrell’s retirement options don’t make a ton of sense, and the film originally sets up its musical sequences by explaining that the afterlife is a musical, only to have everyone in its “real world” burst into song as the plot dictates). It’s too much story even at over two hours, and the film can be exhausting. And yet, Spirited still often works despite the mess.
Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds in “Spirited.” © ED
The main draw, of course, is to see Reynolds and Ferrell in what’s essentially a Christmas bromance. Both actors largely play to their established personas, mostly to success. As the straight man, Farrell’s surprisingly good in his more earnest scenes, although several of his comedic moments depend largely on him acting befuddled or screaming (although he does get in a solid Elf joke). Viewers’ tolerance for Reynolds’ self-referential, sarcastic schtick might vary, but the actor goes all-in on Clint’s callousness and greed. But Reynolds is also really good when the film asks him to lower his defenses and tackle more emotional material, and the way he vacillates between snark and sentimentally helps sell the character’s redemption story. The rest of the ensemble is largely lost in the background as the film focuses on Ferrell and Reynolds, although Morgan scores some laughs and Spencer creates a sweet romantic foil.
Director Sean Anders keeps the energy up through the film’s many musical sequences, and Reynolds and Ferrell should be commended for going all in on the singing and dancing, even if they’re not naturals at either. They never treat the musical numbers as a joke and give it their all when they need to be completely earnest, even if the film’s high point winds up being a jaunty tap dance number about the pleasures of being snide. The songs won’t set the charts on fire, but they’re catchy and energetic, and accompanied by set dressing that maintains a solid yuletide vibe.
And even though Spirited gets a bit too tangled up in its various digressions and convoluted storytelling, when it focuses on its modern-day Christmas Carol beats, it still manages to move. Dickens set up a formula for a powerful redemption story, and Spirited takes that seriously even as it gives it a poke in the ribs, something that, say, Scrooged couldn’t quite do successfully.
Spirited won’t likely join the holiday pantheon alongside It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story or even Elf, and when it comes to Dickens adaptations, the conventional wisdom is that, as with most things, the Muppets did it better. But Spirited could become a movie to put on over the years as background viewing while wrapping gifts or trimming the tree. It’s funny and moving, and a reminder that Dickens’ story still retains a pull.
