MOVIE REVIEW
Spirited
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Genre: Comedy, Family, Musical
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 2h 7m
Director(s): Sean Anders
Writer(s): Sean Anders, John Morris
Cast: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Sunita Mani, Patrick Page, Joe Tippett, Marlow Barkley, Jen Tullock
Where To Watch: premiering in theaters on November 11 and globally on Apple TV+ on November 18, 2022

RAVING REVIEW: What do you get when you mix Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds in a Christmas musical (parody?) version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL? Well, you get something so crazy that it’s almost too much but manages to land with just the right amount of holiday pizazz.

So I am a massive fan of the movie ELF with Will Ferrell starring. That is honestly the film that made me overcome my delusion of not liking Will Ferrell as an actor (why I have no clue, it was completely unjust.) So when I saw a new Christmas movie with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, my expectations went through the roof. I was ecstatic at the possibilities of what this could be.

While I don’t know that we’ve got our next certified Christmastime classic here, I do know that this was fun and played to the strengths of the two main stars. Especially the very welcome addition of a surprising amount of Ryan Reynolds singing. I feel like Octavia Spencer was slightly underused here, I enjoyed her role, but there could’ve been far more to it.

The biggest knock was probably the film's runtime; coming in a little over two hours was just a little too much, especially for a holiday musical. This could’ve easily fit into that hour-and-a-half window and still had the same impact. At times there was noticeably some filler, especially during the middle of the second act and into the third act.

I highly recommend this one; it’s a must-watch for any fan of these actors, holiday movies, or fans of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. This was a fresh enough self-aware take on the story that made it feel fresh (even though it had a slight homage to SCROOGED.) It’s hard to give a new take to something with as many adaptations as this story has, so it was nice to see a fresh take.

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