Review: 'Spirited' offers a modern, musical twist on Dickens's classic holiday tale

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Spirited
3 out of 5 Stars
Director: Sean Anders
Writers: Sean Anders, John Morris
Starring: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer
Genre: Comedy, Musical
Rated: PG-13 for language, some suggestive material, and thematic elements.

Studio Synopsis: Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Ferrell) selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds) turns the tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself reexamining his own past, present and future.

Review: Yes, I know, you’ve seen “A Christmas Story” with Muppets, Patrick Stewart, Bill Murray, and a dozen or so others. “Spirited” takes the idea of an unredeemable man of influence being visited by a series of ghosts in a new direction. Will Ferrell stars as Present (as in the Ghost of Christmas Present) and works with a large crew to annually convert a bah-humbug soul into a merry-Christmas person. Present is something of a veteran in that he’s been protecting holiday cheer for 200 years. The option to retire and return to the world of the living exists but Present insists he’s so happy where he is in his existence that he won’t risk the change.

Present seems like a by-the-book guy, but when he and his team are assigned to an unmerciful hotel manager, Present believes he’s found a better option in Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds) a heartless PR guy. The only problem is that Clint has been labeled unredeemable. He’s not worth the effort. Still, Present insists.

What follows is a sometimes-musical featuring Ferrell and Reynolds swapping wit and insults for the better part of two hours. “Spirited” isn’t nearly as jovial as “Elf,” but it’s not mean-spirited (even if the characters can be). It’s also not so saccharin that even Scrooge would find ample reason to laugh without damaging his reputation.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul ("La La Land") provide the songs and there might be one or two that sneak their way into an Oscar nomination The irreverent “Good Afternoon” is my favorite.

Always nice to see Octavia Spencer and Patrick Page on the screen. Even if they are underutilized.