Review: The Here-After Haunts The Handsomest Scrooge Of Them All In SPIRITED On Apple TV+

Well, my DAHLING tribe, the lovelies at Broadway World have asked Bobby for another of our rainbow reviews on some streaming content coming to you, this time, from the fab folk at Apple TV+... So jump in the stream with Bobby and let's see where our Rainbow lands.

This season, dear readers, Apple TV+ has released a magical Christmas fantasy of its very own. SPIRITED is a new take on the old tale about Ebeneezer Scrooge, told in modern times and centered around a new haunting - of the heartless Clint Briggs, a ruthless PR agent whom the spirits of the nether regions have declared "Unredeemable." As the story opens up in the present day, we find that forces in the afterlife have taken on the Marley Model (haunting a total tool with 3 ghosts of past, present, and future) in a yearly, almost factory-meets-Hollywood-studio-like output. Led by Christmas Present (Will Ferrell) the ghosts are running around in a celestial backstage area of "heaven," producing all the elements of their redemption drama with the precision of a live TV broadcast - sets, costumes, lights, screaming stage management - the works. This year, however, Present wants to affect real change in the world by redeeming someone with the power, ability, and connections to ... ya know... change the world. Enter uber power PR PR!@K Clint (the ever-gorgeous Ryan Reynolds), a designated UN-redeemable... And then ... SSSSCROOGE Happens.

The leading cast of this for-reals Hollywood musical are some players whose singing voices were, heretofore, seldom, if ever, heard:

Will Ferrell as Present

Ryan Reynolds as Clint Briggs

Octavia Spencer as Kimberly (Clint's Bob Cratchit)

Sunita Mani as Past

Tracy Morgan as Yet-To-Come (voice)

And Broadway's own:

Patrick Page as Marley - yes, THAT Marley

Now to the movie itself - Given its format, the stylistic choices made by director/writer Sean Anders (with John Morris), and the warm pair of slippers that is the musical score by Dominic Lewis, one could almost view this film as a VERY long-awaited (50-ish years long) sequel to the Leslie Bricusse/Ronald Neame Christmas musical classic SCROOGE, and if THAT film was not a heavy influence on these filmmakers, Bobby will eat his rainbow hat. A dozen-ish musical numbers encompassing 'tis the season, how crappy people are, how this mug is a jerk and needs to be haunted, how good people seek happiness and bad people seek money and just suck in general, and, finally, how hard but rewarding it is to scare someone into doing better - it all feels all-too familiar, and could be considered derivative... if it weren't so very well updated, and created with real warmth and charm. It all really does feel like a natural progression from the (if one could call it) Dickensian musical romp that Starred Albert Finney in 1970. It is an evolution of sorts, with music that intertwines modern pop and patches of British Music Hall larks such as the big chorus number GOOD AFTERNOON, which gives a nod to two songs from SCROOGE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH mixed with DECEMBER THE 25th - matching those numbers with some rousing choreography, rounded off with Reynolds and Ferrell becoming a credible tap-dancing team.

Reynolds performs his "I'm a creep with a heart of gold, if you can find it" thing that is often his brand. He is handsome, talented, can sing real-good, and can go from A-hole to A hero in under 6 seconds. Will Ferrell (a wonderful singer), to his credit, leaves off a lot of his branded buffoonery to play Present as a bit of a non-corporeal straight man. He is sympathetic, gentle, whimsical, and virtually none of his usual shouting, jumping, face-pulling, way over-the-top lunacy shows up this time, making this a very refreshing ACTING performance from this sketch comedian. Octavia Spencer, whose lovely singing voice was the surprise gift under this tree, plays her very sympathetic role for all the sympathy she can milk from it, and you love her for it. Sunita Mani is suitably funny as the lovelorn Christmas Past. Tracy Morgan, the voice of Christmas Future, does his usual Tracy Morgan thing, but this time with music, and is another pleasant vocal surprise (for Bobby). Then, of course, there is Broadway Tony nominee Patrick Page as the harried and sometimes hollering after-life civil servant that it was fated for Jacob Marley to become, after saving his best pal from the chains. Page's exceptional stagecraft and legit musical theatre expertise ground his scenes with an artistic verisimilitude (what? Bobby knows words!?), while allowing him to overplay ever-so -lightly, making it all great fun.

In all, while SPIRITED has a lot about it that feels familiar, mostly owing to its nods to its heritage; it is just twisted enough to be a new twist on the old fable. It is fun, it is tuneful, and we really enjoyed it, and will, most likely, return to it again before the season is over for a second look. So how could Bobby give this one anything but a resounding...

4 Out Of 5 Rainbows - Check it out.

Go To Your App Purveyor On Your Phone, Streaming TV Service, Or Your Computer And See What The Fab Folks At AppleTV+ Have To Offer.

Already An AppleTV+ Subscriber? Stream SPIRITED: HERE

Listen To The SPIRITED Soundtrack On Your Spotifies: HERE

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