At the moment, it’s almost impossible to count the number of remakes, rip-offs, variations, take-offs and general thefts by filmmakers that speak on Charles Dickens’ classic sayings. A Christmas carol. the latest imitation, spicy, isn’t even the only new version debuting this season; I can count at least two more still awaiting launch as the Christmas message continues through 2022. But this one has a big influence in terms of who’s involved in the original Apple TV+ film, especially stars Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, who deliver a version most akin to Bill Murray’s modern 1988 scorched, a tribute here by John Morris and Sean Anders (father is at home), the latter also directed.
Above all, it is a live musical featuring a slew of new tunes with some of the happiest cynical lyrics ever sung in a holiday outfit like this. They are all from the world class songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, dear Evan Hansen, the greatest showman), who are no strangers to Christmas jingles, who wrote the stage and later the musical adaptation for television A Christmas story. Her signature style is on full display here, aided by over-the-top choreography by Chloe Arnold.
The premise here is that an ancient operation run by the no-nonsense Jacob Marley (Patrick Page) lays claim to the ghostly trio of Ghosts of Christmases Past (Sunita Mani), Present (Ferrell) and Yet-To-Come ( Loren Woods, voiced by Tracy Morgan) to “redeem” some very Scrooge-like souls each year – as we discover early on with their current target, a mean suburban white woman named Karen (you bet!).
The real action shifts to present-day New York City, where Present has convinced a doubting Marley that he can really work his magic on a truly “irredeemable” soulless marketing executive named Clint Briggs (Reynolds), who uses devious methods to exploit and to spread hate. and especially Galle on social media to sell his stuff. Nothing is off the table with this ruthless man. The conflict between the present (who is invisible to everyone, just like the other ghostly presences until they are gone) and Clint, as well as their own strange brotherly relationship, makes up most of the drama as Clint is clearly the “Scrooge” is. . is from that show and, as we find out, Present was also that unsellable person before all those times – the up who for a long time did his best to be good.
At a pivotal moment, Present brings Clint to his dying sister’s (Andrea Anders) bedside, forcing a sense of humanity that he quickly tries to erase. Another has him interacting with his cousin, Wren, who is running for high school president against a popular kid who prompts Clint to destroy her in a dirty campaign tactic (all too recognizable in the Trump and Midterm era we face stare). Experienced). It turns deadly when Yet-To-Come shows Clint the very dark future, and it’s not a great life. When Present finds out it’s actually him visible to Clint’s second biggest executive Kimberly (Octavia Spencer), who basically sold her soul to Clint’s devil in exchange for a fancy job and an office, she realizes how wrong she has been doing his dirty work and the opposition at all costs destroyed. Spencer gets a beautiful song, “The View From Here,” to serve as a transition tune, and even a budding romance with Present, who is encouraged to retire and return to earn a living for his last years.
spicy is full of contemporary references and intelligent lines, perfect for the Reynolds screen character who knows how to deliver and for the Eleven -sweetness and confusion from Ferrell, who is in his comfort zone here, if not quite in the same classic form of Buddy. The film stays close to Dickens in a number of ways, including a throwback to the story’s origins in Victorian England and even a rowdy giant production song “Good Afternoon” in the streets, which echoes similar (if less subversive) Dickensian songs. play musicals, “Think “of yourself”. Oliver and “Thank you very much” from the 1970 musical adaptation die.
The haunting, anonymous hooded ghost that comes is a hilarious climax, with Morgan’s voice complaining that all he can do is point the finger at the next chosen victim. Mani’s past is ironically funny and Spencer is always reliable, downplaying the role and adding a touch of reality. That said, this show is Reynolds and Ferrell, and they deliver exactly what we’ve come to expect, if not exactly as musical artists of the highest caliber (though Ferrell does take home his amazing solo “Unredeemable” as if he’s Josh Groban). Both fill the void with much needed fun and keep this 2+ hour concoction humming along. The dance numbers, and there are quite a few of them, are actually uninspired compared to the smart and bright numbers with a rousing closing track “Do a Little Good” contributed by Pasek and Paul. Filling the screen with a boatload of dancers and giving them little instruction other than to move like crazy doesn’t impress, but thankfully doesn’t detract from a Christmas movie that’s well aware of what it wants to be and where it’s going not. . It is indeed “spicy” enough to get through. You can almost feel the inevitable Broadway adaptation coming.
Producers include Anders, Morris, David Koplan, George Dewey, Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum.
It opens in theaters on Friday and will stream on Apple TV+ on November 18.
Writer: Peter Hammond
Source: Deadline
