The latest installment in the long tradition of modern adaptations of Charles' Dickens' A Christmas Carol is the movie Spirited starring Will Farrell and Ryan Reynolds. Unfortunately it's only available on Apple+, but since I had to buy a new computer to have a dedicated machine for podcasting and video production, I got a free 3 month trial to Apple+, and we watched Spirited.

I wasn't ready for a couple things, but once I got into the vibe of it, I really liked it. First of all, it's a musical. If you don't like musicals, it's hard to get past that, I suppose, but I do like (good) musicals. I came up in the theatre, and I probably like musicals as much as any straight guy can. In fact, I have this fantasy that this is what heaven is like - everyone is constantly breaking into song, and we all just know the words and dance steps. So Spirited played right into that fantasy for me, and as far as musicals go, it is very good - great songwriting, great lyrics, everything you want in a musical. The songs are not just a break from the story, the lyrics really move the story along and tell you something about the characters. I thought the songwriter(s) nailed it - just enough of an homage to great musical theatre to feel good, but also not so much of an homage that it's not a new musical on its own - it really is, and it stands up. In fact, it was staged, blocked, and choreographed very much like it was on stage, and I wouldn't be surprised if it IS on stage somewhere in New York or London (of course that would ruin it, but that's an argument for another day).

Second, it's not just an adaptation of A Christmas Carol, like Scrooged with Bill Murray. It kind of takes it to the next level in several ways, which you just have to see, but it overtly admits up front that it's an adaptation of the classic, and then doubles down on that.

Now, as you would expect from Hollywood - God is nowhere to be found, even though there are scenes in the heavenly/angelic realm, and - quite disappointingly - there's an element of reincarnation. There is just the slightest hint that anyone who is truly unredeemable might be damned, but they don't say for sure, and the don't say anything about heaven. But, okay, like I said, what else would we expect from mainstream Hollywood? It's not so bad that you can't get past it.

Overall, if you don't hate musicals, and you have Apple+ - and especially if you feel the need to see every adaptation of A Christmas Carol (as I do), then you gotta see it. I wasn't sure when it started, but by the time it ended, I was all in. So I recommended it, as far as I can recommend a secularized version of the classic. (FYI, the best version remains the one with the Muppets.)

Have a blessed second Sunday of Advent!