Spirited

The venerable Dickens holiday redemption story is given yet another twist — or make that modern update — with Spirited, a lively yet predictable crowd-pleaser putting a fresh coat of glaze on a stale cinematic fruitcake.

Even with the comedic pairing of Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, this mildly inventive but overly convoluted musical saga shows that no matter how much you wrap it up with production numbers and self-reflexive tweaks for the social-media age, it takes a Christmas miracle to inject new life into this well-worn carol.

This variation focuses on the existential crisis of the Ghost of Christmas Present (Ferrell), who is on the verge of retirement from an agency that has performed a successful annual “haunt” for centuries. However, he’s not ready to return to mortality just yet.

He insists that this year’s target should be Clint (Reynolds), a misanthropic and unscrupulous marketing guru who personifies corporate greed and crass commercialism of the holiday season, not to mention his broken relationships with family members and colleagues.

However, fellow ghosts Christmas Past (Sunita Mani) and Yet-to-Come (voiced by Tracy Morgan) have their doubts, and Clint is labeled “unredeemable” by boss Jacob Marley (Patrick Page). Of course they forge ahead anyway, with unforeseen complications for all involved.

The subsequent bickering between Ferrell and Reynolds produces some zingers amid the sight gags and one-liners that keep the movie watchable even as you generally know where it’s headed. Too bad Octavia Spencer is mostly squandered as Clint’s assistant trying to clear her own conscience.

In terms of narrative infrastructure, the screenplay by John Morris and director Sean Anders (Instant Family) seems to make up the rules as it goes along.

Toggling between playful and sentimental, the film is consistently amusing for a while before stumbling when it aims for a deeper emotional impact while skewering a cynical world of divisive clickbait, cancel culture, knee-jerk triggers, and cyberbullying.

Most puzzling are the songs by the go-to tandem of Justin Paul and Benj Pasek (Dear Evan Hansen), which are catchy and merrily choreographed yet seem like pure filler in a story that doesn’t require them. It’s as though the numbers were written for a stage production instead of a movie.

Fluctuating between goofy and sincere, Spirited might win you over, but not in a heartwarming way that suggests joining the esteemed ranks of big-screen holiday staples.

Rated PG-13, 127 minutes.