The good: The production is well done, with a decent mix of singing and speaking - with one not overstating the other. There's no outstanding musical number but all the songs are serviceable to the plot / characters. Props also for trying to do something different.
The bad: The film's muddled messaging and plot are probably what brought it down mostly for me. The film literally jumps between story and character threads making the film feel aimless and lacking a consistent arc. The movie drags in the third act with inorganic scenes popped from an SNL skit feeling tacked on to each other as the movie jumps to where the plot demands it be. It's also not that funny. You'd think with Ferrell and Reynolds there'd be some comedic gold. But really, it's just a couple of nice-looking rocks scattered throughout the film's 2 hour runtime.
Summary: You can see what the film/musical was trying to do. But the lacklustre singing numbers, excessive runtime and muddled messaging really hinder the film. It is an ok musical which tries hard to be 'spirited' but ends up lacking a soul. I've watched it once, and that's enough for me.
The bad: The film's muddled messaging and plot are probably what brought it down mostly for me. The film literally jumps between story and character threads making the film feel aimless and lacking a consistent arc. The movie drags in the third act with inorganic scenes popped from an SNL skit feeling tacked on to each other as the movie jumps to where the plot demands it be. It's also not that funny. You'd think with Ferrell and Reynolds there'd be some comedic gold. But really, it's just a couple of nice-looking rocks scattered throughout the film's 2 hour runtime.
Summary: You can see what the film/musical was trying to do. But the lacklustre singing numbers, excessive runtime and muddled messaging really hinder the film. It is an ok musical which tries hard to be 'spirited' but ends up lacking a soul. I've watched it once, and that's enough for me.