MOVIE TITLE: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
DIRECTOR: Ron Howard
YEAR: 2000
GENRE: Holiday Fantasy
RATING: PG for comic mischief and bullying
GRADE: Pass
There’s a reason why people who hate Christmas in real life
are referred to as Grinches. They’re also called Scrooges and Bah-Humbugs, but
being called a Grinch is a special kind of dishonor. Not only do you not want
to enjoy the Christmas spirit yourself, but you’ll do anything humanly possible
to make it miserable for everybody else, whether it’s playing cruel pranks or
stealing presents. That’s the story Dr. Seuss got us all used to. But in this
movie, we don’t see evil for the sake of evil. Sure, the Grinch was bullied as
a kid and that’s what made him hate Christmas. Adding a traumatic back story
doesn’t always equal goodwill, but this time it does. A green hairy monster
loved by nobody and shunned by the wicked. If we’ve learned anything from The
Joker in 2019, it’s not to mess with the disenfranchised. You will feel for the
Grinch. You will cheer for him. And when he causes mayhem, you’ll laugh your
head off.
A lot of this sympathy for the Grinch was helped
magnificently by Jim Carrey’s performance as the title character. He’s not just
an angry green monster. He’s eccentric. He’s comedic. He’s delightfully
villainous. Whether it’s something as simple as the way he walks, eats, and
dances or his witty dialogue that rolls off the tongue naturally, Jim Carrey
has you by the throat the instant you start watching the movie. If Ace Ventura,
The Mask, and The Riddler were injected into The Grinch’s rotten, yet damaged
soul, that’s how Jim Carrey’s version of this character would be. But he’s not
just comic relief. He’s nuanced to the point where everything he says holds
water. This movie is often categorized as a drama-comedy and that combination
of genres embodies Jim Carrey’s character perfectly. I’m not sure if he won an
Oscar for his performance, but it’d be a crime not to give him one. I know, I
know, it seems laughable to do so, but is it really?
You know who else had a convincing performance in this
movie? Taylor Momsen, who portrayed little Cindy Lou Who, the only character in
the Who village with enough commonsense to see Christmas for what it really is:
capitalism in disguise. She knows full well that Christmas should prioritize
family love and friendship over materialism, which is why she nominates The
Grinch to be the Cheer Meister, because if anybody needs love, it’s him. Taylor
Momsen portrayed her character as a sweet, bubbly, optimistic child who
wouldn’t hurt a fly. That makes her message of family love more believable than
the bombastic Mayor’s “buy, buy, buy” rhetoric. Sure, she’s not taken seriously
at first because she’s a child and there’s ageism running rampant. But don’t
worry, because Taylor Momsen would eventually grow up to become the lead singer
of The Pretty Reckless. Not bad for a little one!
Movie reboots get a bad rap for being worse than their
source material, but that’s not the case with How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
In fact, I’d say it surpasses the original cartoon from the 1960’s. The Grinch has
a more colorful personality, Cindy Lou Who is as sweet as a bug’s ear, and
everybody else is living in those two lead characters’ world. Step aside,
Mayor; you’re the real Grinch around here. A passing grade will go to this
holiday classic. Wow. I can’t believe I’m calling a movie made in 2000 a
classic. I’m getting old! Then again, if growing old was a bad thing, there’d
be no Pretty Reckless and boy, do I need my rock and roll!
