Posted: 11/20/2000

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

(2000)

by Hank Yuloff

You’re a dull one, Mr. Grinch.

The best way I can describe my feelings for Ron Howard’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas were very aptly summed up by my wife: “You were expecting a lot and were disappointed. I was expecting crap and was happily surprised.”

What’s my problem? How can I not LOOOVE a movie that opened to a $30+ million weekend? Well, maybe I don’t have the Christmas spirit yet. Or maybe I WAS expecting too much from Jim Carrey. But truthfully… I think it was because… and I hate to say this… I think Carrey was playing ex-president Richard Nixon and I just couldn’t see Tricky Dick as The Grinch.

My own presidential phobias aside, let’s pick this one apart. The Grinch was a retelling of the classic Dr. Seuss book and the 30 minute TV special that we all watched every year around this time with the other Christmas specials playing on CBS. The thing is, Howard took that children’s book of about 30 pages and extended it to a full length movie. A lot of fluff had to be added to the story.

Some excellent:

1. We found out how The Grinch evolved into such a nasty fellow.

2. Some excellent adult-only jokes only the adults will get. In some ways, it was just like watching the Fractured Fairy Tales cartoons. Some bad:

- Little Cindy Lou Who sings a Christmas carol.

- Some excellent adult-only jokes you’re going to have to explain to your kids.

In between, there is a lot of Jim Carrey / Richard Nixon talking to himself, and some delicious visuals which will keep you exploring the screen. This was a beautifully costumed affair, but probably not the type of movie the Academy will congratulate with a nomination. But then, there haven’t been any Elizabethan-era epics in 2000, so The Grinch might catch a break.

Some of the cute stuff includes The Grinch’s sidekick, Max the Dog. What a sweetie. And there is newcomer Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou-Who. Also, what a sweetie. And then there’s Christine Baranski as Martha May Who-vier. Definitely a sweetie, if you get my drift (wink, wink).

A WARNING: Our audience was filled with kids. General concensus is that if they aren’t over 5-years-old, there may be some stuff that is a little too scary. But except for the one baby a few rows behind us who WOULD NOT SHUT UP, the auditorium was relatively quiet, a sign I take to mean that it held the interest of the younger folk.

I was a bit surprised that I didn’t like this on more because the writer, Jeffery Price, wrote one of my all time favorites: Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The Grinch is a cute story, with some wonderful effects. A classic? Nope. I just don’t think Howard or Carrey lived up to their bests.

Hank Yuloff is an entertainment industry entrepreneur living in Hollywood.

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