THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Christmas is one of the most joyful holidays that brings families together, reminding us how much we love each other and always will no matter how low things can get. The holiday is originally known for celebrating the life of Jesus Christ, before becoming solely commercialized on gift exchanges. When we get movies based on the said holiday, we get reminded that it’s not just about presents. One of the best movies to represent that is 2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
PLOT
Based on the Dr. Seuss book written for children, the film takes inside a snowflake. Inside it is a living town known as Whoville. Everyone there is in love with Christmas, but one green figure known as the Grinch dislikes it. Because of this, every Who in town has spent their lives disliking him for his mean-spiritedness around the holiday. A young girl named Cindy Lou seems to be the only one who feels that Christmas is focusing too much on the gifts/festivities, when it should be more about appreciating each other’s company, togetherness. She encounters the Grinch at her father’s post office. He scares her at first, but saves her from being crushed by the sorting machine. This inspires the girl to investigate his past. She interviews Mayor Augustus May-Who, Martha May Whovier and two elderly sisters. It is revealed that the Grinch was raised by the two sisters when he was a baby. Even at toddler age, he wasn’t into the Christmas spirit. That temporarily changed when he met Martha in school, developing a crush on her. Augustus was a bully who mocked his physical appearance. Grinch makes his own Christmas gift for her, for the class’ gift exchange. However, he is bullied more when he shaved his facial hair and got cuts from it. This was the last straw to continue his hate for the holiday. This even lead to him running away to Mount Crumpit, where he currently lives. With all of this discovered, Cindy decides to nominate the Grinch for the award known as the ‘Holiday Cheermister’. This shocks the town, but they give Cindy a chance to invite him. She goes to Mount Crumpit to do so, but he is conflicted on going. When she leaves, he spends most of the time conflicting what to wear for the occasion but after deciding, he finally goes. During his time in Whoville, he seems to enjoy himself but his joy quickly ends when the Mayor not only proposes to Martha but awards him an electric razor, reminding him of his past. His hatred for Christmas resumes when he destroys the town’s tree (despite the town having a spare) and criticizes them for their belongings being dumped near his home. Annoyed for the last time, he now plans to break the town’s spirit by robbing them all or in his words ‘stop this Christmas from coming’. He creates a disguise for himself as Santa Claus and dresses his dog Max as a reindeer. He creates his own sleigh as well to ride to town. He is able to steal everything but when his sack is too heavy, he has Max climb it to the top of Mount Crumpit. The following morning, everyone cries ‘Boo hoo’, in shock of what has transpired. Augustus blames Cindy for Grinch’s actions. Her father Lou (Bill Irwin) defends her explaining what she’s been trying to say this whole time how Christmas is not about gifts, but about enjoying being with family. Before the Grinch pushes the sleigh off the mountain, he hears the town sing, realizing he failed to stop Christmas from coming. However, he has an epiphany, finally realizing the meaning of Christmas, understanding that his actions were wrong. Cindy joins him on the mountain, not wanting him to be alone, but the sleigh is about to fall. Thankfully, he pulls the sleigh back and carries it over his head with all his strength to prevent the destruction. They ride back to Whoville to return the sack of stolen goods. Although Augustus believes he should be arrested, the officer accepts Grinch’s apology for his actions. Martha even rejects her proposal, preferring Grinch over him. The film ends with Grinch singing with the town and afterwards, all feast in his cave.
THOUGHTS
I’ve been seeing this film since I was a child and my opinion remains the same that this is a great Christmas movie. This one is on point spreading holiday cheer while expanding the classic Dr. Seuss story. It is really hard to narrow down the best film directed by Ron Howard when looking at his filmography, but this is a runner up because I enjoy it every time, always remembering its message. A lot of Christmas movies normally have the same message, reminding us to appreciate our loved ones, but this is one that does it best. Brian Grazer’s score is joyful to hear when the movie plays, arguably being one of his best in the progress. I’ll talk about the makeup later, but the costumes are spectacular as they make every character stand out when shown. And I think the biggest accomplishment is the practical set pieces because they look so well done really wanted us to be a part of this world. I am going to love this movie forever but after hundreds of times watching it since childhood, I can admit there are some flaws. First off, it’s funny how the teenagers get scared of the animatronic Grinch, but how do they not know how he looks like? He lived in Whoville when he was a boy and Cindy had a newspaper of him being spotted, showing an actual picture of him. I mean come on, they should know he doesn’t have a head that is the size of King Kong’s. Max is an adorable dog, because you know you’re an awesome animal if you’re voiced by Frank Welker and it’s hilarious how he loves Christmas but is raised by one who doesn’t. However I didn’t see the point of Grinch taking him to Whoville in the opening. Sure he would’ve not known he would’ve sneezed at the post office but if he wanted to not be spotted, he should’ve not taken him because he clearly appears to be the only one with a dog. Knowing that, he could have been easily spotted. I definitely enjoyed the extended scenes a lot more than I expected. They are added when airing on 'Freeform', formerly known as 'abc family', every holiday season. My problem with it is that is the only way we get to see the light the contest between Cindy’s mom Betty (Molly Shannon) and Martha. Theatrically, they hype it up when Martha shows off her lights and Betty is in awe but we don’t see the contest. It is a shame that it takes a televised viewing to see it play out. And how the hell is Grinch’s teacher still around? She was laughing when he showed the cuts in his face and years later, she is Cindy’s teacher. You’re telling me Martha didn’t see her laugh? That’s just crazy to believe. And what the hell happened to the yodeler? Grinch took his clothes before taking off yet is absent afterwards. Seriously, did Grinch kill him? Because if he did, that’s dark for a movie meant for kids. Also, it is clear that he gets most of his stuff from the garbage near the mountain, which explains the giant toy monkey and the rest of the technology in his home. But where did he get moths, did he buy them at Whoville or did someone actually throw away a jar of moths? Thinking of that twists my brain. And lastly, my the big gripe is how Cindy doesn’t recognize Grinch at all in his Santa disguise. I know this was in the book but she’s shown to be much smarter than the rest of the town so not recognizing him is hard for me to believe. If you ignore all of this, you’ll still be enjoying this movie for what it is. I truly believe that one main reason for people to watch it every holiday season is because of the titular character’s incredible performance by Jim Carrey. Carrey is the kind of actor that will provide all the energy to become his characters and with the insane Oscar Winning makeup, that is easily backed up. Compared to all The Whos in Whoville, all they had was a different nose and a new style of hair, while Carrey had to put on an uncomfortable body suit and yellow contact lenses for a confirmed amount of 92 days, which is dedication I highly respect. When it comes to this character, he is hard to root for based on how gross he is and how harsh he can be to his dog Max. Aside from the actor’s ad lib, I think the reason we like the Grinch after all this time is because we relate to him: We all have at least one aspect such as the desire of being left alone, talking to ourselves, being impatient and being overwhelmed by Christmas until finally getting the spirit. Along with a shocking backstory, you can’t help but feel bad for the guy. The fact that he redeems himself before it’s too late makes us respect a lot more than one would anticipate. So when he sings with the town, you can’t help but smile that he is whole again. Carrey will always be the star of this film, but I gotta give credit to the supporting cast that push the story when he is not present. The young Taylor Momsen left a big impression as Cindy Lou Who. The character was not a major character in the book and thankfully, the change of her being the one seeing good in the Grinch was genius. Like the Home Alone movies, her friendship with him represents how you should never judge a book by its cover. She perfectly embraces this character’s intelligent, loving spirit. She told her parents that she ‘wanted everyone to be together for Christmas’. If there aren’t people like her, I don’t think anyone will love Christmas the way we do now. Jeffrey Tambor was so funny as the bully Augustus May Who. This is one of those roles where you’re bad and you know it. And in this case, Tambor played it out very well. At first you’re not sure how to approach him until the flashbacks show his true colors. He bullied Grinch because he was jealous of how easy it was for him to get Martha’s attention. When seeing how cruel he is, the first thing that came to my mind is shouting ‘You dick’. If you have me saying that or thinking of it at least once, than you made your mark as a villain. And lastly, the beautiful Christine Baranski easily takes my breath away as Martha May Whovier. Aside from her beauty, she showed that she wasn’t shallow. As a kid I never understood why she liked Grinch but after years of re watching, I believe that it’s because she saw that how misunderstood he is. It’s clear she felt bad of his humiliation and after seeing history repeat itself as Augustus not only gifts him the razor but then blames Cindy for what happened when it was clearly his fault what Grinch did, it was her last straw putting up with someone so cruel. So when she chose Grinch over Augustus at the end, you can tell she is proud of her decision as she gives arguably her most genuine smile at the end. To wrap up, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a great movie traditionally meant for the holidays as it gives the most fun one can have, which is what watching movies is all about. So whether or not you read the book during childhood, this will be worth adding to your holiday watchlist.
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