DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
Earlier this year, Jim Carrey was the only reason to see "Me, Myself & Irene," a Farrelly Brothers mistep. He's done it again.
Carrey simply *is* the Grinch, helped, of course, by Rick Baker's phenomenal makeup design. Whether he's gleefully tampering with Who mail ('jury duty, pink slip, blackmail, eviction notice!'), going over his schedule ('4:00, wallow in self pity, 4:30, stare into the abyss') or lecturing Max (Kelly, the film's other asset) on the art of being a reindeer, Carrey had me sucked in. However, when the focus shifts from Carrey, the movie is abysmal.
Firstly, there's the story tampering. We're given background as to how the Grinch got this way (he was called names at school). The Whos' Christmas obssession has become crass commercialism, depressing Cindy Lou Who (newcomer Taylor Momsen) to the point that she sings the maudlin 'Where Are You Christmas?' mid-film. The mayor (Jeffrey Tambor) is in a love triange with Martha May Whovier (Christine Baranski) and the Grinch! Screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman ("Doc Hollywood") even have the poor taste to include a couple of sex 'jokes' that seem seedy and woefully out of place.
Secondly, there's the truly awful Whos (makeup again by Rick Baker). They look like rat-dogs. Cindy Lou is too old and too normal looking in contrast to the others. Even the Grinch, when shown in flashbacks as a baby and an eight year old, looks awful, like a rejected monster from "Gremlins."
Thirdly, there's the art direction which is plastic and non-organic. Whoville looks like Munchkinland crossed with the live action "Flinstones." I was always aware I was watching a soundstage covered in fake snow. At one point, the Grinch's quick entry/exit to Whoville is shown in an animated sequence and the whole film is picked up for that one brief moment. Otherwise this is just a drab, grimy, bleak looking film.
I can't recommend "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" as a film, although I can recommend Carrey's performance and the casting of Max the dog. Anthony Hopkins was chosen to narrate the film, perhaps to recall the English accent of Boris Karloff from the vastly superior original animation, a move the filmmakers should have avoided.
C
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