LogFAQs > #977899412

I'm at my parents so they decide what I watch. Last night was an annual favorite (Home Alone) but tonight's absolutely belongs on here. The write-up will be shorter since I'm mobile, but it's something.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Written by: Dr. Seuss, Peter Seaman, Jeffrey Price
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Anthony Hopkins
Previous staus: Saw ages ago

"The audacy! The impudence! The unmitigated gall!"

Let's start with this: Jim Carrey is the only reason this movie works. Sometimes all it takes is a headliner putting in an all-star performance and magic is born. No other performance does anything even remotely similar; the closest is Jeffrey Tambor as Mayor Sleazeball, who humiliates the Grinch and incites the night of terror by reminding him of the childhood traumas incited by bullies led by the 8 y/o version of the mayor. But there's a major problem here: The Grinch is... not the bad guy? He's portrayed as a sympathetic victim of xenophobia who has to prove that it's unwarranted, and when he does, he gets laid and everyone lives sappily ever after. Except for the mayor, of course, who doesn't get his way and proves that's he's the real scrooge.

Cindy Lou has a nice expanded role here, but I feel like something is missing. Yes, the Grinch gets her out of a jam begrudgingly, and she's a grand example of the good that happens when we don't judge books by their covers, but I feel like they could have explained that better. She seems almost like a 6 y/o hopeless romantic and it only gets halfway to greatness. Or maybe it's the ridiculous hair, I don't know. Martha looks way better with her hair down, obviously.

The production design is wonderful here - and the Oscar for best makeup was absolutely warranted. But there's really not much else to say here. It was an expanded remake of a classic that still doesn't compare, but it still works due to Jim Carrey. That's really all there is to it. 3/5