Film Review: 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'
By Morgan Martin
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, released in 2000 starring Jim Carrey, has cemented itself as a classic Christmas film. The live-action remake of the 1957 Dr. Seuss' famous picture book reimagines the grumpy Grinch as more mischievous while keeping true to the original source, still frightening Whoville with his petty and disgusting behavior. Only Cindy Lou Who, played by Taylor Momsen, decides to investigate the Grinch’s sudden disappearance and concludes the antidote to his isolation is kindness.
Carrey fights through absurdly detailed prosthetics to give a performance worthy of his goofy animated predecessor. (How the Grinch Stole Christmas | Universal Picture)
If you had to describe this film in one word it would be excess. This theme makes itself apparent in both the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who’s dislike of Whoville’s many materialistic traditions, such as exorbitant gift buying, competitive decorations and strained holiday cheer. The Grinch’s mountain top cave is next door to the Whoville dump where he witnesses their Christmas hypocrisy firsthand. Down in Whoville there is an aggressive consumer spirit, shown to even become dangerous when a five-minute holiday sale causes a stampede of Whos. On the rare occasion the Grinch slides into town, he entertains himself with small-time mischief like mixing up Christmas cards and sending out jury duty notices. When Cindy Lou Who catches him in the act, he scares her into the dangerous sorting machine. The Grinch begrudgingly saves her and unknowingly kickstarts her reexamination of Whoville traditions, starting with the unanimous community rejection of the Grinch. Overwhelmed with her parent’s frantic holiday cheer, she decides to investigate the Grinch’s exodus from Whoville. Cindy Lou Who even decides his sour spirit can be fixed by being the holiday cheermeister, an honorary position for the upcoming celebration.
This film expanded on the 26-minute original animation with flying colors. Funny for the whole family, it gives the impression the writers snuck as many adult jokes as possible while maintaining the PG rating. Jokes like taxis ignoring the infamous recluse are punctuated with snarky lines from the Grinch, like “It’s because I’m green isn’t it?” His disgusting side is pretty much summed up by an idiom of his own making, “One man’s toxic sludge is another man’s potpourri.” Kids will love the playful nature of the movie, if they aren't scared of the Grinch himself, because to be honest his looks alone may scare. But with its unique brand of gag humor and an overzealous performance by Carrey, it all meshes to lend the movie a distinct, tongue in cheek style.
Cindy Lou Who is upgraded to the main character while the Grinch enchants Martha May Whovier, the Mayor’s girlfriend, which makes room for more jokes and gags. Every character has a place though, with upturned noses and beautiful who-clothes, Martha May Whovier learns to ignore public opinion and choose her own happiness. The Grinch’s origin story is revealed and it is… complicated. Between his lesbian mothers and grade-school bullies, the movie seems to attempt to show that perhaps some people are born strange, but it’s society’s scorn that makes them hateful outcasts. These additions to the film’s narrative don’t feel like filler events but rather deliberate worldbuilding of the Whoville society.
The heart of the movie’s critique on consumerism is sophisticated and concise. It may be dressed up with dazzling detailed sets and gaudy costumes but director Ron Howard never strays from the original message; toys and presents are not the true meaning of Christmas. “You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your garbage. Do you see what I’m saying? In your garbage. I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I found at the dump.” The Grinch explains, criticizing Whoville’s materialism. By fixating on buying things, even worse we don’t use, we rob ourselves of meaningful human (Who-man?) relationships.
The film completely commits to the theme of excess. Carrey fights through absurdly detailed prosthetics to give a performance worthy of his goofy animated predecessor. Every frame is packed past the edges with detail, the Grinch’s cave is a meandering upcycled mess, and Whoville covers every wall with overwhelming amounts of decor. The cinematography is intentionally off-balance with huge slanted angles from above and below which stand in place of traditional opening shots to keep the audience appropriately discombobulated. It makes for a whirlwind of a film that takes the challenge of remaking a Dr. Seuss story seriously.
It’s a Christmas film that fits 2020 like a glove. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” tells a tale of a cynical loner living alone with his dog who only goes into town disguised in a mask may feel more relatable than ever. In these crazy times, it doesn’t hurt to have a little reminder that friends and family matter more than presents ever will.
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' is available on Netflix for 2020 only. It is also available on Vudu and Amazon Prime for purchase.
Morgan is a culture writer for La Tonique.
