Dr.
Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Well,
to get to the bottom line immediately, Ron Howard's
take on the classic holiday animated program is neither
better nor worse than the original. Adapting a feature
film by expanding a story that has been told quite
adequately in the 1966 half-hour TV special, Howard
and scripters Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman (now
that's an unfortunate moniker) add plenty of subplots;
some of these work and some of them do not. In the
end, the biggest problem is that we know the end,
we have seen the end on TV a zillion times, so the
piece has no tension, no surprise and no tear-jerking
dramatic punch. Even the wrap up of the new secondary
storylines go exactly where we expect them to go.
Howard isn't really trying to reinvent the wheel here,
but rather retread the tires.
The main reason to see this new "Grinch" film is to
see how Jim Carrey performs as the main character
with tons of make- up and costuming effects to bring
forth a new persona. Carrey, of course, does simply
adequately. He opts to echo the voice of the original
narrator, Boris Karloff, in his vocalizations and
in effect gives the Grinch a rather weird affectation.
He is neither menacing nor likeable, just mildly unusual.
Carrey also hams it up to the utmost with some of
the dumbest and most clever ad-libs imaginable. Howard
seems quite content to just let him fly. Unfortunately,
at times, the film can get far out of hand with jokes
about racism, drunk driving and wife-swapping seeming
way out of place here. And Carrey can often resort
to the most obvious of lines at the most obvious of
moments. At least there are no fart jokes.
Howard adopts a Tim Burton-esque approach to the set
and cinematics here. Imagine if Burton directed a
kid's film based on the board game "Candyland" and
you get the general idea. Howard takes great delight
in making every single object in the frame look unusual.
In Howard's Whoville, a pencil is never straight,
every clock has 3 hands and every person has outlandish
costumes and make-up and hair. It gets to be like
overdosing on eye candy, eventually, you get sick
to your sockets.
One of the more enjoyable storylines in the film is
the expansion of the Cindy Lou Who character, embodied
by little Taylor Momsen. She tries to get the citizens
of Whoville to allow the hermetic Grinch to return
to the town. Wide-eyed and seemingly tickled to be
in the film with Carrey, Momsen brings forth the storyline
that becomes paramount to the film's theme, that Christmas
shouldn't be about giving presents. I'm guessing Howard
and the folks at Imagine and Universal didn't buy
into this particular anti-commercial rhetoric and
there will be plenty of Grinch merchandising at your
local Toys R Us this holiday season. As someone who
hates Christmas and really dislikes it commercialism,
I found this part of the fable to be the most enjoyable.
I even got a bit teary-eyed. Of course, it's just
Hollywood balderdash. I'm such a sucker.
Thankfully,
to allow me from becoming an old softie, the film
has some really bad subplots too. A flashback sequence
where some youngster or midget or something plays
a young Grinch is really pointless and hardly works.
It never makes sense nor does it seem to give the
Grinch character an adequate reason to become a bitter
recluse. This storyline evolves into the unnecessary
and typical love interest subplot where Christine
Baranski cannot even begin to emote any feelings whatsoever
for Carrey in the Grinch outfit. She looks repulsed
and in desperate need of a martini throughout the
film. The performance by Jeffrey Tambor ("Larry Sanders
Show") as the mayor is also quite dismal. Of course,
Tambor is given the most ludicrous and ridiculous
story to carry out here. He, himself, cannot even
begin to care apparently. I'm sure he got a nice fat
paycheck, however.
Finally, mention must be made of the typical Howard
nepotism in the film. Brother Clint is given make-up
(why?) here that actually makes him look better. Father
Rance has a cameo as do many of the youngsters in
the Hollywood clan. The film is dedicated to Ron's
mother Jean. Also, at last one relative of Producer
Brian Grazer is in the film.
Ron Howard and Jim Carrey's take on this classic tale
will surely delight the holiday movie crowd, especially
the little kiddies who haven't seem the original very
much. A fantasy world is created here much like a
kinder, gentler, more generic and safe Tim Burton
landscape. And alas, although none of it seems new
or innovative or remotely unique, it does have that
sugar-coated, PG rated, feel-good sense of security
we expect from the film. Ron Howard has set out to
make a Holiday classic and by never attempting to
step outside the loop of Hollywood's most commercial
comfort zone, he has pretty much succeeded in doing
just that. But like egg nog or fruitcake, once a year
will be more then enough for this sugary sweet treat.
Note:
Also with Molly Shannon and Josh Ryan Evans. Narrated
by Anthony Hopkins. Make-up effects by Rick Baker.
Music by James Horner with a few songs sung by characters
in the film.
Dr. Suess' widow met with Ron Howard before and during
the making of the film.
Hopkins recorded his narration in one day. At one
time Busta Rhymes and Kevin Spacey were two possible
choices to narrate the film. Using the original Karloff
narration was also considered.
