Christmas Is Cancelled This Year (The Grinch (DVD))

Member Name: marandina

Product:	The Grinch (DVD)
Date:	05/01/02 (405 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice children's movie, Teaches values, Based on a classic story

Disadvantages: Not JC's best

How’d ya like to spend 90 minutes with a big, green, hairy beast? No, not Monsters inc.(or your partner), I’ve been watching The Grinch.

Right, let's get the routine stuff out of the way....

Directed by Ron Howard (Parenthood, Apollo 13)

Principal characters

Jim Carey ~ The Grinch
Jeffrey Tambor ~ May Who
Christine Baranski ~ Martha May Who
Molly Shannon ~ Betty Lou Who
Taylor Momsen ~ Cyndi Lou Who

Narrated by Anthony Hopkins

Music composed by James Horner

****Yer basic plot****
The story is an adaptation of Dr Zeuss' famous book – "How the Grinch stole Christmas" - and uses the narration of Anthony Hopkins to allow the film to capture the words and spirit of the book
The Grinch lives inside a snowflake in a cave high at the top of Mount Crumpit. He hates Christmas nearly as much as he hates the Whos who live at the foot of the mountain in WhoVille. The Whos love Christmas more than anyone else.

The opening scene re-creates a fantasy landscape of a snowy mountain with a thriving village community at the bottom. The director is keen to show how commercially orientated the Who's are with images of bustling shops and an apparent obsession from the inhabitants with the countdown to Christmas day and the need to make as many purchases as possible in time for 25th December.

Cut to a scene with some young Whos (Whos look similar to humans except that they have a trademark snubbed nose) climbing Mt. Crumpit laughing and joking about coming into contact with TG. Nice link takes you into TG's cave and here he is in all his glory. TG is a green, odd looking creature with long hairy fingers and an ape-like face. TG is a miserable so and so who lives with his dog, Max and constantly looks on the black side. His heart is 2 sizes too small with a disposition to match.

****So what happens?****

On one of TG's lat
est trips to WhoVille (incognito) he comes across a warm-hearted girl Cyndi Lou. Having met up with him in an unfortunate manner at her father's post office, she decides to try and understand why TG is so miserable (great Mask-like scene where TG turns Cyndi Lou into a living Christmas present).

Time for a bit of artistic license as the writers come up with a childhood for TG. It turns out that he was brought up as a Who but was always the odd one out. One day he decides to make his childhood sweetheart – Marther May Who (Christine Baranski, notable for her role in Cybil) – a Christmas present forged from remnants of other presents. Before he presents her with the gift in class, TG decides to make himself more Who-like by having a shave. In common with most of us guys, he doesn't do a great job and ends up with bits of toilet roll all over his face. Unfortunately, at the crucial time this results in a teasing session from his classmates and he well and truly takes the hump and disappears forever into his mountain hideaway (almost Osama-esque).

Well, the rest of the story is all about the developing trust between TG and the little girl leading to a charming climax where, yes, TG becomes the hero and gets the girl.

****Best bits in the film****
This is not a difficult role for JC as he merely reprises the one from The Mask. I have to say, I think Jim Carey is a comic genius and his roles in The Truman Show and Liar Liar(script a bit schmaltzy, though) are outstanding. This one doesn't quite work for him as the melted down, re-formed facemask (straight out of The Mask?) doesn't give him the opportunity to give full reign to his repertoire of facial expressions. There are some inspired sequences like the scene where he's in the cave having a comic exchange with an echo; the present stealing scene later on and a number of ass-kissing cameos including a half asleep mayor being made to kiss Max the dog's b
ehind. The waste disposal chute linking WhoVille with TG's cave is inspired with the label on it "Dumpit to Crumpit". You might be forgiven for thinking that TG needs therapy after the depiction of his childhood but maybe there is a lack of therapists in WhoVille to help him.

I liked the game show host persona created for the mayor, May Who and he plays an active role in competing for the heart of Martha May with TG. Christine Baranski never strays far from her best friend role in Cybil but does what she needs to competently. Taylor Momsen is suitably sweet as Cyndi Lou and will pull at most parents' heartstrings.

****So what did I actually think?****
The Grinch is a lovely Christmas fable with a number of parallels to A Christmas Carol (for TG read Scrooge). It illustrates the meaning of Christmas and that it's more than just about the giving and receiving of presents. There is a touching scene towards the end where, having stolen the presents, the Grinch sits on his mountain top expecting to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth from below only to hear the sound of singing instead. TG's heart increases 3 sizes as he realises, to quote the words from the film "...that Christmas is not from a store but maybe it's a little bit more..."

If you are thinking of buying the video for the kids then you won't go far wrong. My 9-year-old daughter giggled throughout although my 6-year-old boy lost interest half way through (maybe its more suitable for older children). It definitely won't make my all-time top 10 but, if you accept it for what it is – a really nice children's' movie – then you won't be disappointed.

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