The one thing I truly love about the Christmas season is Christmas movies. Not just Hallmark movies, but all Christmas movies. Christmas movies warm my cold, holiday grinch heart. When I was a child, I looked forward to the first viewing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (this blog is named after the Island of Misfit Toys featured in that movie) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. These were tradition and I still watch them whenever they're on. As an adult, I've expanded my movie viewing to everything from Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story to classics like White Christmas and odd ball entries like Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. I even consider the early Die Hard movies Christmas movies. I will watch these movies over and over again and they still remain fun and magical and awesome.
Hands down, my favorite Christmas movie is the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It's based on the 1957 book of the same name by Dr. Seuss. The cartoon originally aired in 1966, featuring Boris Karloff as the narrator/voice of the Grinch. Thurl Ravenscroft sang the theme song and that is by far, one of my favorite parts of the cartoon. The Grinch hates Christmas and wants to show the Whos down in Whoville how their gross commercialization of the holiday is the worst thing ever. He hates all "the noise, noise, noise" and decides to steal Christmas. Remember, his heart is two sizes too small. He and his faithful sidekick, Max, descend on Whoville as Santa and his reindeer and steal all the physical trappings of the holiday, even the last can of Who-hash. Along the way, they meet Cindy Lou Who, a little girl who believes in the magic of Santa and the season. Of course, the Grinch eventually sees the error of his ways and he brings Christmas back to the Whos because Christmas isn't about presents, it's about friendship and love.There are so many wonderful things in the original Grinch. Boris Karloff as the narrator is such a delight. As I got older and started watching old horror movies, I would always think of him in movies like The Mummy and Bride of Frankenstein whenever I watched the Grinch. I don't know if the Grinch was a gateway movie to Karloff horror movies for anyone else, but it certainly was for me. Dr. Seuss stories have so many layers; the Grinch is very much like Scrooge, and biographers have written that the Grinch was more autobiographical than other Seuss characters. There's Max, the dog/reindeer, who is not interested in the Grinch's plan to steal Christmas. Max is my favorite; the antlers and his enthusiasm for the sleigh ride are both so funny. The Whos are all of us, trying to create a festive holiday and make everyone happy. The story ends happily and we all feel the true spirit of Christmas. Honestly, I could watch this one all year long and never get tired of doing so.
When it was announced that Jim Carrey would be starring in a live action version of the story, I was cautiously optimistic. I like Jim Carery; he's a strange, strange man, but I've always enjoyed his movies. If you haven't seen Man on the Moon or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, check them out immediately. He's a gifted comedian, but can also play straight and serious. My concern about this version was how they would take a short children's story and make it into a feature length film. What would be lost of the original charm and delight of the story? Would Carrey mug too much as the Grinch? Would Ron Howard, the film's director, be too Ron Howard (that's a thing) in his telling of the story?Honestly, my worries were unnecessary. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) is delightful and weird and charming just as I wanted it to be. Carrey was made to play the Grinch; his grin is perfect, his physical presence is strong, and his delivery is the right mix of playful and mean and impish. The rest of the cast is equally entertaining: Bill Irwin and Molly Shannon play Cindy Lou's parents, Lou and Betty Lou Who, Christine Baransky plays a Martha May Whovier, and Jeffrey Tambor plays the mayor of Whoville, August Maywho. All of these characters are new to the story and are perfect. The writers expanded the action in Whoville and created an origin story for the Grinch. We get to see how the Grinch became the Grinch. Bill Irwin is my favorite; he's a great physical comedian and you can see he's having so much fun in this movie.
Taylor Momsen picks up the mantle as Cindy Lou Who. In this version, Cindy Lou has become suspect of the craziness of Christmas, from her mother trying to out decorate Martha May to the shopping and the pomp of the Whobilation, so she sets out to learn more about the Grinch and to befriend him in hopes that it will help her figure out her own existential Christmas dilemma. She interviews Martha May, who clearly had a thing for the Grinch, the mayor (a bully), and the old ladies who raised the Grinch before he left Whoville. She uncovers a story of bullying and not quite fitting in. She and Carrey have some fantastic scenes together. Her quest to get him to be the Holiday Cheer Master is so fun and touching. If you've ever felt like an outcast, you have a pal in the Grinch.
What I didn't expect with this version is how adult it can be, especially if you watch the uncut version (which I own because it's amazing). It makes me think of watching animated movies as a child; my older brother and other relatives would laugh at things that I didn't think were funny because I was a child and those things weren't funny...yet. There's the holiday party going on the night the Grinch lands in Whoville, that may or may not be a little more risque than your typical Whoville party. There's Martha May's reaction to anything Grinch related. There are a lot of double entendres and occasional dirty jokes. A lot of the more off color jokes were improvised by Carrey; I read somewhere that he was upset with the amount of them that made it into the movie although he believed all of were age appropriate (the move is rated PG). Then there's the who plot line involving bullying and how an 8 year old Grinch went out to the mountains of Whoville and never came back. Why didn't they go look for him? Where his adoptive biddies too busy throwing key parties and knitting terrible sweaters to go look for him? It certainly seems that way.
The Grinch is all of us when it comes to the holidays. This is why these two movies are among my favorites. The scenes in the Grinch's lair with his answering machine and the sequence when he tries on clothes and then decides he's not going because he has nothing to wear? So good, so relatable. This movie speaks to the Grinch in everyone. Do yourself a favor and take a break from the holiday chaos with the Grinch.
"The nerve of those Whos. Inviting me down there - and on such short notice. Even if I wanted to go my schedule wouldn't allow it. Four o'clock, wallow in self pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one. 5:30, jazzercize. 6:30, dinner with me. I can't cancel that again. 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing; I'm booked. Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9 I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness. But what would I wear?"
-Jim Carrey as the Grinch
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