Day five of Festive-Ass Flicks was the live-action Jim Carrey How the Grinch Stole Christmas from 2000. [Here is the calendar if you want to check it out/follow along at home!] Which my girlfriend had never seen before! Which was kind of amazing to me since I saw this thing in the theaters when it came out with some of my friends from high school. I thought it was like a THING, even if you didn’t have a child to take.
I remember really liking this version when I saw it in theaters and obviously liked it enough to buy it on DVD at some point and I have DEFINITELY had repeated, serious moments of over-identifying with “Where Are You Christmas?” but this rewatch kind of confirmed all the terrible reviews.
Jim Carrey is always painful to watch, but I remembered the Grinch being more tempered and natural. Good god was I wrong. He is EXCRUCIATING. And, like, the Grinch SHOULD be a big, exaggerated character! And still somehow Jim Carrey goes too far. Josh Ryan Evans is great as the eight year old Grinch. That’s the kind of personality/attitude that Jim Carrey should have been striving for. And he’s cute and pretty damn complex for an eight year old character.
Taylor Momsen is GREAT though. I hate child actors that are clearly good at what they’re doing because it just frustrates and embarrasses me. I don’t even want to think about what I was probably accomplishing at that age. Crayons? Cursive? Mastery of the bathroom? I don’t like anybody that causes me an existential crisis. Especially one about my childhood. But she’s the cutest Who and so good at being sad and curious and hopeful and kind. Screw you if you don’t think characters in kid-friendly movies can be complex and interesting. Raise your standards! You are why we keep ending up with shit.
Also, she done grown UP.
Whoville approves.
Anyway, it turns out that basically what I DO like about this movie is the art direction. They brought Dr. Seuss’ world to life in a way I can get behind. Whoville is beautiful and charming and cozy and kooky. It’s a world that looks like it would sing nonsense Christmas songs and produce people like Cindy Lou and the Grinch.
It was kind of a bummer though because the movie really looks like shit. I assume it’s the DVD transfer (because I don’t remember it looking that bad in theaters, but I also don’t remember anything ever, so.) and it looks grainy and dark and flat and dull as hell. And every caps site I went to had dark, grainy caps. DVD bummer.
Anyway, BABY GRINCH IS THE BEST GRINCH. And basically the best part of the movie.
But in conclusion, this movie has the most adult joke I’ve ever witnessed in a family-friendly movie.
Yo, the night the Grinch was born unto Whoville, his old biddy (code: LESBIAN, let’s get real) mothers were having a CHRISTMAS KEY PARTY. Who-swapping in Whoville. Gawd bless Whomerica.
