Let's Hear It For The Who's

Every year since I was a small child, I’ve looked forward to the annual holiday shows. From October’s ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ to all the December classics, I make sure to catch them all. Out of all of them, I look forward to Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas most of all. Dr. Seuss is the master storyteller, and his character, Grinch is a work of art. I love everything about the movie from the sing-song rhymes about the disgusting Grinch and his termite infested smile to the heartwarming Christmas message it sends. There’s plenty of great music as well.

I’ve been waiting for months for the release of Jim Carrey’s The Grinch and wasted no time in seeing it with my nine year old. I completely disagree with critical reviews about this film. I found it to be an excellent adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic tale. There were a few modern day twists thrown in, but they did nothing to take away from the story, and the acting was done to perfection, especially Jim Carrey’s starring role as the Grinch himself.

Details

Little Taylor Momford plays Cindy Lou Who. She’s adorable and did an excellent job as the little Who the Grinch runs into on Christmas day while stealing all the gifts and decorations of the Whoville residents. But in this one, the two of them meet for the first time two days before Christmas at the post office where her father, Lou Who works. Grinch is there undercover handing out eviction notices, pink slips and selections for jury duty. It’s just his little way of trying to dampen the spirits of the Who’s. Cindy Lou and her father discuss the Grinch when she notices he is the only one without any Christmas cards in his box.

Her father tells her the story of how, as a little baby, Grinch was abandoned and ended up in Whoville where he was raised by some kindly citizens. The baby Grinch they show is both ugly and precious at the same time. They show him as he grows into an eight year old and is ruthlessly teased at school for being different. It's hard not to feel sorry for him. He has a crush on Martha May Who-vier and she returns his affection. But the future Mayor May-hoo also has a crush on Martha and humiliates Grinch so badly, he retreats to Mt. Crumpit and remains out of sight forever.

Cindy Lou discovers him hiding in the corner and is terrified. She ends up in a package sorting machine and is almost crushed until he rescues her. She has a soft spot in her heart for him after that. He returns to his mountain hideaway where he lives with his dog, Max, pondering the reason she did not tell the others about him. He figures it must be because she “fears reprisals” and goes on about his business being a reclusive, miserable loner.

Some of the funniest parts for me were when he was in his cave talking to himself. It really gave the viewer an insight into his twisted mind. For instance, he holds an x-ray machine up to his chest and congratulates himself. His heart has shrunk yet another size and this time he vows to “keep it off for good.” Checking his phone messages, he is puzzled to find there are none. He says he'd better check the out going message. When he plays it, it says that should the caller utter so much as one word he would hunt them down. I think he needs to work on his people skills! He also knocks himself over the head with a hammer to rid himself of Christmas memories past after he reminisces about making an angel ornament for Martha May the Christmas before he went into seclusion.

Meanwhile, Cindy Lou is trying to convince Mayor May-hoo that Grinch would be the perfect one to hold the title of Cheermeister at the annual Who Whobilation. The mayor agrees only because he is convinced Grinch won’t show up and that he himself will get to hold the title in his place. Cindy Lou sets off to tell the Grinch of her plan. When he finds out there is a reward involved, he reluctantly agrees. We get to see him trying on various outfits trying to find something suitable to wear. Of course, first he has to check his schedule, which is filled with such things as: Stare into the abyss; Solve world hunger—tell no one; Work on his self-loathing, etc. Another of his favorite pastimes is to hold the Who phone book while standing on the mountain shouting out the names and telling them which ones he hates, which ones he hates, hates, hates, and which ones he "loathes entirely."

He shows up at the Whobilation and wreaks havoc on the town, burning Christmas trees and carjacking the Who’s. Before long, though, he begins to have a good time and starts to feel human (or is that who-man?) He is force fed all sorts of food that has been entered into the cook off. He is also forced to wear a hand knit Christmas sweater by the women who raised him. It warms the heart to see him have a good time in spite of himself. Christine Baranski plays Martha May Who-vier who finds her attraction for Grinch returning once again. Molly Shannon plays Betty Sue Who, Cindy Lou’s mother. The two women are very competitive with each other, trying to outdo each other with Christmas decorations.

As in the original, he steals all the gifts and decorations and brings them up the mountain, only to have a change of heart and return them again. His heart grows three sizes larger, knocking him to the ground, as he finally realizes the true meaning of Christmas. I don’t think I’m giving anything away here because there probably is not a person out there who has not seen the Dr. Seuss original.

My Thoughts

I read a professional review which said there were hints in this movie that the Who’s used to be swingers, but I disagree. There was a scene where they were shown dancing around and placing their keys in a dish as they entered a party. I think this was more likely hinting that they were drinking a bit too much. Unlike the original, the Who’s were imperfect beings here. They were at first materialistic, and not the angelic creatures they were in Dr. Seuss’ creation.

The makeup was fantastic, not just on the Grinch, but on all of the Who residents as well. The adults had rather unattractive protruding snouts and resembled rats. The children didn’t have them, though. Jim Carrey’s costume and facial expressions were just perfect and so were his voice and mannerisms. Anthony Hopkin’s narration was nice, but I could not help thinking about the narration of the original and how much I preferred it. I guess it’s a tough act to follow.

The town of Whoville was a lot like Universal Studio’s Seuss Landing. It was very much a real life cartoon, very colorful and imaginative. There is sure to be recognition at the Academy Awards for set design and costumes, not to mention makeup. They even showed us the termites in his smile!

Cindy Lou sings a pretty but sad Christmas song called, “Where are you, Christmas?” during the movie which Faith Hill sings during the closing credits. Also, the songs from the original Dr. Seuss version can be heard in this film.

The theater was packed and the audience was often laughing out loud, my daughter and I included. I don’t think this classic could have been redone much better than this. Ron Howard’s directing is to be commended, and Jim Carrey’s performance really brought the Grinch to life, even making you like him a little bit.