How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Directed by Ron Howard
The Grinch decides to rob Whoville of Christmas - but a dash of kindness from little Cindy Lou Who and her family may be enough to melt his heart...
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16 films that influenced How the Grinch Stole Christmas
What critics say influenced How the Grinch Stole Christmas
There's something of the Frankenstein myth in the story here, perhaps because I couldn't help but think I was in some European village.
There's an homage to Chariots of Fire which felt like a forced gag.
This must be how people felt when The Wizard of Oz originally opened.
Yet, Christine Baranski ("Bowfinger," "Bulworth"), Bill Irwin ("Illuminata," "My Blue Heaven") and Molly Shannon ("Superstar," "Never Been Kissed") can't do much with their sketchily drawn roles.
Although not easy to recognize because of Rick Baker’s make-up artistry, Bill Irwin (Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street) and Molly Shannon (Superstar) appear well-matched as Cindy Lou’s caring parents.
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There's something about the romance language which lifts this out of the realm of the Hollywood blockbuster and sets it back down in the arena of The City of Lost Children.
Visionary filmmaker Tim Burton (1990's "Edward Scissorhands"), for example, would have been perfect to take the Dr. Seuss yarn on.
And unfortunately, he invites comparisons to Tim Burton, whose "Edward Scissorhands" created the tone that Mr. Howard should have been able to achieve here.
While I can happily report that Carrey is often a hoot as the Grinch (as long as you don't mind the typical Carrey-isms of exaggerated facial and bodily contortions and such humor), and the makeup effects, courtesy of Rick Baker ("Men in Black," "An American Werewolf in London"), visual effects supervised by Kevin Mack ("What Dreams May Come," "Fight Club") and production design by Michael Corenblith ("Apollo 13," "Mighty Joe Young") are all topnotch, the film as a whole is only half satisfying.
Carrey has hidden behind invented faces before, in " The Mask ," for example, but his Grinch, with his pig-snout nose and Mr. Hyde hairdo, looks more like a perverse wolfman than the hero of a comedy.
His off-the-wall performance is reminiscent of what he accomplished in The Mask, except that here he never allows the special effects to upstage him.
While the Grinch himself is padded, furry, and caked with even more green paste than he wore in The Mask, the Whos are almost frightening in their appearance, with their faces pinched forward and their noses built up like that of holiday-bedecked rodents.
His voice, a cross between Sean Connery and The Mask character was absolute perfection for Sir Grinch.
The comedic actor seems the virtual perfect match for this role, just as he was the perfect choice for the title character in The Mask.
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Yet, Christine Baranski ("Bowfinger," "Bulworth"), Bill Irwin ("Illuminata," "My Blue Heaven") and Molly Shannon ("Superstar," "Never Been Kissed") can't do much with their sketchily drawn roles.
Jeffrey Tambor (The Larry Sanders Show) makes a perfect snobbish mayor, Christine Baranski ( Bowfinger ) unleashes her sophisticated charm as the Grinch’s love interest, and Sir Anthony Hopkins ( Hannibal ) provides a spirited narration of this well-loved holiday fable.
That's because Howard has a good track record of making decent and often great films like "Apollo 13" and "Cocoon," while Carrey ("Man on the Moon," "The Truman Show") - the rubbery faced and bodied one - seems like one of the few actors who could pull off the physical and comedic demands of the character.
Who would have thought Ron Howard -- director of such soft-centered, mushy fare as "Cocoon" and "Parenthood" -- could come up with something as imaginative and charming as the new live-action adapatation of Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"?