On a cold December evening I decide to wander to the cinema to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas, in the vain hope of rekindling those childhood memories of kids films in the Christmas holidays by a warm fire. I think that believing that I'm still a big kid at heart helped also.
So, Jim Carrey in another comic role dressed up in an amazing bundle of makeup and costume, performing the same old gags. This much is very true and it is always a case of how much you can take of Carrey's endless facial expressions and amusing noises. Some people disliked him from the start, and some keep paying him for more.
In the first few moments of the film I realised that it really is a kiddies movie but undeterred I carried on, impressed by the quality of acting from the young actress who played the main character, Cecile (there is no character called Cecile in the film - Ed). The story is the same old retelling of how the Grinch stole Christmas because he hated all the merryness and happiness of it all, especially in this fairytale town where Chistmas is as important as life. The story also goes on to explain the reasonings behind his lifestyle choice and why he is such a Grinch! To make it more acceptable to children and parents alike the story has a moral thrown in - that Christmas is not just about gifts, but about being with loved ones. I'm sure you've heard that story a thousand times.
Other points of interest were just how disturbing the characters seemed, or maybe it was just me. The young Grinch was a cross between a gremlin and the girl from The Exorcist in her full glory. The faces of the townspeople were also very odd, and small animated people dancing with real dwarfs freaked me out. How the kids don't have nightmares I'll never know.
So is the film worth watching? Well, I would say yes. The now customary references common to all childrens film and TV are there, and Carrey is as good as ever in his comic genius (if you can stand him).
If you don't go to see it for any of the above it's worth going just for the performance by Max the Dog. Hands together for that actor! |
