Plot: The Grinch (Jim Carrey) is a creature who lives in a cave on Mount Crumpit, located above Whoville has a heart two sizes too small and has always hated Christmas. The citizens of Whoville fear the Grinch. Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen) is a young Who who isn't scared of the Grinch and wants to help him enjoy Christmas. She invites him to a Christmas feast in Whoville, which goes horribly wrong at the end. He wishes he could stop Christmas from coming to Whoville. When he sees his dog, Max, covered in snow looking like Santa, the Grinch comes up with an idea. He disguises himself as Santa and Max as his reindeer. The Grinch steals everything from the Whos and waits for their cries. But they celebrate anyway, with the Grinch now realizing Christmas isn't made of material things. The sleigh he had made to get all of the gifts almost falls off the cliff. But his heart has grown three sizes because of this realization and his heart growing gives him the strength to stop the sleigh. He returns everything to Whoville and participates in the holiday feast.
Review: This is a live-action version of the famous children's book. The plot changes in this version compared to the 1966 TV special. We're given a background of the Grinch. We're given a background of his upbringing and the reason why he became so cruel. I actually like that we see some background on his character. But then again the only reason they added the extra footage is because they needed to stretch the film's length. Another thing I didn't like about the plot itself were all the gags that they put in that I didn't think we're entirely necessary. I understand that Jim Carrey is a great comedy actor, but plenty of the gags I found a little annoying.
Anthony Hopkins does the narration for this and I actually really like it. Jim Carrey portrays the Grinch and I think he does a great job. The Grinch is more comical than you'd expect but he makes it work. I also enjoyed Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who. The rest of the acting was decent. There are a wide variety of new characters including Augustus (played by Jeffrey Tambour), the mayor who bullied the Grinch during their youth. Martha (played by Christine Baranski), the Grinch's longtime crush and Augustus' love interest. I didn't find the majority of the characters, except the Grinch and Cindy Lou, sympathetic. I don't know if that was the intent but either way I didn't really care for the other characters except the two of them.
I'd like to point out the makeup, costumes and set decoration that was done in this film are very impressive. The Grinch and the Whos makeup was very well done. The costumes they wear I actually believe make sense for the kind of world they live in. The same goes for the set design. The film won an Oscar for Best Makeup and were also nominated for Set Decoration and Costumes. Well-deserved nominations and win.
Overall, this remake of the Grinch is entertaining and is funny. But I also found certain aspects of the film to be annoying. But this is still a movie that I like to watch during the Christmas holidays.
Rating: 3.5/5
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