Lissa's Rating: This is a lot harder when you don’t make up your own words
Lissa's Review:

One Christmas season in New York in the snow
My mother, siblings, and I went to see a show.
We looked at the posters, we fussed and debated,
But their cries of “The Grinch!” were quite overstated.
“No!” I whimpered, keeping my angst to myself,
“I know that is one that should be kept on the shelf!
The Grinch is a classic! This will suck! Please don’t pick it!”
But my family had already gotten four tickets.
I sat in my seat, a smile nailed to my face
As Anthony Hopkins’ smooth voice filled up the place.
Christine Baranski was Martha Mae, and Taylor Momsen Cindy Lou,
Jim Carrey the Grinch, and of course there were Whos.
The story, we know it, at least, the main plot
But now ninety minutes, I thought it would rot.
Cindy Lou’s search for Christmas seemed pukesome and trite
(Though I loved the bit about the Who’s Christmas lights).
The romantic subplot just wasn’t my taste,
I was convinced this whole movie would be such a waste.
But something then happened that I didn’t expect:
I started laughing as hard as the next!
I still find Cindy a tad bit annoying
Okay, she’s sickening, her “cuteness” quite cloying.
But the Grinch by Jim Carrey- it’s a role made for him
From the tips of his toes to his hat brim!
The dialogue’s not evil, and the dog was amusing,
And the made up words weren’t too confusing.
But Carrey’s performance was absolutely charming,
And that, my dear friends, I found completely disarming.
I’m not a Carrey fan -- I think he’s obnoxious
At least when he’s playing a character who’s noxious.
But in this role he had fun, and yet kept it in check
A fine line to walk, and not once did he wreck.
It shouldn’t win Oscars, or be called haute art,
But “The Grinch” is a movie that went straight to my heart.
It’s corny, it’s cheesy, it has morals to spout,
But hey, that’s what (secular) Christmas is about!
It’s not the original -- make your mind separate,
You’ll find that it’s easier to appreciate.
Grab a kid, rent “The Grinch”, I think you will find
It’s fun mindless fare at holiday time.
Thank you Jim Carrey, for covering this turf
And happy holidays to all who spend time reading MRFH!

"Santa IS dead! I killed him!" The unusual suspects Puberty hits some harder than others

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Swingers -- the sisters were collecting keys at the party. Either they were trying to keep people from driving drunk, or they were arranging a swinging party. Your call.
• Onion deodorant -- it’s gonna be big.
• The special treatment fragile boxes get? Very lifelike.
• Cindy Lou is REALLY off-key.
• Green makeup and white collars don’t go too well together.
• Everything in the film revolves around a swirl, the same as in the original drawings of the book. This includes the clouds. If you look closely at in several scenes, several times the initials "C.H.", "J.C.," and "R.H." briefly form as the clouds move. This stands for actor Clint Howard (Whobris), actor Jim Carrey (The Grinch), and director Ron Howard.
• Jim Carrey also used the football play call "Blue 42! Blue 42! Hutt hutt!" in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
• The inscription on the coins in the store is "E Pluribus Whonum."
• The Navy cap the Grinch wears when pretending to be a director with Max reads "WSS Whoville WVN-70."

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

Don't think so.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

Anthony Hopkins recorded all the narration for the movie in one day.

The prosthetic make-up Jim Carrey wore took 3 hours to apply. Carrey felt so horribly confined and uncomfortable in the latex skin he needed counselling from a Navy SEAL who taught him torture-resistance techniques.

Eddie Murphy was at one time considered to play the Grinch. Glad he didn’t, because Jim Carrey is the only reason I like this movie.

Some statistics: Make-up appliances used during production: approximately 8,000; Props created for the film: over 300 - Number of ornaments: 8,200; Number of candy canes: 1,938; Crushed marble used for snow on Who suburbs exterior sets: 152,000 lbs; Outfits created by wardrobe: 443; Number of sound stages used: 11; Make-up artists used on busiest days: 45; Styrofoam used to build sets: 2 million linear feet (or 6 miles, if it was cut into standard board length)

Official and Not-So-Official Websites

• Official Grinch Site

Groovy Quotes

The Grinch: (handing some kids a hacksaw) Hey kids -- here’s a present for you! Be sure to run real fast with it!

The Grinch: Ugh… Bleeding hearts of the world unite!

The Grinch: There’s no stick. I’m smarter.

Martha Mae: Did I have a crush on the Grinch? Hahahaha. Of course not.
Cindy Lou: I didn’t ask you that.

The Grinch: What if it’s a cruel prank? What if it’s a cash bar? How could they!?

The Grinch: I’m number one! No child can beat the Grinch! Haha! I beat you!

The Grinch: Fatboy should be finishing up now. Talk about a recluse. He only comes out once a year and he never gets any flack! Probably lives up there to avoid the taxes.

The Grinch: Max! Help me! I’m… FEELING!

The Grinch: Those Whos are hard to frazzle, Max. But, we did our worst, and that's all that matters.

The Grinch: What's that stench? It's fantastic!

The Grinch: Cute kid, bad judge of character.

The Grinch: I'm gonna die! I'm gonna throw up, then I'm gonna die!

[His answering machine greeting]
The Grinch: If you utter so much as one syllable, I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH! If you want to fax me, press the star key.

Cindy Lou Who: Santa, what's the meaning of Christmas?
The Grinch: VENGEANCE! I mean... presents, I suppose.

The Grinch: Oh, the Who-manity!

Narrator: The Who's young and old would sit down to a Feast, and they will feast, and they will feast.
The Grinch: And they'll feast, feast, feast, feast! They'll eat their Who-Pudding and rare Who-Roast Beast. But there's something I just cannot stand in least... Oh no! I'M SPEAKING IN RHYME!

The Grinch: The nerve of those Whos! Inviting me down there--and on such short notice! Even if I wanted to go my schedule wouldn't allow it. Four o'clock, wallow in self pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one. 5:30, jazzercize. 6:30, dinner with me. I can't cancel that again! 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing; I'm booked! Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9 I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness. But what would I wear?

DVD Review

I’m not impressed. The mandatory gag real is nothing more than actors forgetting their lines or falling down (yawn). The making of specials are pretty standard. Faith Hill does a video of “Where Are You Christmas?”, and oh, by the way Faith? That crimped hair look? Yeah. It doesn’t work. Flipping along to the “more” categories, there’s Wholiday recipes. Now, may I say, EWWW. It’s for Martha Mae’s designer onion wreaths. They consist of bread, onions, mayo, and parsley. Yuck yuck yuck yuck. (And I adore onions.) As a cook, I’m very insulted. Nothing thrilling here.

Soundtrack Review

I’m not a fan of the “Where are You Christmas?” song, especially since Cindy Lou is way off key in the movie. I know it’s supposed to be cute. It isn’t. The “Da-Who-Do-Ray” song (you know the one) is always charming, especially Jim Carrey’s version. And, of course, there’s “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”, which will always be a classic. Other than that, instrumental that blends into the background, or annoying Who music that sets my teeth on edge.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
• The Santa Clause
• The Cat in the Hat

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