In what may be the best performance in a fantasy role in the past few decades, Jim Carrey absolutely kills it as the evil, Christmas-hating monster known as the Grinch. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a fantastic film that is marked by its leading role and especially the set and costume design. While the story is simple and unoriginal, every other visual aspect of this film is astounding.
The only criticisms that I have regarding this film is its writing, editing, and direction. The writing of this film was very unoriginal, as it copied the story from Dr. Seuss's classic book, almost scene-by-scene. This can be seen as both a good and bad thing, depending on who you ask. For the majority of people, staying true to the original piece of work is very important, which I agree with as well. However, given that this is a live-action remake, I would have liked to seen some minor changes to truly make it feel like something new. It was as good as a Dr. Seuss book can be, I suppose. As for the editing and direction, I was very unimpressed with all of it. For how wacky and goofy this film and its respective tone are, I feel that more work could have been put in these two elements: especially the editing. I feel that more jump-cuts and higher angles would have worked better for certain scenes, truly displaying the Grinch's evilness and craziness. I watched this film countless times as a kid, and watching it again now, I was surprised to see it was directed by Ron Howard. For being such a legendary director, it was interesting to see his take on this film, even though his career is definitely not marked by a Dr. Seuss adaptation. Honestly, this is the equivalent of George Miller directing one of the Care Bears films.
This movie might not be the best in terms of writing and directing, but one team that stands out more than any other is definitely production. The level of work that the production team put into quite literally every aspect of this film is amazing. The set design, costume design, and makeup in the movie are one-of-a-kind. No other film that I know of has spent this much time and detail into perfecting the world of Whoville and the Grinch's lair than this production team. Knowing that the set was built well enough for Universal Studios to want to keep it on display in their amusement park is honestly fantastic, and it shows the level of effort that the crew had to make the world really come alive. The makeup team was amazing as well, as Jim Carrey is almost unrecognizable as himself, more than he is the hairy, green monster that he plays. His makeup alone took 3 months total during filming to do, and for the sake of an hour-and-a-half feature is crazy. Although Jim Carrey does not sport his usual elastic face, his performance and antics are still very present. Carrey was casted absolutely perfectly for this film, as his silly facial expressions and voices boded well for this character. Seeing how his character transitioned from the heartless monster into the loving creature was a great development, and Carrey executed it flawlessly.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of my favorite holiday films of all time, and even has my favorite Christmas song of all time (Better Do It Right by Smash Mouth). This movie is marked by its exceptional portrayal of the monster by the ever-talented Jim Carrey and its design, in all aspects of the word. No other film that I know of has taken this much time to perfect its world than this whimsical Dr. Seuss adaptation. I would recommend this film, especially during the holiday season, as it puts you in the mood for Christmas while simultaneously making you appreciate Carrey much more. And one more thing: the live-action Cat in the Hat has NOTHING on the Grinch, no matter what any Mike Myers fan says.
My Rating: ★★★½
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