11/20/2023: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000)
Jim Carrey is a treasure. Let's get that out of the way. Even without all the prosthetics he can make the Grinch face and it's terrifying.
I've got to admit, I wasn't expecting this movie to be good. I'm a huge fan of the 1966 animated feature and I'm not generally a fan of remaking classics. But this one actually expands on the source material in good faith.
Some observations, in no particular order:
- The Grinch gets a whole backstory, which I could take or leave except that his super-strength is thoroughly established alongside his hatred of Christmas. That strength is instrumental to saving Christmas, namely lifting the sleigh of stolen goods over his head.
- Cindy-Lou Who actually gets to be a character with repeated interaction with the Grinch. Her dad is an idiot, but he also proves instrumental to the thematic development - Cindy Lou starts the wave, and Lou Lou serves as the hero's second(?), committing himself to the cause.
- At first I thought this movie would have much in common with Shrek, released one year later. But at the end it turned out to have more in common with 2010's Megamind, particularly in the Grinch's backstory. The Mayor is like the "hero" and the Grinch was secretly the hero the whole time.
- The comedy is shockingly on point. And not just from Jim Carrey's sheer charisma - the writing is great without being disruptive to the plot.
I'm sure there will be more thoughts later, I'm just scratching this down so I don't forget the entry altogether.
