The Grinch

If it weren’t for Jim Carrey, Ron Howard would have failed miserably. If it weren’t for Jim, Grinch wouldn’t be as entertaining as it actually is. But it is only entertaining enough to deserve three stars because the Whos of Whoville were so annoying that I almost wished for Grinch not to be convinced about goodness and joy by them… which I guess is a bit of a contradiction with a movie like this. (16/12/2018)

I was on the fence about Grinch for a long time. This was just another meeting with Jim Carrey for me. In the year 2000, this uncrowned king of video rental stores had already made all the hits we loved: Ace Ventura (both parts), The Mask, the third Batman, Liar Liar... and he slowly started looking for something more serious, which brought him encounters with Milos Forman or Michel Gondry. Nowadays, I would say that Dr. Seuss' modern rhyming fairy tales don't need a live-action film (the book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was first published in 1957); animated series are absolutely perfect for them. However, here, Carrey's routine comic stylings are touched up by the cute Taylor Momsen and sexy Christine Baranski. We'll see if I remember to watch it again next Christmas. (18/01/2020)

A Christmas classic, no doubt. To Europeans the humour and the fairytale dimension may seem wacky, but for me The Grinch is a "happy" combination of filmmaking ingredients (poetic narrator, amazing make-up, adult humour, a peculiarly delivered moral message) and an almost inexhaustible source of annual entertainment. My warm relationship with this green monster grew even more when a friend with a facial expression remarkably similar to Carrey's appeared in my life... Well, that’s all I’m saying :D (18/12/2011)

The Grinch is one of the classic Christmas movies that has undoubtedly a cult status in the USA, home of Dr. Seuss, its creator. It’s the story about a green, furry grump who, in the end isn’t as evil and mean as one originally thought. It stands – but also falls – on Jim Carrey's eccentric performance. His portrayal of the Grinch is truly unmissable, and it's a shame that at times he was too theatrical, even annoying – the scenes from the cave, however, were brilliant. The lessons about not judging a book by its cover, and that Christmas is not a materialistic but a spiritual holiday, are timeless and always warm my little heart (and make it a few numbers bigger). Last but not least, I praise the nice, if perhaps at times too contrived, artwork. (22/10/2022)

I was lucky enough to see the movie in English and in Czech, and I have to say that the Czech version seemed a bit better to me. Actually, quite a bit better. Zdenek Sverak's voice was more Christmassy, just like the whole dubbing, even though Jim Carrey is simply the best in the original. Definitely a story that one enjoys the most during Christmas. Otherwise, it's just a pretty ordinary fairy tale. (05/01/2015)