Movie Review: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

2000
PG


"One man's toxic sludge is another man's potpourri."
-- The Grinch

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a 2000 comedy film directed by Ron Howard that serves as a live-action version of Dr. Seuss's classic Christmas tale. The town of Whoville is jubilantly preparing for their Whobilation celebration on Christmas, spending their time buying as many gifts as they can possibly buy for their friends and family. However, all of the emphasis on the material possessions starts to bother a little girl named Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen), who wonders if that's really the true spirit of Christmas. She learns of a mysterious creature called the Grinch (Jim Carrey) who lives on Mount Crumpit just outside Whoville who hates Christmas and the Whos. Cindy doesn't believe anyone should be left alone on Christmas, so she nominates the Grinch to be this year's Holiday Cheermeister, and after some persuasion, he reluctantly agrees to attend the ceremony. However, Mayor Augustus Maywho (Jeffrey Tambor), who had past tiffs with the Grinch, humiliates the Grinch during the ceremony. As payback, the Grinch decides to ruin Christmas for the entirety of Whoville.

I was twelve when this film was released, and at the time, I was in quite a pro-Jim Carrey swing. While I still love him as an actor, I think he's lost a tiny bit of appeal from my younger days. However, when I saw How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I thought it was one of the funniest movies I had ever seen. Eleven years later, I can see that's a rather lofty platform on which to place this film, but it still has quite a bit to like.

Ultimately, this is a film that's really going to pander toward Carrey fans. Director Ron Howard gives Carrey a lot of free reign to run with the Grinch character, and he takes it as far as he possibly can with a PG-rated film. I do admit that his manic presence does go a little too far at times, but there are a couple handfuls of gems in terms of his one-liners. Whether they were ad-libbed or written into the script, I don't really know, but either way, there's plenty of laughs to be had at the Grinch's expense. The rest of the cast fills out rather nicely, but it's tough for any of the other characters to shine when they're being upstaged by Carrey's performance. Momsen plays a convincing, wide-eyed girl looking for the beauty in the Christmas holiday, and compared to her adult co-stars, she goes above and beyond. We get some okay bits from the likes of Tambor, Molly Shannon and Christine Baranski, but as I think I've made clear: this is Carrey's film and his film alone.

However, I think what makes this film so good is the storyline. While the screenplay isn't by far the greatest in the world, the basic story that Dr. Seuss laid down with his original story is simply fantastic. Yes, you could just as easily read the book or watch the original 1966 animated version to get the overall message, but it's good that someone took the time to reinvigorate the story for a more modern audience, especially considering how how materialistic society has become. The basic moral of the story is that Christmas shouldn't revolve around the presents and the material possessions on which we place so much importance; rather, the holiday should be a time of happiness and joy that we spend with our family, friends and loved ones. This film does a great job showing us that's how we should be spending our holidays rather than engaging in rampant over-spending to satisfy our desire for earthly possessions.

At the end of the day, the message should be enough to get you to like this film. As I previously stated, this is going to be a film most loved by fans of Jim Carrey, so if you're not into his brand of comedy, this one might not be for you. However, if you love him - or can at least tolerate him - I think you'll be in for quite a treat with How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Don't expect anything brilliant, lest you be terribly disappointed. Just go in expecting a straight-forward, heart-warming tale, and you'll be doing just fine.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: B+
1.5 Thumbs Up

Movie Review: BAD TEACHER

BAD TEACHER

2011
R

Bad Teacher is a 2011 comedy directed by Jake Kasdan that centers around the livelihood of one, well, bad teacher. When Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) gets dumped by her ultra-rich fiance, she has to revert back to her days spent as a junior high teacher. Rather than using her job as an opportunity to enrich the lives of children, however, she takes the chance to attempt to woo a new colleague named Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake). When she learns that Scott has a bit of an affinity for large breasts, Elizabeth dedicates herself to raising enough money to fit into Scott's type, so to speak. At the same time, she starts to engage in a bit of a rivalry with another teacher named Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch), who is both vying to be the best teacher in the school as well as for Scott's affection. When Elizabeth learns that the teacher whose class scores the highest on the state-wide standardized test will earn a respectable bonus, her battle against Amy shifts into high gear.

As my readers will know, Bad Teacher landed a spot on my list of this summer's most anticipated movies, falling in at number ten. I think it's safe to say that I had relatively high hopes for this one going into its theatrical run, and even after it started to garner negative reviews, I kept my hopes up that we'd be in for quite a laugh-fest. After finally seeing the film, I can honestly say that my first emotional reaction was disappointment.

Now, I don't want to go as far as saying that the movie is horrendous. There's definitely bits and pieces that will get you laughing - or at least chuckling - from time to time. However, the screenplay on the whole really isn't all that impressive. The basic storyline is rote and predictable, so there's nothing there that grabs the audience's attention. Because of this, the film's potential for success was forced to rely on the jokes and gags more than anything else. For any movie, that poses quite a problem, especially when you get a film like Bad Teacher. The jokes and gags we're given aren't nearly enough to drive along the film, and that's where this movie truly gets hurt. It tries to rely too heavily on raunchy and shock-value humor rather than finding a way to blend it with an equal amount of genuine humor. In a way, you can make the argument that Bad Teacher is really targeted at an audience of teenage boys rather than the mass public.

Some of the actors do their best to save the ship, but there's not a lot to be done when they're given a screenplay this awful. I was hoping that Bad Teacher could serve as a resurgence for Cameron Diaz who I thought desperately needed a winning role to re-start her career. While she has her moments during the film, I mostly found her to be a little whining and annoying. She does just enough to make her character appealing enough to be our lead, but that's as far as she takes it. I personally couldn't stand either Timberlake or Punch throughout the film, as their characters were much too over-the-top for my own liking. I understood the direction they were taking their characters, but it really seemed to be much too much. If anyone's worth seeing, it's Jason Segel, who plays the school's gym teacher who lusts after Diaz. His comic timing is, and has always been, simply brilliant, and he almost makes this movie watchable. We also get some okay performances from some smaller players like Phyllis Smith, John Michael Higgins and Thomas Lennon. Also be on the lookout for an appearance by Molly Shannon.

As much as I hate the fact that I'm throwing this film under the bus a little bit, I can't rightfully tell you to spend your money to see Bad Teacher. I had high hopes for the film, but as I stated earlier, I was utterly disappointed with the final product. Segel might be worth the price of admission, but it'd be a long-shot. I'd say wait for this one to hit NetFlix before you give it a view - otherwise, I think you'll simply be wasting your money.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: D+
Thumbs Sideways