Review of The Grinch (2018) by Andre T — 08 Dec 2018

Just to be certain: I watched the older 2 versions of this story again, and found I'm not mistaken. The Jim Carey version was every bit as lame and goofy as I remembered. The original cartoon is every bit as short & simple as I remembered.

If we really were to watch all 3 Grinches, side-by-side, and not give the first 2 so much credit for being 20 or 50 years old, this would easily be the best version. Watch both the other 2 again. You'll find out they drag, a bit.

I feel like I'm rating this movie with a LOT of real-world Grinches; such poor reviews; you'd think people were somehow offended by this movie, and I just can't see how. It was very enjoyable! With a great message! I happen to like the kinder, more human Grinch.

He's not just black-and-white evil; he's a complex character with real human emotions, who has been hurt, and he tries to avoid getting hurt again. To do that, he avoids people. Any true Dr. Suess fan knows that, to some extent, "The Grinch" was based on Dr.

Suess, himself. Yes, that's right. Suess even mentioned this in a 1957 edition of Redbook. Dr. Suess's stepdaughter said she'd always thought the Cat in the Hat was Dr. Suess on his good days while The Grinch was Dr.

Suess on his bad days. Dr. Suess was 53 years old when he wrote the book, and that age is referenced in The Grinch book as the Grinch's age. Dr. Suess drove around with a license plate that said GRINCH on it.

Do you really think that Dr. Suess was just plain evil? The guy wrote silly, rhyming children's books. Obviously, there was a big heart in there, and the whole story of The Grinch was to recapture that love of Christmas that he'd lost, since his youth.

When keeping that in mind, this version of The Grinch honors the original idea quite well. The Grinch is human, just as your grumpy, old, lonely "Bah humbug" next-door neighbor is human, even when he asks you not to shine your bright Christmas lights, or blast your Christmas music, past a certain hour, as it interferes with his sleep.

Invite him over for a Christmas party, and then watch him transform into merrymaker. This Grinch tells us what is important about Christmas; it's having a good crowd to enjoy it with.