How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Just north of Whoville lives the Grinch inside a cave in Mount Crumpit. In the classic children's book, Dr. Suess paints the Grinch as an immoral , vindictive creature who hates Christmas for no apparent reason - which, in my opinion, is a lack of character development. However, in the beloved film, directed by Ron Howard, he is interesting and has reservations about Christmas that have been deeply rooted from his ill-fated childhood. We discover this when Cindy Lou Who conducts an investigation into the Grinch's past, exposing the truth about the so-called "nice" Who's - even Mayor Augustus Maywho, who had bullied Little Grinch simply because he was different.
While Cindy Lou is on the verge of exposing the Who's who drove the Grinch away from Whoville , the echoes of holiday cheer reach Mount Crumpit as the town prepares for its Who Jubilation and nominates the Holiday Cheermeister. Cindy Lou vouches for the Grinch against the reigning, egotistical champ, Maywho, convincing the village that Grinch needs a little holiday cheer.
Convincing everyone - except Maywho - Cindy Lou climbs to the Grinch's lair to convince our green friend to come. But, the Grinch ignores her pleas - until she mentions he has won the Cheermeister award. To sweeten the deal, she mentions that Grinch's old flame, the beautiful Martha May Whovier, is attending.
"And, she'll see me," he considered. "A winner!"
In her childhood, Martha flirted with him in school by saying that she loved the color of red and green, then caressed his face with her hand. This surprised Grinch who decided to make a gift for her in exchange for her feelings which he shared. "She won't love you," said kid Maywho to the Grinch. He laughed, "You're eight years old and you have a beard!"
The next day, Grinch came to class baring a gift he had made for Martha that should have stolen the show; but the brown paper bag over his head attracted all the attention. His teacher urged him to take it off. He removed it, revealing his bristly face, riddled with scars by the razor. Grinch became enraged as he was - yet again - teased. Kid Maywho cracked, "Look at that hack-job!"
In response, the Grinch began throwing things in a rage.
"The anger..." Maywho recalled.
"The furry..." another Who remembered.
"The muscles!" Martha gasped. That had been the last time they'd seen the Grinch.
This movie is like an onion. It has many layers and it questions the status quo of the Christmas season, which is undoubtedly bombed by big businesses and materialism. The Grinch asserts this, "That's what it's always been about! Gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts!"
I believe he's absolutely right. The other day, I went to the mall... I thought I had been transported to Whoville as I witnessed throngs of people crowding the stores! I could feel slimy commercialism hanging in the mall's atmosphere like a dewy fog, ignoring my impulse to scream, "Ba humbug!" Pardon my socialism, but is this what the holidays have been reduced to? Capitalistic chaos?
Perhaps we need the Grinch to steal Christmas to remind us what makes the holiday special, as he inadvertently does on his raid Christmas.
Movie critic Susan Stark from The Detroit News says, "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas means to amaze, beguile, delight. And it will."
The film can be a little heavy at times, but it makes you feel for the Grinch. It reveals his metamorphosis from a child damaged by Christmas to an adult secretly aching to find out the true meaning of Christmas. It is the timeless holiday film that intrigues both children and adults. In the materialistic world of ours, it's easy to forget that it's not about the presents or the pageantry. Christmas is about friends and family.
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