"DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS" (2000) (Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Mild Heavy *Mild Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Mild None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild None None Mild Mild QUICK TAKE: Comedy: In this live-action update of the classic Dr. Seuss story and TV cartoon, the Grinch hopes to ruin the Christmas spirit of the citizens of Whoville. PLOT: High atop Mt. Crumpit lives The Grinch (JIM CARREY), a surly curmudgeon who hates Christmas and the people of Whoville who live in the valley below him and so thoroughly enjoy the season. Among them is young Cindy Lou Who (TAYLOR MOMSEN) who's seemingly the only one to question the real meaning of Christmas; her postmaster father, Lou (BILL IRWIN); and her mother, Betty (MOLLY SHANNON), who's determined to beat their neighbor, Martha May Whovier (CHRISTINE BARANSKI), in a lighting decoration contest. Donning a disguise and infiltrating Whoville, the Grinch - who's happy that his heart is two times too small and shrinking - tries to disrupt the holiday festivities - much to the chagrin of Mayor May Who (JEFFREY TAMBOR) - but the townspeople's spirits are inextinguishable. What he does accomplish, however, is the sparking of curiosity in Cindy Lou about him. Interviewing the locals, she soon discovers the history of the Grinch and why he hates Christmas so much. Back atop Mt. Crumpit and with only hours before Christmas, the Grinch is becoming increasingly agitated at the music and good cheer rising up from Whoville. As such, he concocts a plan to steal Christmas and thus, with the aide of his canine companion, Max, he sets out to do just that, hoping that once and for all he'll rid the town of its Christmas spirit. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? It's a good bet that many kids will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For some crude humor. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JIM CARREY plays the Grinch who hates Christmas and enjoys being miserable and nasty toward others. However, he eventually comes around and gets the Christmas spirit. TAYLOR MOMSEN plays a young girl who wonders what happened to the true spirit of Christmas and wants everyone to be nice to the Grinch despite the way he acts. JEFFREY TAMBOR plays the somewhat conceited Mayor of Whoville who tries to keep the town's Christmas spirit alive all while wooing Martha May. CHRISTINE BARANSKI plays a woman known for her elaborate Christmas decorations who's drawn the attention of the Mayor but still holds a spot in her heart for the Grinch from their childhood days. BILL IRWIN plays Cindy Lou's father, the town's postman who wants everyone to be happy and states that all he needs for Christmas is his family. MOLLY SHANNON plays his wife who's obsessed with competing against Martha May to have the best Christmas decorations. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a quick look at the content found in this film that's been rated PG. That rating comes from some crude humor that particularly involves the suggestion of the Grinch holding a dog's rear end up to a sleeping man's lips for him to kiss (and we see the dog's surprised reaction to that). Another scene involves the Grinch holding up some mistletoe to his furry butt as an offer for someone to kiss him there, but no one does. Some non-explicit, but suggestive and sexually related comments and activities occur, including a husband telling his wife that their new baby looks exactly like her boss and another scene where adults drop their keys into a bowl in what's presumably a wife-swapping party. Some brief kissing and a display of cleavage also occurs. Profanity consists of one hell, while various actions the Grinch performs might prove to be enticing for some kids to imitate. Some cartoon style violence occurs, and certain characters have bad attitudes, including the Grinch who hates Christmas and steals the town's gifts and decorations. Finally, a few scenes might be suspenseful and/or scary to the youngest of kids. Should the preceding not answer your concerns about the film's appropriateness for anyone in your home who wishes to see it, you may want to examine our detailed content listings more closely. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE We see people drinking at a party in a flashback, but don't know if what they're consuming is alcoholic or not. While trying to decide whether to show up at an award ceremony in his honor, the Grinch briefly mentions wondering if it will be a cash bar. The Grinch grabs a man's jug of liquor, takes a swig, but instead of swallowing it, blows it across an open flame creating a flamethrower of sorts that burns down the town's Christmas tree. BLOOD/GORE The Grinch knocks over a man with his evidently pungent, green breath. The Grinch, as a baby in a flashback, loudly belches. The Grinch holds up some mistletoe to his furry butt and states, "Pucker up," but no one attempts to kiss him there. We briefly see some termites run across the Grinch's teeth and lips as a lyric in a song refers to just that. Hearing the Mayor talking in his sleep about kissing Martha, the Grinch grabs Max (the dog), turns him around butt first and puts him down toward the Mayor's lips (we don't see the contact). However, we do see the dog's bug-eyed expression, him later dragging his butt along the floor and then of the Mayor with a satisfied smile on his still sleeping face. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The Grinch has both toward nearly everyone and everything, but particularly anything to do with Christmas. In a flashback, some kids are mean and cruel to the young Grinch and tease him about his appearance. The Mayor and some of the townsfolk laugh at the Grinch when he opens his gift only to find a shaver that holds some painful memories for him from his childhood. FRIGHTENING SCENES The youngest of kids might find some of the following as suspenseful or maybe even scary, but older kids probably won't. Two couples tentatively approach the Grinch's mountaintop door, only to have a huge and obviously fake, but somewhat monstrous head suddenly pop out of it at them (but we then see Max the dog barking into a horn that's creating the accompanying "monster" sounds. The initial site of the occasionally leering/menacing looking Grinch might be scary to some kids at first. Cindy Lou falls into a pile of packages that are slowly dropping down into the mail sorter and screams while doing so (but the Grinch saves her from harm). A scene where the Grinch's sleigh (loaded down with gifts and other items he stole from Whoville, as well as Cindy Lou) starts to slide toward the edge of a cliff and he attempts to stop it may be somewhat suspenseful to some kids. Moments later, and having saved the sleigh and Cindy Lou, they go blasting down the snow-covered hill out of control, but that scene is played more for adventure than suspense. GUNS/WEAPONS In a flashback, we see that a young Grinch has drawn a picture of a missile going through Santa's sleigh while in flight. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "You're an idiot" and "There will be hell to pay." The Grinch bites into an onion like an apple and then rubs it under his armpits. The Grinch gives a saw to some kids and then tells them to run with it. The Grinch shoots what's presumably a spitball of some sort and hits the Mayor on the face. The Grinch bites off the top of a bottle, chews on the glass and then chews on more glass. In a flashback, a young Grinch smashes some jewelry and heirlooms to create a Christmas ornament for Martha May. After the Grinch tells Max to fetch his sedative, we see him bang himself on the head with a wooden mallet (to knock himself out). The Grinch holds up some mistletoe to his butt and states, "Pucker up," but no one attempts to kiss him there. The Grinch grabs a man's jug of liquor, takes a swig, but instead of swallowing it, blows it across an open flame creating a flamethrower of sorts that burns down the town's Christmas tree. The Grinch drops a glowing hot bolt into his mouth. Hearing the Mayor talking in his sleep about kissing Martha, the Grinch grabs Max (the dog), turns him around butt first and puts him down toward the Mayor's lips (we don't see the contact). However, we do see the dog's bug-eyed expression, him later dragging his butt along the floor and then of the Mayor with a satisfied smile on his still sleeping face. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A mild amount of suspenseful music plays in a few scenes. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY 1 hell is spoken during the movie. SEX/NUDITY In a flashback, we see the town's new babies floating down onto individual doorsteps (instead of using the stork) and one husband then somewhat surprisingly comments that their new baby looks just like the wife's boss. In another flashback, we see revelers at a party all dropping their keys into a bowl (in what's presumably a wife-swapping activity). When the Grinch realizes that Martha May will see him as an award winner, he states that she'll be on him like fleas on something else he describes (that completes his analogy). Martha May shows some cleavage in a low-cut dress she wears to an awards ceremony. When the Grinch finally shows up and uncontrollably bounces off several objects, he eventually lands face first in her cleavage. Proud of Lou for his statement about only needing his family for Christmas, Betty Lou then calls him a "hunk of burning Who" and plants a big kiss on him, causing them to fall down into the snow. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Why the Grinch has such a bad disposition and hatred for Christmas. That the townsfolk manage to still have the Christmas spirit despite what the Grinch does to spoil that. VIOLENCE The Grinch causes some bicyclists to crash, and then purposefully runs into some Whoville residents before some cars crash into each other (but no one is hurt). In a flashback, a young Grinch, mad about being teased by his classmates, throws his homemade ornament and then a Christmas tree across the classroom. After the Grinch tells Max to fetch his sedative, we see him bang himself on the head with a wooden mallet (to knock himself out). We hear some cars crash in an intersection after we see that Betty Lou has found a new "light" (of the traffic variety) for her decorations. The Grinch purposefully allows a giant-sized version of one of those monkey toys that clangs together symbols to do so on his head. The Grinch suddenly yanks a yodeler backwards with an old-fashioned stage hook. The Grinch somewhat playfully but still competitively knocks down some kids in a sack race. The Grinch purposefully scratches a new car with his sharp fingernail. The Grinch grabs a man's jug of liquor, takes a swig, but instead of swallowing it, blows it across an open flame creating a flamethrower of sorts that burns down the town's Christmas tree. The Grinch crashes a miniature car that moments later explodes in a huge fireball. Upset at Max for having the Christmas spirit, the Grinch sends him and his doghouse flying out the door (but the dog isn't hurt). The Grinch purposefully runs a rocket sled into a wall where the sled is heavily damaged and he's dazed. Reviewed November 14, 2000 / Posted November 17, 2000

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2012 Screen It, Inc.