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December 06, 2001



Jerry Lewis in Whoville
By Rob Dibble

To me, "The Grinch who Stole Christmas" would be a very tough children's book to bring to the big screen, unless you have the perfect actor in mind to play the role. Director Ron Howard did. He knew who the Grinch was in real life: Jim Carrey.

I watched a show on how the movie was made before I saw it. I usually try hard not to do that, because I hate when they give away all the secrets -- it really cheapens a movie for me. In this case, I made an exception.

I love Rick Baker. His makeup in movies such as "An American Werewolf in London" and others are truly amazing.

The process of turning Carrey into the Grinch is a great movie in itself, but what people might not know is that the costume was so painful at times, Carrey did Navy Seal exercises to relieve the pain.

Jim Carrey is the modern-day Jerry Lewis. The more he contorts his face, the more he makes crazy noises, the harder I laugh.

I'm a big movie buff, if you hadn't already noticed, and to me Jim Carrey is the modern-day Jerry Lewis. The more he contorts his face, the more he makes crazy noises, the harder I laugh.

I know most people won't find it hard to believe, but I love to go around my house making stupid sounds and driving my wife crazy. Sometimes I'm funny, most of the time I'm just annoying.

Jim Carrey really is the Grinch -- he's not just acting. He's put himself in the Grinch's place and made this Grinch much more lovable than the one we all grew up with in the Doctor Suess book.

What the previews don't show you -- and it's the best part of the movie -- is when the Grinch is a child. What a great concept. Both my children want one for Christmas.

Many of the costumes are handmade, and the sets are great, but the casting is tremendous. Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who has to be one of the cutest kids on the planet. Jeff Tambor as the mayor and Molly Shannon as Betty Lou Who do a great job in supporting Carrey.

Everybody wanted to do a believable job in bringing this children's story to life on the big screen. For kids over 5 this is a great movie. There's nothing in this movie to warrant the PG rating. The Grinch could scare little kids, but he really doesn't, and by the end of the flick you love him and want to take him home.

Dibble's scorecard: Four out of four baseballs

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