It's Whoville, says Ron.  God, what has he done?

Dr Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas Dir: Ron Howard Starring Jim Carrey Taylor Momsen Molly Shannon Jeffrey Tambor 2000 PG, 105 m RATING: 3 out of 10

"LEARN TO ACT!" Jim Carrey attempts to make another member of the cast as competent as himself in Ron Howard's enormously weird take on The Grinch.

Ron Howard's take on How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a thoroughly uneven, much too murky, and often violent film that stumbles on a fine line between cartoonish children's film and dark, adulty comedy. Plot synopsis is unnecessary, because the story is extremely well-known and the title says it all: a Grinch steals Christmas, only in true Hollywood fashion, the tale is trumped up with millions of dolars in special effects and elaborate production design, adding nothing to the story.  As the Grinch, Jim Carrey gives it his best, but he is hampered with unfunny lines and Ron Howard's stiff direction. The first half hour of the film lacks any magic or laughs; Howard doesn't seem to know how to unfold the story and instead relies on the twisted scenery and often grotesque makeup of Whoville and the Whos to give a sense of an imaginative film.  The set design seems more nightmarish than cartoonish, however, and could have been pulled out of a Tim Burton film: curved, dark, twisted, and sparsely lit.  Equally out of place are the scenes of the Grinch chewing glass, popping a red hot screw in his mouth, and engaging in drunken driving.  At one point I was expecting to see Carrey actually murder one of the Whos in a bloodbath. Then there's the little girl who portrays Cindy Lou Who, Taylor Momsen.  She delivers lines as id she's acting in a school play: example: *in whiny voice* "But Christmas is blah blah...blah blah blah..."  Haley Joel Osment she ain't.  SNL's Shannon and the always sharp and fabulous Baranski are both wasted as two woman who appear to be enganged in a bitter rivalry.  After their first scene together, however, this apparent subplot goes nowhere. The Grinch is mired in scenes of grotesqeueness and a truly nightmarish set design.  Ron Howard's inept handling of the classic Seuss tale can't even be saved by a tremendously make-upped Jim Carrey.  There are few inspired laughs, special effects to cover up the gaping holes in its pacing, and two very forgettable sounds probably meant to push the CD soundtrack.  It's heartless treatment, and call me a grinch, but the spirit of Christmas is dead in this heap.

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