Monday, December 25, 2017

You're A Funny One, Mr. Grinch

Hello and Merry Christmas to all!

Generally speaking, my family is pretty passionate about Christmas movies.  Everyone has their particular favorite.  For many years, we had our annual Christmas Eve screening of "The Polar Express".  Always a crowd pleaser.

Among Christmas movies, one of the ones we can all agree on is "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". But do you fall in the camp of the 1966 animated version or the 2000 version with Jim Carrey (technically called "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas"?  While the 1966 version is indeed a classic, I have to say that Jim Carrey gets my vote.  I've seen the film an embarrassing number of times at this point and always find little nuances to his performance that crack me up.  His ability to embody the animated character with such accuracy, while at the same time bringing the Jim Carrey brand of devilish, juvenile humor to make him feel more contemporary, is really a testament to his performance.

My discussion of the Grinch wouldn't be complete without including my son, Reed's, personal connection to the Grinch.  This past summer, as part of a "Christmas in July" cabaret at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY, Reed performed "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" with his own personal spin on the song.  As part of the introduction, he humorously shares his take on having celebrated both Christmas and Hanukah his whole life.  You can check it out here:

Reed Rosenberg -- You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch
https://youtu.be/EISqip6smJ0

Whatever you're watching tonight, hope it leaves you happy and merry (and not Grinch-like).

-- Frosty

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