\'Grinch\' a steal
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>\"How the Grinch Stole Christmas," by Dr. Seuss;(Or Theodore Geisel, if one must know the ruse)Was published in the year of the Sputnik launch;A time when America had not yet discovered raunch. In 1966 Chuck Jones pulled out all the stops;To rescue America from programming flops."Merrie Melodies" had been his stake to fame;An animated Grinch would bring him equal acclaim. This year Ron Howard gave the Grinch a shot;A 105-minute movie was all he sought.So he cast Jim Carrey as the green holiday grump;And hoped he'd rebound from his "EdTV" slump. The price has been counted, the results are in;Should Opie rest easy or break out the gin?Is the Cash-and-Carrey policy a wise transactionFor a refuge from the "Happy Days" faction? The answer is harder to relate to rhyme;So let's just say I had a good time.The film's first half-hour is decidedly slow;The rest is Carrey's finest since "The Truman Show." Cindy Lou-Who (Taylor Momsen) is exquisitely sweet;(How does Hollywood find these children? On the street?).Rick Baker's make-up outdoes his prosthetics;For wolfmen, Eddie Murphy and Michael Jackson cosmetics. Anthony Hopkins is Boris Karloff's subIn Narrating a tale about a holiday grub.The set design is lavish; the money's all there,Prompting one to prop up in his seat and stare. I could relate the plot, but who doesn't knowAbout a miserly grinch in a town full of snow.Who-ville's its name, with its townspeople afraid;Of a green outsider's plans for a Yuletide raid. Perhaps in my recommendation there lies an ethical battle;With a story I had known since I had a rattle;But "Humbug" I say to those critics on call;As they rave with a heart that's two sizes too small.