How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a holiday classic. There are now three movies based on Dr. Seuss’s beloved children’s book, but the first was the animated adaptation which aired on CBS in December of 1966. Actor Boris Karloff lent his voice to the titular character and also served as the narrator. The entire film was only twenty-six minutes long. It was the perfect film for families to enjoy during the yuletide season.
It seemed like the original 1966 version of the Grinch couldn’t be touched, the movie airing every year in time for the holidays. After all, the property was beloved by audiences of all ages. The character is an iconic part of pop culture. However, director Ron Howard managed to bring the story to a new generation with his 2000 adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The live-action reimagining is sweet, visually stunning, and above all, hilarious. There is a lot going right in the film, but without a doubt, the most credit for its success has to go to Jim Carrey’s irreplaceable performance as the Grinch.
In the 2000 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Jim Carrey managed to toe the line between being outrageous and heartfelt in the titular role. Every line of dialogue he delivers is infused with his own unique brand of a Grinchy growl. His facial expressions are spot-on, and his comedic timing is impeccable. On top of all that, his Grinch has a lot of heart. Because he fully embodied the character, Carrey was able to ad-lib some of the dialogue in the movie. There is one line in particular that was entirely improvised by the legendary comedic actor, and it comes at a pivotal moment in the film.
Jim Carrey Improvised 1 of the Items on the Grinch’s Agenda
For those who aren’t familiar, the 2000 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas follows a grumpy green outcast who lives outside the town of Whoville in a cave on Mount Crumpit. His only source of companionship is his loyal dog, Max, although he also likes to think that his own voice echoing back off the walls also counts as company. At any rate, the Grinch gets an opportunity to come out of hiding and join the community of Whoville for the Christmas season when a spirited young girl named Cindy Lou Who (played by Taylor Momsen) personally hands him the invitation to serve as the Whoville Holiday Cheermeister at the annual Whobilation.
The relationship between the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who is at the heart of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s when she visits his cave that one of Jim Carrey’s best-improvised lines of dialogue comes in the movie. Cindy Lou Who hands him the invite, and the Grinch harrumphs after sending her down his garbage chute back to Whoville. He may seem like he’s mean and has no desire to go, but after sending Cindy Lou away, it’s clear to the audience that he’s mulling over the invitation in his mind.
The Grinch is scared of rejection, so in this scene, he consults his agenda to convince himself that “even if he wanted to go, his schedule wouldn’t allow it.” Because this live-action version of The Grinch is a comedy, every item on his agenda is funnier than the last. On the Grinch’s schedule:
- 4:00 PM: Wallow in self-pity
- 4:30 PM: Stare into the abyss
- 5:00 PM: Solve world hunger, tell no one
- 5:30 PM: Jazzercise
- 6:30 PM: Dinner with me
- 7:00 PM: Wrestle with my self-loathing
It’s while spouting off this list of items that Jim Carrey shows off his skills as an improv actor. For the 6:30 PM slot, he states as the Grinch with full conviction: “Dinner with me. I can’t cancel that again.” This wasn’t in the original script written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, who at that point were best known for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
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“I can’t cancel that again” may seem like an innocuous ad-lib, but in all reality, the line shows just how much Jim Carrey understood his unique version of the Grinch. This character is one who jokes to hide his pain. He’s sarcastic and self-deprecating because he wants to belong to the town of Whoville. The way that Carrey delivers the line is hilarious, yet also kind of sad. He maintains that nuance to the character throughout the film, and this line is a prime example of why his performance is so brilliant.
The fact that the Grinch is doing absolutely nothing on Mount Crumpit, and has essentially no reason to cancel dinner with himself, is why this line is so memorably funny. Through Carrey’s delivery, it’s also apparent to viewers that the Grinch is in on this joke and is saying this line out loud to cover up the fact that he desperately wants to fit in with the rest of the Whos. Despite his snide remarks, the Grinch is seriously considering Cindy Lou’s invitation to attend the Whobilation as the Holiday Cheermeister.
Carrey is a gifted comedic actor with his own frenzied level of energy, so it’s no surprise that he couldn’t be confined by the script for How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He improvised many other lines of dialogue in the movie, including the moment where he wears a tablecloth as a kilt and calls his dog Max a “sicko” for thinking it was a skirt. However, his “I can’t cancel that again” line is so brilliantly delivered that it deserves special attention. It came right at a turning point for the character, right before he decides to let go of the past, and once again, try to belong to the Whoville community.
No Other Comedic Actor Would Have Brought the Same Energy to the Grinch
The live-action adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas may be a wholesome family comedy for the holidays, but that doesn’t mean the lead role was an easy one to play. In fact, actor Jim Carrey told Graham Norton he had to even undergo torture training from the CIA in order to withstand the eight-plus hours it took to apply the green makeup, fur, and prosthetics. Carrey, dedicated to delivering the best performance possible, learned “distraction techniques” from the CIA, like listening to the Bee Gees on repeat to keep himself calm in the makeup chair.
Not many actors would have endured those torturous makeup sessions to play the Grinch. Jim Carrey put his all into the performance in every way, not only by dealing with the laborious costuming process but also by utilizing his keen improv skills in some of the most important scenes. The actor was a born performer who reportedly made faces in the mirror as he practiced his impressions as a child. Those comedic chops turned into a career when he performed his first stand-up routine in Toronto at only 15 years old. Since then, Carrey has perfected his own brand of zany comedy, but he’s also proved himself as a dramatic, earnest performer in movies like The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
With a lack of vulgarity, Jim Carrey’s brand of comedy is appealing to adults and children. He was perfectly suited to playing the Grinch for that reason. The character is fairly one-note in the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He grumps on the screen until he discovers the true meaning of Christmas at the end of the movie. In his performance, Carrey takes that basic premise and kicks it up a notch. His version of the Grinch is sarcastic and self-deprecating. The audience can also see that he’s deeply sad, lonely, and desperate to belong. Carrey makes the character nuanced beyond what he seemed in the television special, and this occurs in every moment, but especially when he improvises lines like “Dinner with me. I can’t cancel that again.”
Fans Have a Special Place in Their Hearts for Jim Carrey’s Version of the Grinch
It’s obvious that Jim Carrey was invested in playing the Grinch as a fully realized character, which is why the 2000 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas has endured over twenty years since it was released. Carrey is funny, yet capable of bringing heart to any role he plays. He’s just as good as a dramatic, earnest performer as he is a comedic one. This mix of qualities, on top of the funny lines of dialogue, makes his version of the Grinch a special character to see on screen.
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Jim Carrey is one of the best comedic actors in movies today, and even though How the Grinch Stole Christmas is over 20 years old, it’s aged like a fine wine. It’s now in the canon of holiday classics that viewers put on rotation every year in between viewings of the Yule log. This Christmas, and each one thereafter, audiences can forever appreciate Carrey’s amazing commitment to the role and laugh out loud at the improvised “dinner with me” line. It’s one of the best lines of dialogue in the movie, and it’s special because it came from an actor who cared deeply about the character.
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How The Grinch Stole Christmas
