How the Grinch Stole Christmas is bright, colorful, endlessly creative – and an exercise in tedium. It manages to be constantly visually entertaining while its characters succeed in being just as annoying.

Leading the pack is the Grinch (Jim Carrey) himself, whose manic-depressive personality is rarely funny. The manic side shows us Jim Carrey spazzing out to no end while the depressive side marks the one mildly humorous aspect as the Grinch deals with his problems like someone dealing with their weight or other depression inducing problems.

Almost as annoying is the mayor (Jeffrey Tambor), who plays the role of a second bad guy so the Grinch has something to play off of when he turns around. The least annoying – though annoying nonetheless – is Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen), who proactively seeks the Grinch’s well-being for no apparent reason. Now I’m the last person in the world to look down on unconditional love, but in this case it felt more like a plot device for cuteness than anything really sincere.

In fact, that last line probably sums up the film in general. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is a fantastic story, but the films heavy-handed attitude actually created a product that is less effective than its origin.

On the other hand, it really is a good story, no matter how badly it’s told. It’s hard for me to ever not be somewhat affected when a heart softens and swells, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas gets that across well enough.

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