Cultural reappraisal may have doomed Jim Carrey to a Grinch sequel

Despite making more than $340 million upon release, The Grinch had to overcome a pretty toxic reputation to become a Christmas classic. For instance, upon The Grinch‘s 2000 release, The A.V. Club called it “less a movie than a cynical, market-dictated merger of profitable brands,” “aggressively charmless,” and “a soulless travesty of a movie.” It currently boasts a 50% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience score that isn’t much better (60%). But even if there is a generation beaten into submission by the picture, the news is more surprising because the initial production was torturous for all involved, especially Carrey, who offered to return his $20 million with interest to get out of having to wear the panic-attack-inducing makeup, which took eight hours to apply. Grazer set him up with the guy who founded SEAL Team Six and trains CIA operatives on how to endure torture just so he could wear the makeup. 

“Richard Marcinko was a gentleman that trained CIA officers and special-ops people how to endure torture,” Carrey told Vulture last year. “He gave me a litany of things that I could do when I began to spiral. Like punch myself in the leg as hard as I can. Have a friend that I trust and punch him in the arm. Eat everything in sight. Changing patterns in the room. If there’s a TV on when you start to spiral, turn it off and turn the radio on. Smoke cigarettes as much as possible. There are pictures of me as the Grinch sitting in a director’s chair with a long cigarette holder. I had to have the holder, because the yak hair would catch on fire if it got too close.” Let’s just hope Carrey still has his number.