Ron Howard’sHow the Grinch Stole Christmasis a Christmas film that you either love or hate (literally, it’s right down the middle and boasts a49% on Rotten Tomatoes). Nevertheless, it is a movie that has become a family staple for the holiday season. Thefilm itself is beautiful to watchwith the construction ofDr. Seuss' magical Whoville bringing vivid and vibrant life with care.Jim Carreyis excellent as the titular Grinch, a role that wasmuch more physically demandingthan one would expect.
Where the film falls just short of being a veritable Christmas classic is in the padding, the scenes that were added to bring the story fromthe classic 26-minute cartoon, animated and directed byChuck Jones, to feature length (at leastThe Mean Onehad murder and mayhem to fall back on). Hence, the film has flashbacks; Cindy Lou Who’s (Taylor Momsen) interviewing of Whoville residents, the mayor, and the Grinch arriving in Whoville as a baby. One ugly ass baby, but a baby nonetheless. And as he lay waiting outside on Christmas Eve, his basket was caught up in a tree, what was happening inside the house? Who debauchery with a hedonistickey party right there in a family film, referencing some very adult subject matter with couples swinging.
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
On the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.
‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ Key Party Is on Santa’s Naughty List
How the Grinch Stole Christmasdoes indeed have a key party, which leads to the question, “What on Earth is a key party?” For the innocents among us,a key party is a partner-swapping affairwhere sets of keys are placed in a fishbowl.Once all the keys are in, party-goers reach in and pick a random set of keys from said fishbowl. Then, the key picker pairs up with the key owner, and they toddle off together to do the horizontal tango. The wild thing. Makin' Whoopie!
Now whether key parties were ever actually a thing in real life is debatable, but there are references as far back as a1965 lecture on “wife-swapping”by psychotherapistDr. Albert Ellis. There are also many references in television and film, includingAng Lee’sThe Ice Storm,That ’70s Show,Masters of Sex,Saturday Night Live, and inThe Simpsons' 2011 episode “500 Keys,” where Marge (Julie Kavner) and Homer (Dan Castellaneta) attend a key party not understanding what it is. However,How the Grinch Stole Christmasis the only one that appears in modern media geared towards families.
‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ Key Party Is Even Worse Than It Appears
The fishbowl isn’t even the most child-unfriendly moment we see inHow the Grinch Stole Christmas' key party, believe it or not. As the camera moves towards the fishbowl, we see a female riding on the back of a male, smacking his behind in some decadent and disturbing role-play. This is followed up by a male who is chased around by a lustful female, looking for some sweet Who love. When we see the key party, albeit briefly, we aren’t privy to the actual goings-on of the event. Just how much of a bacchanalian orgy is going on inside the Who house? We might never know. But it’s little wonder thatthe Grinch, forced to watch the sordid events taking place through the window, turns out to be the cantankerous anti-Christmas grouch he becomes.
How the Grinch Stole Christmasalso harbors an adult subtext that wee ones can overlook, but responsible adults can not throughout the movie. Lust falls upon the residents of Whoville like Christmas snow. Mayor Augustus MayWho (Jeffrey Tambor) lusts after Martha May Whovier (Christine Baranski), Martha May Whovier lusts after the Grinch andthe Grinch lusts for the power that comes from having stopped Christmas from coming to Whoville. Then, as the Grinch goes from home to home, he enters the Mayor’s house, where the Mayor is in dreamland, having a lustful dream where he leans in to kiss — you guessed it — Martha May. Only the Grinch presents Max’s butt to the Mayor’s lips.
How Much More Adult Is ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’?
Then there are the Grinch’s adoptive mothers, Clarnella (Mindy Sterling) and Rose (Rachel Winfree). It is their house that is the central ground for the key party, which is bad enough, but there’s more. Are they sisters? Roommates? The more logical explanation? Clarnella and Rose are possibly queer. With this author’s tongue very firmly planted in cheek, we are well aware of just how damaging a loving pair of mothers can be to the children they raise.
So there you have it.How the Grinch Stole Christmasmay appear to be a jovial, family-friendly Christmas movie, butbeneath that surface lies a decadence in direct contrast to the joyful season.In addition to what we know between partner swapping and queer coupling, what else is there that we don’t see? Well, there is also flagrant drug use and alcoholism. There are also homeless citizens running through alleyways looking for discarded pudding and roast beasts. If you didn’t notice already, there is also a Who mafia that controls the vile vexes of Who society, from Mount Crumpit to the far end of Whoville. To top it off, the film’s narrator tells their story of how theyonce ate a liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti. While Dr. Seuss’s Whoville has its fair share of modern and salacious vices, the Grinch’s wicked ways pale in comparison. Run, Cindy Lou, run!
How the Grinch Stole Christmasis available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
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