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The Mask
A charismatic star turn by Jim Carrey and some spectacular Oscar-nominated visual effects are the primary selling points of a now minor classic from 1994 called The Mask, an energetic comic fantasy that still provides some surprisingly solid laughs after 26 years.
Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a mild-mannered bank teller whose entire life redefines the term Murphy's Law. After what was pretty much the worst day of his life, Ipkiss finds a mask that turns him into a green-faced, zoot-suited, superhero with myriad powers who ends up getting involved with some very dangerous criminals when he foils their bank robbery. He also finds himself involved with two very different women: A sexpot nightclub singer named Tina (Cameron Diaz) and a lady reporter named Peggy (Amy Yasbeck).
Just put your brain in check and fasten in for one of the wildest cinematic rides that just throws all the rules of moviemaking out the window for the sake of pure, non-think entertainment that moves at a breakneck pace never giving the viewer a chance to breathe. The screenplay by Mike Webb is clever and detail-oriented without being overly complex, doesn't take too much time with exposition, and as fun as it is, never allows us to forget it's a movie thanks to some dazzling special effects utilized to bring this mask to life that completely defy realism.
There's just one little plot point I really had trouble getting past. After his first two episodes wearing the mask, Stanley decides to seek advice from a writer (Ben Stein), who has just written a book about masks and when he offers to demonstrate what the mask does, this is the one point in the whole story where the mask doesn't work, even though three different characters get to use it. It was convenient to make Stanley look nuts, but it made no sense that the mask would not work this one time.
The film is rich with visual effects and animation that provide consistent entertainment that work in perfect tandem with Jim Carrey's boundless energy and his expertise with celebrity impressions. As much as I loved Carrey's insanity as the Mask, I enjoyed his socially inept Stanley Ipkiss much more. Cameron Diaz is sex on legs as Tina, who turns out to be quite a different movie heroine. Also enjoyed Peter Reigert as a stone-faced police detective and Peter Greene as the bad guy Dorian. If Greene looks familiar, you might remember him as Zed in the classic Pulp Fiction. And let's not forget that great little dog, Milo. If you're looking for realism, find another movie, but if you just want some easy laughs, belly up.
A charismatic star turn by Jim Carrey and some spectacular Oscar-nominated visual effects are the primary selling points of a now minor classic from 1994 called The Mask, an energetic comic fantasy that still provides some surprisingly solid laughs after 26 years.
Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a mild-mannered bank teller whose entire life redefines the term Murphy's Law. After what was pretty much the worst day of his life, Ipkiss finds a mask that turns him into a green-faced, zoot-suited, superhero with myriad powers who ends up getting involved with some very dangerous criminals when he foils their bank robbery. He also finds himself involved with two very different women: A sexpot nightclub singer named Tina (Cameron Diaz) and a lady reporter named Peggy (Amy Yasbeck).
Just put your brain in check and fasten in for one of the wildest cinematic rides that just throws all the rules of moviemaking out the window for the sake of pure, non-think entertainment that moves at a breakneck pace never giving the viewer a chance to breathe. The screenplay by Mike Webb is clever and detail-oriented without being overly complex, doesn't take too much time with exposition, and as fun as it is, never allows us to forget it's a movie thanks to some dazzling special effects utilized to bring this mask to life that completely defy realism.
There's just one little plot point I really had trouble getting past. After his first two episodes wearing the mask, Stanley decides to seek advice from a writer (Ben Stein), who has just written a book about masks and when he offers to demonstrate what the mask does, this is the one point in the whole story where the mask doesn't work, even though three different characters get to use it. It was convenient to make Stanley look nuts, but it made no sense that the mask would not work this one time.
The film is rich with visual effects and animation that provide consistent entertainment that work in perfect tandem with Jim Carrey's boundless energy and his expertise with celebrity impressions. As much as I loved Carrey's insanity as the Mask, I enjoyed his socially inept Stanley Ipkiss much more. Cameron Diaz is sex on legs as Tina, who turns out to be quite a different movie heroine. Also enjoyed Peter Reigert as a stone-faced police detective and Peter Greene as the bad guy Dorian. If Greene looks familiar, you might remember him as Zed in the classic Pulp Fiction. And let's not forget that great little dog, Milo. If you're looking for realism, find another movie, but if you just want some easy laughs, belly up.