The Mask (1994)

Movie Info

I blame Carrey and Diaz for the whole swing dance return in the ’90s.

Banker Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) is a bit of geek.  He lives a quiet life and spends a majority of it with his dog Milo as the days past.  Meeting a girl named Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz), Stanley begins to wish his life would change…and he gets that wish when he finds a strange wooden mask in the harbor.  The mask contains the spirit of Loki…the Norse god of mischief.  The mask unleashes amazing powers and Stanley looses his inhibitions, but Stanley also finds the mask could be wrecking his life.  Now, Stanley’s wanted by the police and the mob led by Tina’s boyfriend Dorian Tyrell (Peter Greene) and only the Mask can save him.

Directed by Chuck Russell, The Mask is a loose adaptation of The Mask from Dark Horse comics.  The movie helped boost Jim Carrey’s already rising popularity and introduced Cameron Diaz as a movie star.  It received strong numbers at the box office and received mostly positive reviews from critics.  The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

Do you feel lucky, punk!

The Mask started out very different.  He first appeared in the black-and-white comic book anthology series Dark Horse Presents #10 (September 1987) as a character called the Masque which didn’t really resemble the character presented on the screen.  The Mask which became known in the movie first appeared in Mayhem #1 (May 1989).

The movie is a comedy with some action put into it.  The story provides a unique set-up for a living cartoon within a live action world that isn’t like Mary Poppins but closer to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?  The script has a lot of fun for fans of cartoon as the Mask lives in the world and treats the “real world” as a cartoon.  The tie to the Norse gods is an interesting twist and it could have been explored more.

This movie is perfect for Jim Carrey.  In general, I find Carrey kind of obnoxious but here this works for him in that the mask is supposed to bring out this extreme side to him. If you are not a fan of Carrey, you most likely will still not be a fan after watching this movie. Cameron Diaz however does provide charm.  It is interesting to see her at this rather raw stage where she isn’t a celebrity and she still is rather refreshing.

Bad Milo…bad Milo

The effects for the movie are quite good.  They are based off of old cartoons and have that extreme style that just meshes well with Carrey.  Unlike something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? that used more traditional style of animation, The Mask took animation and computer animation and combined it (plus, you got to love when Milo gets ahold of the mask).

The Mask was a fun movie, but it does feel a bit dated since other films have used similar effects since (and Jim Carrey became so overexposed).  The series made way for an animated series which ran from 1995 to 1997.  The movie has gained a cult following over the years and despite its success, it spawned what is widely considered to be one of the worst sequels ever made.  Son of the Mask starring Jamie Kennedy was released in 2005.