Title: The Mask
Starring: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz,
Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck
Directed By: Chuck Russell
Produced By: Mike Richardson, Chuck
Russell, Michael de Luca
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy,
Romance and Science Fiction/Fantasy
Release Date: July 29, 1994
MPAA Rating: PG-13
The first movie I am reviewing for Dark
Horse month is the now classic
The Mask
,
starring Jim Carrey as Stanley Ipkiss, a loser who finds an ancient
Norse mask. When Ipkiss puts the mask on, he becomes a bigger than
life prankster called, aptly enough, The Mask. First it's all fun and
games, until when The Mask robs the bank in which Stanley works at
the same time as local crime wanna be boss Dorian Tyrell (Peter
Greene). Dorian then wants (and gets) the mask for himself. Ipkiss,
with the help of his friend Charlie (Richard Jeni) and his dog Milo,
must save the day. Oh, and Cameron Diaz in her first movie role is
some smoking eye candy as nightclub singer/love interest Tina
Carlyle.
I had
actually forgotten how great this movie is! We see Jim Carrey at the
very beginning of his movie career with only
Ace Ventura
and the little known vampire comedy
Once Bitten
and the TV show
In Living Color
under his belt.
This
is the Carrey that I know and love: cartoony, outrageous and over the
top. And yet he can also play the dorky, loser Ipkiss with a
sincerity that doesn't make him seem like the stereotypical loser.
What can I say about Cameron Diaz except that she is at her most
beautiful here. She isn't my cup of tea (I think she is way too goofy
these days), but here The Mask said it best -smokin'! Other mentions
are Peter Greene as Dorian, who looks the part and has the voice, but
comes off a tad bit whiny, Peter Riegert as Lt. Mitch Kellaway, who
looks and acts even less like a cop than I do, and Max as Milo the
dog. Max gives an awesome performance. Yes, it's so good I am
mentioning him as part of the cast!
I
know that the movie is extremely different from the comics from Dark
Horse, which from what I have gleaned from the extra features, were a
darker, horror comic with a sense of humor, but I think it was a
great decision to lighten it up a bit and cast Carrey as the lead. I
have never read a
The
Mask
comic, so purists may disagree. Anyways, the effects are phenomenal,
holding up after 13 years! (Man, I feel old) of technological
advancement that has brought us the
Star
Wars
prequels and the
Lord
of the Rings
trilogy. Hell, there are effects in here that look better than some
in this summers
Fantastic
Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
!
If
you haven't seen
The
Mask
yet, go buy it. It is a great addition to any collection. And, if you
have seen it, I urge you to revisit it once again and see how a comic
movie can be extremely successful without having to stay true to the
source material rote by rote.
Wow, this one turned out longer than expected.
Until they make a Mask movie without Jim Carrey, wait, they did that
already, oh well,
keep reading
Mitch E
