The Mask

"The Mask" was the movie that introduced my family to Jim Carrey. And we all thought that it was great. Carrey plays unlucky bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss, who one night finds an ancient mask. When he puts it on, he turns into sort of a cartoon character; think Roger Rabbit on acid. The really great thing about the movie is that they just turn Carrey loose. Anything that you can imagine him doing, he does here. A particularly funny scene is when the police tell him to freeze, you'd better believe that he freezes! All in all, Jim Carrey's humor will never get old. He may have given his all-time funniest performance in "The Mask".

It's years later, and it's still funny. Stupid but funny. Entertaining and stupid, but still funny. This isn't concidered a musical, but it has great musical numbers.

If you ask me, 'The Mask' is Jim Carrey's best work ever. It's his best movie and the only one of him I find really great. It's not a movie without its faults, but it's original, imaginative, creative and has very good comical gags. It's a classic. Or, to use only one word to describe it: "Smokin!"

Jim Carrey can be two things: either a really funny comedian either a comedian who does his job well but overacts, although no one can deny that there is a genius inside this man. In 'The Mask' he is awesome. I consider this one of his best actings of all time, if not his very best.

In 'The Mask' Jim Carrey portrays Stanley Ipkiss, a clerk in a nice Edge City bank. He is a very nice and easy-going guy with great sense of humor (which matches his funny name). He is «the nicest guy», yet shy and somewhat depressed and he does not have much success in his job and personal life. He doesn't have much friends, except for his co-worker Charlie and his loyal dog Milo (a Jack Russell Terrier). Stanley likes to watch cartoons (particularly a Tex Avery one with a whistling wolf), decorates his apartment with items from these cartoons and he has the most unusual pajama :)

Jim Carrey also portrays the title character (The Mask), which is the other side of Stanley Ipkiss... or at least what he wants to be but can't be without the mask. The mask gives him superpowers and courage to do things he wouldn't be able to do without it. For example, he can dance like Fred Astaire, Gumby and Barishnikov (all together) - and he can flirt with the gorgeous Tina Carlyle. The Mask is a cartoonish figure that can do incredible things.

This film is a crazy comedy, a film that surpasses the limits of imagination. Yet, despite its cartoonish humor, it also works well as a thriller and has a dark atmosphere. At the same time, this movie is clearly inspired (in many ways) on several cartoons, such as the Looney Tunes, Tex Avery's 'Red Hot Riding Hood' and even the live action/animation movie 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'. The movie also has great sceneries and backgrounds, as well as great lines, nice special effects and its magic.

Cameron Diaz in this movie... my goodness! Is there any guy who wouldn't fall in love with her in this film? She was really a stunning beauty in this film. She was absolutely at her hottest and most sensual here: she was more curvy, sexier, so beautiful and her smile was even more enchanting. Her role as the gorgeous and loving Tina Carlyle was a great acting debut for her. Plus, she was great in this role. In fact, she was a better actress in her early acting years than in more recent years. And she got slimmer with time.

Cameron Diaz also sings very well in this film, with a husky, jazz-like voice. What a difference comparing to 'My Best Friend's Wedding', where she sings terribly. She was 21 years old in 'The Mask' but she surely looked older than that. She is really like a live-action version of Jessica Rabbit in this film.

Other funny characters (along with Stanley Ipkiss) are Charlie Schumacher, Milo, Detective Doyle and the impatient Lt. Mitch Kellaway.

Most of the soundtrack is great: the opening theme and other instrumental themes during the movie and even the cheerful songs "Hey Pachuco" and "Cuban Pete" - this last one is sung by Jim Carrey himself in a hilarious part where he (as The Mask) dances and makes the policemen dance either. It really makes one wanna dance.

Most actors are pretty good in their roles: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Ben Stein, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni, Nancy Fish, Jim Doughan and Max.

Max is the name of the dog that portrays Milo. The intelligence of that dog deserves to be mentioned. This breed of dog is known for its intelligence and loyalty, but also for being lovable, playful and stubborn dogs. Milo is all of that. Plus, Milo seems to understand everything they tell him. When his master is giving him orders, he moves his head as if he is understanding every word that is said. Plus, he climbs a considerably tall wall to rescue Stanley and we can see in his eyes when he is feeling fear, joy and sadness, for example. What a fabulous dog actor!

The loaner... what a piece of junk! That car makes its own scenes hilarious! Why? Simply because of what it is: a charger in a junkyard.

Jim Carrey makes this movie as good as it is. I believe that this movie couldn't possibly be this good without the great Jim Carrey. This role was made for him and couldn't be played by other than him.

This should definitely be on Top 250.

Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) is a bit of a dorky pushover. For example, he buys hot concert tickets to try to get a date with a fellow bank employee he's been pining after, but she easily scams him into keeping the tickets for herself, and he is too weak to publicly object. But when he comes across an ancient mask of Lodi long ago discarded by Vikings who tried to bury the "troublesome object" at the "end of the Earth", he discovers it has the power to unlock his true self--suave, smooth-talking, manic, a bit dangerous, and a hopeless romantic.

The Mask was a perfect vehicle for Jim Carrey. It not only allowed provided the perfect justification to flamboyantly engage in his rubber-faced antics in a manner even more over-the-top than what he'd become famous for, but it provided an opportunity to stretch his acting chops towards a more serious side at just the right time in his career, paving the way for later work such as Man on the Moon (1999), The Majestic (2001) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

The success of the film wholly depends on Carrey, as he has to sell his characters' frenzied insanity so that it's believable as a reflection of Stanley's inner self while at the same time likable but teetering on the edge of becoming obnoxiously overbearing. Of course, the amazing special effects and make-up help, as well as the clever script and more than competent directing and cinematography, but with the wrong actor in the part, the whole affair could have easily collapsed. The other cast members are fine in supporting roles, with Cameron Diaz coming across as being almost otherworldly beautiful, but Carrey is rarely off-screen, and rightly so.

The Mask is notable for both spoofing almost the whole history of cinema while at the same time respectfully paying homage to it. The audience is treated to everything from silent film slapstick to lavish musical numbers (with excellent songs), frenzied Tex Avery-styled animation to gangster film suspense. On its surface, the film is a crazy, often funny, hyperactively paced cinematic pastiche.

The subtext about identity and public faces versus private selves is interesting, but not the focus. It would be fine to explore further, but to do so in this particular film would have taken too much time away from Carrey's surrealistic tour de force. Besides, we've had later films where that subtext has been closer to the heart of a story, such as Catwoman (2004), and where it was very thoroughly and competently dealt with.

Many aspects of The Mask differed from the comic book source material, but this is a case where the changes led to such an excellent result that most people have forgotten about the source material and primarily remember Carrey's performance in this film as definitive.

Jim Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a "zero" as the film tagline says, who never speaks his mind about anything. The typical mild-mannered guy.

After Stanley finds an enchanted mask under a bridge one day, though, everything changes. He goes from "zero to hero". But first, he plays around with his new found menacing powers.

Calling the mask a hero is like calling Hitler kind of a good guy. The mask makes Stanley rob banks, scare people and more. He's half-hero.

"The Mask" is not great, but it fits Carrey's film persona quite well. He bounces off the wall (literally) and just doesn't sit still. Typical Carrey.

If you're not one for loser-to-hero films or wacky slapstick, don't see "The Mask". Otherwise, it's worth a peek.

3/5 stars