Mask
The meteoric rise to superstardom of Jim Carrey in 1994 was unprecedented both at that time and even today. A longtime supporting actor in comedies who managed to get his name even more well known on the alternative sketch comedy show In Living Color, Carrey hit a triple jackpot that year with the back to back release of three comedies that were his first ever starring roles in major films. The first was Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, an original piece that allowed Carrey to carry it on his back completely with his insane, off the wall ablibbing. The third was Dumb And Dumber, a comedy that not only was well, DUMB, but it allowed him to team up with a longtime dramatic performer in Jeff Daniels so that they could hit it out of the park together. But it was the one in the middle that may have been the most interesting, an adaptation of a well known comic book and graphic novel about a repressed loser who finds and dons a mysterious mask (possibly fashioned after the spirit of Loki, the Norse God of mischief) that makes him cut loose to the extreme and literally be able to do ANYTHING that he wants with no fear of repercussions and to also actually be immune to death itself it seems. In short, he becomes a virtual superhero whose powers in essence transform him into a walking cartoon character with all of the resistance to physical damage that comes with it. Carreyâs alter ego character is Stanley Ipkiss, a schmuck bank clerk who in a borderline disgusting opening scene, is shown producing two concert tickets for a female co worker whom he likes, only to not only be talked out of taking the conceited bitch to the concert as he had wanted to but even giving up BOTH tickets (that he had paid for) to her so that now she could wind up taking her âfriendâ. Definitely a guy in need of a confidence shot (which the mask provides) when only a minute or so later we are treated to one of the most talked about entrances in cinema history courtesy of Cameron Diaz (in her first ever film role) walking into the bank to open an account, thus enabling the movie to not so much be remembered as a Jim Carrey film but rather as the debut vehicle for the stunning ex backup runway model, cementing her future career here playing a femme fatale who surprisingly has a heart of gold. But as for Carreyâs Ipkiss, he finds the titular mask in the polluted waterway of his city, having been released from a treasure chest where it had been locked away for thousands of years. Bringing the item back to his apartment (where itâs made pretty obvious that Ipkiss is a fan of the old wild and wacky Tex Avery cartoons), he soon puts it on and becomes the actual character of The Mask, a freakish figure with a seemingly grotesque green faced appearance, but whom is still such a hyped up lifeforce that it is soon obvious that women (especially Diaz) find him impossible to resist. The Mask is that most unique of superheroes, one whose âpowersâ fully give him the ability to defy the laws of physics, gravity, and even logic, whether it be by taking bullets for a fake protracted âdeath sceneâ followed immediately with an Oscar win complete with cheering crowd and an acceptance speech or by being surrounded by an army of cops only for salsa music to start playing with his âinfluenceâ literally causing all of the law enforcement officers to forget about arresting him and just start dancing and singing right along with him. He also robs a bank for some quick cash, putting him in the sights of an up and coming mob hood (Peter Greene, best known for his unforgettable turn as Zed in Pulp Fiction getting to play a full on Lead Villain here) who also happens to be Diazâs boyfriend and runs the club where she performs at. Greeneâs character also happens to be perceptive enough to know that Carreyâs power is derived almost solely from the mask itself and once heâs able to obtain it, gets some screentime being an Evil Mask as well. We also get Peter Riegert (well remembered as the wry Boon in Animal House en route to being a hard working character actor) as the hard boiled, no nonsense cop who sees his own world turned upside down when he witnesses the handiwork of this bizarre, anything goes creature whom heâs trying to track down, Amy Yasbeck (the beautiful redhead widow of John Ritter who deserved a real career) as the romantic rival to Diaz here, a dogged newspaper reporter who wants to get the big scoop on who this mysterious force of chaos is, Ben Stein as some kind of famous psychoanalyst who drones on about the metaphorical masks that we wear but can offer Carrey no answers whatsoever about whatâs going on and Richard Jeni (a once popular stand up comic who tragically committed suicide after coming down with mental illness) as Carreyâs best friend and resident cheerleader of the story. But the stars here really are Diaz and Carrey, sharing a strong chemistry with each other even when he is covered in all that makeup as she nonetheless established herself here as one of the all time best female love interest characters ever (an admittedly ballsy move on the filmmakersâ part considering the fact that she was a total unknown with no acting experience) and still bringing a near volcanic sex appeal to the screen while doing so. But as for Carrey, if Dumber was a project that forced him to stick to a painfully rigid pattern of blatent on screen stupidity while Ventura put him in a more rapid fire improv mode while still maintaining a somewhat normal appearance (outside of the hair and Hawaiian shirt), then this role almost trumps both of them, eschewing the stupidity angle of Dumber (with or without the mask, Carreyâs Ipkiss is NOT an idiot, just severely repressed and weak) as it embraces the notion of having Carrey come at the viewer from all sides with his style of comedy but usually ONLY while having the mask on with the maskless Ipkiss coming across being more of a boring milquetoast drone than anything else. But when the mild mannered loser puts on his magic green face, then itâs anything goes time when it comes to his performance too (including too many numerous movie references to name here) even while when Greeneâs gangster puts on the mask (and assumes the same cartoon character like powers), then itâs a pretty frightening and intense sight complete with an enhanced demonic voice. Perhaps the most interesting angle from a creative standpoint with director Chuck Russell is the rather ambiguous nature of the storyâs time, place, and setting. Like in the comic, the location is âEdge Cityâ, but itâs the timeframe that seems a bit skewed here, as while the early scenes all seem to be set in the 90s, other instances like the club scenes and the material with the gangsters all seem to be cribbed from the 1930s (and the fact that many of Carreyâs improvs seem to be direct quotes from gangster movies of that particular decade only helps to hammer home that point) with many of the stage performance scenes being literally so derivative that Diaz seems to be channeling Madonna as Breathless Mahoney in Dick Tracy (another film with an ambiguous timeframe). Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnât, but at least we have Carrey in full crazy mode here helping to keep us from becoming bored. The more interesting notion touched upon here is that of the literal unshackling of repression that in many ways manages to prevent us from getting to where we want to be in this world (although some would call it fear) and having to wear a mask in order to throw those shackles off (and to be invincible too) might be a bit too much of a quick, easy solution, but in a cinematic sense, having Jim Carrey going full bore in a wild comic performance playing a guy who once transformed, just doesnât give a shit anymore and does what he wants when he wants to with nothing to stop him is in and of itself worth the price of admission for anyone who would enjoy an all out, anything goes comedy with a bit of a sci fi twistâŚ
9/10