If you’re wondering if am I going to go through every nineties classic the answer is no. I’m just going to talk about the ones I truly love and think you should check out too. And if you’ve already seen them, they’re most certainly worth another watch. The Mask is an ambitious and surreal action comedy driven by Jim Carrey’s pitch-perfect performance. We will be following Stanley Ipkiss, a shy and timid bank clerk who finds a strange mask. When he puts it on, he becomes a totally different character who keeps getting in and out of trouble. Full of action and slapstick comedy, this is a pacey movie that’s going to capture your attention with ease.
After thirty years, I have to say that the special effects stood the test of time. Most of them, if not all, look pretty decent. I remember just how big of a deal this movie was back in the nineties. The Mask was an enormous hit, making $350 million on a $25 million budget. It wasn’t just a hit, it was a cultural phenomenon that launched Jim Carrey straight into the stars. And, into everyone’s homes as he became a part of not just my childhood, but of all the other kids growing up in the nineties. This movie has everything, including a phenomenal soundtrack featuring a lot of songs that topped the charts almost instantly.
Cuban Pete, just like Somebody to Love, in The Cable Guy, is one of the songs I still play and love. What I didn’t know at that time is that The Mask is actually based on a Dark Horse comic book of the same name. As you can already guess, the source material was quite dark so it had to be changed to fit Carrey’s zany persona. And to make the movie accessible to kids. After all, that’s where the money is. Still, this is not a PG but a PG-13 movie. The director is Chuck Russell, the man behind the charming eighties classic The Blob. And while we’re dropping names, I’ll remind you that Stanley’s love interest is none other than young Cameron Diaz. Smokin’!
The Mask doesn’t take itself seriously unleashing the creative and cartoonish set-ups on the viewer quite often. Not only that, but Mr. Ipkiss will also talk to the viewers, effectively breaking the fourth wall to engage them even more. Thanks to Carrey’s comedic talent, all of this comes off as charming and entertaining. It’s hard to talk about plot holes and missed opportunities when you’re watching something as innocent and silly as this. However, I have to admit that at certain times the whole thing can be a bit overbearing and even annoying. Especially if you’re not in the mood for something like this. So, choose the right night for The Mask and you won’t make a mistake.
It’s a movie that’s also going to take you on a journey to the world of forties and fifties cinematic tropes. If you’re a fan of Looney Toons and Tex Avery, you’re going to have a great time. In the background, we have the questions of identity, a sort of Jekyll and Hyde story going on. Even this can be an interesting subject for further analysis. The main motive is “being nice won’t get you anywhere in this society”. Our poor Mr. Ipkiss will even have to go see a psychiatrist later on in the movie to see what’s going on. And he will tell him that the mask enables him to enact his repressed fantasies. Here, we can go down another rabbit hole of what exactly are those repressed fantasies.
Mostly because when you look at what he does, it’s not something crazy. He was unjustly denied entry to the club, so he bursts in. He almost got robbed in front of his house, so he defends himself. It turns out that his “repressed fantasies” are actually normal human desires he simply cannot fulfill. So, yeah, there’s this dark undercurrent running parallel with all the cartoonish stuff. Not to mention the fact there’s a vicious gang planning a bank robbery this whole time. Anyway, I don’t want to bore you too much with this one. I just wanted to add that I loved his dog, Milo, he’s such a good boy.
Director: Chuck Russell
Writers: Michael Fallon, Mark Verheiden, Mike Werb
Cast: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni
Fun Facts: The iconic song Cuban Pete almost didn’t end up in the movie because the producers didn’t like it. However, the test audiences loved it and they made the right decision to keep it.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110475/
