THE MASK
A film review by Jon A. Webb
Copyright 1994 Jon A. Webb
THE MASK is a remarkably enjoyable film, for a movie without much of a plot or characters. What it does have is Jim Carrey, who is very fresh and exciting (though he seems to be using up his talent in the fastest possible way), Cameron Diaz as this year's full-lipped object of desire, and a remarkable blend of morphing and cartoon-like special effects. Also a cute dog. What more could you ask for?
Carrey plays a nebbish accounts exec at a bank who finds a mask which has a mysterious power to transform him into a cross between a superhero and, well, Jim Carrey. The gag works pretty well, because it fits Carreys style so well and allows him to make a film out of outrageous impersonations.
I thought the musical numbers were great, especially "Cuban Pete." I still find myself recalling the wonderful transition when "Pete"'s mysterious power takes hold of the female cop and she joins in. It's a thrilling sequence. These bits are somehow exactly how those dance sequences should have been done all along--with the appropriate super-real enhancements. At these moments, and in the final confrontation, the movie becomes a work of real, hilarious, vision.
But most of the time, while we're waiting for Carrey to get hold of the mask (which transforms him into a kind of super-hero) we're just waiting, and even Jim Carrey can't think of much to do with this very weak script and shallow direction. The Carrey-Diaz romance is no diversion; when Diaz is around him she seems to undergo a reverse transformation and change into a nice but conventional neighborhood girl.
As they say, let's see how Carrey does in a good film. The problem is that many comics never get that good film (or only get one or two out of a career of far too many movies)--they end up being exploited in one bad movie after another until their audience shrinks to nothing and they disappear. Think of Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder. What works is to transition into another genre of film (like Eddie Murphy action films); Carrey better get moving soon if he wants to still be making films in 1996.
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