The Mask - Still great after all this time

I haven’t watched ‘The Mask’ for years and I was actually wondering how well it would stand up after over twenty years.  Back in 1995 Jim Carrey was Hollywood’s (comedy) golden child.  Everything he touched was Box Office dynamite.  However, since then, his offerings have been a little more hit and miss (don’t get me started on ‘Dumb and Dumber To!’), but I’m pleased to say that The Mask still shows off his manic persona and comedy timings.

I have a feeling ‘The Mask’ was based on a comic book, but I haven’t read it!  Therefore, I can’t really say how well it’s transferred across to the big screen.  Although I can say that it works.  Carrey plays a – depressingly average – guy who’s too nice for his own good.  Everyone takes advantage of him and his life is pretty awful.  Naturally, when he finds a mysterious wooden mask that when worn transforms him into a green-faced superhero, he chooses to fight crime, protect the weak and generally stand up for justice.  Or rather he kind of considers all those options.  He mainly just uses his new powers to get back at all those people who have wronged him and do his best to woo the – then unknown – Cameron Diaz.

Yes, the story is hardly original and, if you’ve seen any of Marvel’s latest offerings, it’s pretty much identical to every other superhero film, i.e. man gets superpowers, man fights crime, defeats villain and gets girl.  But, don’t let any small lack of originality put you off.  It’s not there to be a great work of art with deep and meaningful prose and character arcs.  It’s there to entertain, utilising Carrey’s full repartee to the max.

The manic jokes come thick and fast.  Normally, the best films are ‘team efforts’ when the cast all play their parts.  Not here.  Here it’s just Carrey, Carrey, Carrey.  He steals every scene and created a thousand new catch phrases in the process.

It’s a fun film and it should be enjoyed by everyone.  It’s simple enough to be understood and enjoyed by children and it’s just dark enough to appeal to adults. 

100% prime Carrey (and Cameron Diaz is pretty good, too).

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather