The Mask

Imagine a cyclone, a Tex Avery cartoon come to life, a zoot suited fashionista and the wiggy energy of a vat of jumping beans and that still doesn't capture Jim Carrey's comic genius as Stanley Ipkiss, a repressed clerk who goes from zero to hero when he dons the mask. The mysterious mask Stanley finds allows him to do what he normally can't, like woo Tina and beat baddies. Beneath all the loopy fun is the film's heart. Does Stanley really need the mask to be the person he longs be, flat out smokin

Review

For a film heavily dependent on special effects, the best effect going in this 1994 comedy is the ever-expressive star, Jim Carrey, playing a shy bank teller who stumbles across an ancient mask that turns him into a green hepcat with extraordinary powers. Cameron Diaz plays the love interest, but the real purpose of the movie is to bring cartoonish energy and effects into a live-action production. Toward that end, director Charles Russell does the job, but the gimmick wears out quickly for those easily bored by this sort of pseudo-animation. Lots of kids adore the film, though, and why not? The hero gets to be a whirlwind of mischief and still get the girl. --Tom Keogh