
One is a typical nice guy who finishes last. Stanley and the Mask might share the same body, but they're very different. In some ways, it's a Clark Kent/Superman thing.
MOVIE THE MASK FREE
After all, how many lime-faced bandits are there who move like the Warner Brothers cartoon Tasmanian Devil?Ĭarrey plays Stanley with surprising restraint, giving his zaniness free reign only when the mask is on. And it's not that difficult a trail to follow. Mitch Kellaway (Peter Riegert), is hot on his trail.

Following a bank robbery (to finance his wooing), the Mask discovers that a cop, Lt. While wearing the mask, Stanley makes a comment about becoming a superhero, but he's really interested in one thing: Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz), a voluptuous nightclub singer who works for a local gangster (Peter Greene). Physically, there seems to be little that he can't do, from twisting his body into a pretzel to taking a bullet in the chest or forming a tommy gun out of a balloon.
MOVIE THE MASK SKIN
From the moment the mask clings to his skin and his face turns green, Stanley's personality undergoes a radical shift. Later, at home, when he finally gets around to trying the mask on, Stanley learns that this isn't some archeological curiosity. One day, following a terrible bout with Murphy's Law, Stanley finds a curious-looking mask floating amidst some debris in a river. Stanley is a shy, unassuming man who works in a bank and lives with Milo in a small apartment. Milo (whose real name is Max) is the perfect foil for Carrey's goofiness and - yes - there are occasions where his animal antics divert the spotlight away from his two-legged co-star.Ĭarrey, meanwhile, is playing a split role: mild-mannered Stanley Ipkiss and his superhuman alter-ego, the Mask.

Good costumes and make-up serve only to enhance the computer-generated visuals.Īnd, even as the audience's attention is arrested by the work of the effects wizards, there's still room for a canine scene-stealer. ILM goes to work with their own version of live-action animation whenever anyone dons the mask. Nevertheless, if you think Carrey has an expressive face, wait 'til you see him with the mask on. The special effects are, for the most part, rather impressive, but they're as frequently guilty of overwhelming the star's performance as complimenting it. Jim Carrey (star of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) upstaged - and not once, but twice! While it's true that The Mask is another vehicle for the rubber-featured modern-day amalgamation of Jerry Lewis and the Three Stooges, this time around Carrey has some competition, and there are a number of scenes where he ends up playing second fiddle.
