The Unseen Movie Review

Son of the Mask

Generally speaking, sequels to successful films come within a couple of years of the original. There have been a few notable exceptions – fans had to wait sixteen years for both The Godfather Part III and Star Wars Episode I to arrive after the previous instalments in those two franchises – but the general rule for Hollywood is that if something is a success, it’s best to churn out another as soon as possible.

So why have they waited eleven years to do a sequel to The Mask?

In that movie, Jim Carrey played a rather shy average Joe who discovers an ancient mask which, when worn, led him to be possessed by the ancient Norse god of mischief, Loki. Turning into a charismatic cross between a superhero and madman, it hinged around a great central performance, some (for the time) good special effects and the first on-screen appearance of the stunning Cameron Diaz as the woman of Carrey’s dreams.

The eleven year wait for a sequel has created a fair few problems for the studios. Beside the fact that The Mask was essentially a decent kids’ film with adult appeal, and the kids who liked it have now grown up, neither of the original film’s two stars have been lured back for the reprise. Yep. That’s right. Not a Carrey or a Diaz in sight.

Instead, the star of the show is Jamie Kennedy. The name might ring a bell thanks to his candid camera TV show or his turns in the Scream movies, but nonetheless he’s hardly as big a star as Jim Carrey – or even as Jim Carrey was when the original film first came out.

But then, although most sequels simply try to repeat the same formula, there is also always the need to do something slightly different. Getting a comedian to gurn with silly expressions while wearing green face paint again would hardly show too much originality – especially when you no longer have the rubbery features of Jim Carrey to act as your centrepiece.

Instead of taking over an introverted loser and turning him into a charismatic whirlwind of cartoon nonsense this time, perhaps inspired by the dog of the first film, the mask – or rather Loki – gains control of a complete innocent – hapless Kennedy’s infant son. The baby then goes on a “comedic” rampage.

Yep, this is a film based around the concept of the dancing baby from Ally McBeal crossed with the dire Look Who’s Talking series of films which nearly ended John Travolta’s career for good back in the 1980s. I mean – wow! It’s, like, a baby! Doing stuff that babies shouldn’t do! That’s, like, amazing!

Considering the first film was built around Jim Carrey and special effects, you’d have thought they’d try somewhat harder to find an adequate Carrey substitute and to make the effects top-notch. Sadly, they’ve managed to do neither. Instead, they’ve produced a substandard sequel based on unoriginal ideas, and brought it out a decade too late. Quite why they thought it was a good idea is anyone’s guess.

posted by Nosemonkey @ 12:00 AM