To laugh until you can not bear it

Rating: 7/10 (29 November 2016)

The film is slightly inspired by a Gothic comic magazine, where a mask is responsible for the irrational and dangerous attitudes of several people. The film, devoid of this negative charge, is a comedy that marked the nineties and revolves around Stanley Ipkiss, a naive and romantic banking employee played by Jim Carrey. He is the happy owner of a rudimentary wooden mask, of Viking origin, which he discovers to have the gift of freeing the desires and behaviors normally withdrawn by people due to fears or social conventions. The mask also gives its wearer an unusual resistance, speed and invulnerability.
The film was one of the most thrilling successes of the career of Jim Carrey, who was for a decade the king of comedy in Hollywood. The actor shows to be tireless, giving the film a contagious energy. Carrying the film on its back until the end, Carrey laughs and makes laugh countless times, never losing the focus of his character and all the emotions he need to show. After all, Ipkiss is not a clown, but a loser with deep feelings and a lot of solitude. A true test of versatility which paved the way for other comedies, without closing doors to a lot of dramatic works, in which the actor would prove to be resourceful and talented. Cameron Diaz enters the film through a very simple and little-worked character. Thought as a supporting character, it would have been mere figuration with lines if the actress did not strive to do a decent job with the meager material she received. Special effects and animation are a focal point of the film, and have been brilliantly performed. The photograph is very elegant, with attractive colors and a good light.