Top-of-the-line comedy/drama/fantasy/thriller with Jim Carrey based on the Dark Horse comic book

Rating: 9/10 (6 November 2017)

RELEASED IN 1994 and written & directed by Chuck Russell based on Mike Richardson's comic, "The Mask" stars Jim Carrey as a bank clerk who is an extraordinarily nice guy, but too much of a pushover when it comes to confrontations. He inadvertently finds a mask of Loki, the Norse night god of mischief and, when he puts it on, he becomes his true self, the person he is WITHIN: a cartoony romantic wild man. Peter Greene plays the head antagonist while Peter Riegert plays the police lieutenant who investigates the havoc in the wake of The Mask.
Jim Carrey's breakout year was 1994 when his three hugely popular movies hit the theaters: "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," this one, and "Dumb and Dumber." The following year he appeared in "Batman Forever" and the sequel to "Ace Ventura." "The Mask" easily ranks with his best films. When I first saw this flick in the late 90s I didn't know anything about the Dark Horse comic, so when Carrey's character first puts the mask on I didn't know what to expect and so was thoroughly taken aback by the kinetic flurry of thrills and laughs.
Cameron Diaz appears on the babe front and the film really highlights her winsome appeal and ravishing figure, not that I was ever enraptured by her (then again, I don't NOT like her either). The song & dance routine featuring The Mask & Tina (Diaz) at the Coco Bongo nightclub is knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark entertainment. Remember those great song & dance routines in Coppola's "The Cotton Club" (1984)? Parts of "The Mask" are like that, but with a silly, comedic and over-the-top dynamism. The stunning Amy Yasbeck also has a significant secondary role (be sure to watch the deleted scenes to discover what happens to her character; it's hilarious in a black humor way and should've never been cut from the movie).
THE FILM RUNS 101 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles & San Pedro Bay, California. WRITERS: Mike Richardson (comic), Mike Werb (screenplay) and Michael Fallon & Mark Verheiden (story).
GRADE: A