Son Of The Mask (2005)

Well here's a movie you would want to forget; a sequel to the successful movie featuring Jim Carrey, The Mask (1994). But really, this is more like a remake than a sequel since it now takes place in Fringe City, even though it initially opens up in Edge City. Also, none of the actors from the first film, including Carrey himself, reprise their roles; although the actor who plays Dr. Neumann reprises his role. So while Edge City is characterized by a dark tone, Fringe City is characterized by a rosy, colorful atmosphere.

So what is so bad about this movie? Well, there is idiotic and mostly unintelligible dialogue, dry acting on one hand and hammy acting on the other, horrible CGI work, an almost non-existent plot and abundant toilet humor.

It appears this movie spent so much money on CGI and ended up rendering some characters far too scary for even children. If you watch the 'baby born of the Mask' competing with Otis the Dog, the whole house is turned into a war zone as is the case in Tom & Jerry. The reaction from young viewers will be shock and disgust. Even before the rivalry, the baby is reanimated in various faces of characters from other cartoon classics like The Flintstones, Michael J. Frog and Woody Woodpecker. In addition, Otis with the Mask on takes on facial images of Wile E. Coyote, leaving disgust in one's eyes. In all, the heavy use of computer animation turns this flick into a live-action cartoon, a parody of The Mask.

I forgot to mention various camera angles: fish-eye views, close-ups and wide-angled shots. These are frequent throughout this movie and they distort the images well enough, as if the CGI wasn't grotesque enough already.

Toilet humor has been prevalent from the beginning, where a couple with five children talk like lobotomized patients; almost three times was the word "poop" mentioned in one scene--disgusting. Then this kid dubbed "Captain Underpants" headbutts Tim in the crotch (I don't think Kennedy was able to recover from that scene for hours!) I could see the look on Tim Avery's face, which are also our faces of bewilderment. I would bet that Jamie Kennedy made that face because he knew his film career had just begun to dissolve and implode. And another memorable scene, what I call the golden fountain, is truly the moment where I think Kennedy was not really acting but was seriously appalled by the very idea. I don't really know if I should feel very sorry for him.

And the Mask, this guy is the ultimate bomb. He is no charismatic genius, nowhere near his predecessor. His smooth, Elvis Presley-esque voice and flat personality leaves one utterly disappointed and deceived to the point of walking out of the cinema. This Mask looks more like a green-faced Ken doll with a wooden spirit, plastic hair and no charm. No wonder we only see him on screen for less than twenty minutes.

Here it is: hammy acting, choppy delivery, repetitive or inane dialogue, stagnant chemistry, gross misuse of CGI, and idiotic plot. What more can I explain? This movie was produced long after airing The Mask series, which many would note to be more mature but adequately humorous compared to this bomb. In fact this sequel is pointless since Jim Carrey declined to reprise his role, or if the script was rewritten entirely. So why bother in the first place?