The Reel Rejects - THE MASK (1994) IS SMOKIN'! MOVIE REVIEW!! FIRST TIME WATCHING!

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Starting point is 00:01:23 Well, how's it going there? Citizens of the Reject Nation, we are here, and it is time for another solo motion picture reaction. I don't know what this thing is right here. I was trying to do a Jim Carrey impression, but, you know, it's been a minute since I've watched some peak gym, and that's what we're here to rectify today. We're watching the mask, my friends, and I know what you're thinking. John, how have you not seen the mask? Great question.

Starting point is 00:01:52 I remember kids loving this movie growing up. It's been built up very much over time. We weren't a Jim Carrey house growing up. So suffice it to say, I got some gaps to fill in. And you guys are here to help me out with that. Leave a like for going back in time for nostalgia, for big faces. And also, don't forget to subscribe. Hit that notification bell.

Starting point is 00:02:14 Thank you very much to Prepper for helping to edit down these highlights. It is a tough task, and we appreciate them for it. Also, if you want to get the full mask experience alongside me, Come on over to patreon.com slash the real rejects, where you can sync up with your own copy. Put it in the DVD or the Blu-ray and watch along with me. We also got a whole bunch of other stuff over there with reaction highlights and watch-alongs included.

Starting point is 00:02:38 It's a blast, my friends. And, hey, without further ado, let's unmask the movie. Roll the bumper. We're done. He was looking at you, kid. Ah, the kiss. We did it. We got that kiss.

Starting point is 00:03:10 Where are you going, dude? You're just going to leave? Oh my God, Jesus Christ. No. Father in heaven, please. Not this guy. This guy does not get the mask. Milo, what the hell?

Starting point is 00:03:26 Do you like an... Okay. Yeah. See? See? It's in you. Just got to make sure to keep it proportional. And what a freeze frame to end on.

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Starting point is 00:06:20 And yes, using them is also a great way to support the channel. Same time, it's just a great way to support your bank account. Because I cannot stress enough just how much this app has changed the game for me. Take control of your finances with rocket money and enjoy financial peace of mind. Oh, guys, hey, first and foremost, before we hop into this review, uh, why don't you go ahead leave five stars. If I could, I would have had, uh, you know, my hand to stretch out and, you know, do some kind of crazy number five thing. But yeah, if you're listening on Apple and Spotify, uh, leave us your thoughts. and opinions, but mostly leave us that rating.

Starting point is 00:06:55 Helps us out a lot. And you know what? I got to say, first and foremost, Jim Carrey, Stanley Ipkis, the mask in particular. The drips throughout this movie, the costume design was lovely and terrific. And I mean, across the board from, again, just like the outfits they had Cameron Diaz in, the outfits that they had freaking pajamas, they had Jim Carrey in, all the different elegant party goers, the criminals, the bike. gang. So many great flourishes in terms of

Starting point is 00:07:26 wardrobe and aesthetics. And speaking of wardrobe edit, it's just rejectnation shop.com. If you want to support the channel and rock afresh and reject nationy drip, come on over there. It's a great way to support the channel. It's one of our favorites. We got new designs going up quite frequently. I made a bunch of Doctor Who jokes during this. And Doctor Who? We got to do Doctor Who inspired t-shirt. It's one of the best sellers thus far. We got space babies of the galaxy. We got

Starting point is 00:07:58 child protection services, the classic ticket. We got a whole bunch of other things that are probably flashing up on screen. But yeah, if you want to, jump on over there. And I will finish shilling and move on to talking about this movie. It's so cool to finally, yeah, to finally fill in, again, one of the fun things about this whole experience is that, you know, yes, we get to talk about the current things and break those down and kind of, you know, give our thoughts and ideas about them. But it's always a blast and it feels like continuing, you know, film school in some kind of cultural way when we get to watch one of these classics. And yeah, this was hilarious. Like this really lived up to just the mystique that

Starting point is 00:08:37 it is accrued over time, at least for, you know, my perception of it. And, and, you know, going back to especially a comedy, you're always like, how is this going to hold up by today's standards and just by where I am as a viewer now versus like, if I had seen this when I was like, you know, between 10 and 15 or something like that, you know, I might have, you know, really had a blast. But actually, this is an example of a movie where, you know, watching it now gave me so much lovely appreciation for the context just as much as just the direct experience of watching the movie. Because, yeah, I mean, this was really fun and funny. And it was really fun to see Jim Carrie in, you know, his heyday, you know, and at the height of his comedic, you know, presence

Starting point is 00:09:21 in Hollywood before. I think this is like, what, slightly before or maybe even a good stretch before he was breaking out into more dramatic roles and things like that. But it really just gives you that huge appreciation. Like, I feel like Jim Carrey wasn't prominent in my house growing up because of just like the overwhelming stick-ish nature of his whole, you know, screen persona, and then we might not have had an Adam Sandler for the broadness, but also the crudeness, the crassness, and whatnot. And so, yeah, this was fun because, you know, I've been able to go back and appreciate, you know, some of the stuff that I missed from the Jim Carrey catalog up until now. And, like, Dumb and Dumber was another one of those where I'm

Starting point is 00:10:03 like, this is a perfect movie for this guy. And it's funny that this should be, like, a comic book thing, because we've talked about, we did, like, a Batman movie ranking a couple years ago. And I watched Batman forever for that. And Batman Forever is an example of one of those that, you know, Jim Carrey is in that represents sort of what I was maybe repelled by or didn't love back in the day, which is that, you know, I know a lot of people love Israel or I know this is kind of a hot take. But yeah, I found it mostly just kind of loud and obnoxious and it didn't really click in for me, whereas this is an example of a character. Like with a comedian like this, I guess for my taste, I like to see something that requires them to fully play a character. along with bringing their natural, you know, nis, their stick, whatever it is. There's a reason, and I know, again, a lot of people don't love this movie, problematic or whatever,

Starting point is 00:10:54 like an Adam Sandler movie that I love, that I gravitate towards, like, you don't mess with the Zohan because he's a full-on character there. And here I feel like this is a great balance of Jim Carrey being, you know, the everyman, kind of ish guy plus wackiness that you require from, you know, the more traditional comedic and romantic things that this movie is going for. But yeah, you need somebody who can embody this Looney Tune character. And I don't know much about the mask as a comic or as a strip or anything like that. But from what this is telling me, you know, it's basically a superhero that, you know,

Starting point is 00:11:28 has those kinds of powers and aesthetics. It's all slapstick. It's all comedic. It's all very animated and very steeped in the tradition of animation. And for me, as a viewer, that convergence on a whole bunch of things that I love. And I thought, yeah, Jim Carrey was absolutely perfectly suited for. because, again, he's got the crazy physicality and the rubber face and all that stuff. But I think that one thing that I wouldn't have picked up if I had seen this and really been able to perceive it back in the day is how that stuff is great and funny and, you know, well-timed and all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:12:00 Like the comedy is really on, but you have to be able to temper that with, you know, the right emotionality when a scene needs to be a little more straight or a little more heartfelt or whatever it might be. And like this is an example of a movie where I think he's really good at that. And there are other movies, you know, in his filmog that I have seen that, you know, adjust the levels on that and maybe play a little more earnest than something like this does. But I was just so dazzled by and swept up by this because, yeah, the whole movie felt like it embodied that sensibility. You know, it had enough, you know, straight shooting. Ah, ha, ha, and a little shooting sound of the other credits there to punctuate that.

Starting point is 00:12:38 Perfect. You know, it knew when to take, like, the crime scenes seriously, at least, enough and I'm going to pull up the IMDB because again this is this is like a movie full of that guys but yeah like this movie knew when to play seriously enough and I thought all the actors they got even in smaller roles like some of the henches there are these character actors or on the police force like they all fill out the cast really well and again they can all contend with and compete with Jim Carrey and provide the proper foils Peter Rigert okay he was the cop Peter Green was Dorian I feel like these are you know uh faces

Starting point is 00:13:14 I would have been, yeah, Richard Jenny, used to seeing maybe more, you know, just back in the day or in these, yeah, older, in an older era of movies. Oh, okay, this guy's Zed and Pulp Fiction and things like that. Like, yeah, it's like, I like that he got to don the mask and get a little wacky as well. But that, yeah, yeah, you have this movie that knows appropriately when to play broad and early on when to kind of throw you in to the corkiness, kind of making you wonder like, is this a fantasy? Is this a dream? No, I guess, okay, so it establishes the height of its world already and then adds the mask into that. You need the right amount of tempering to make a movie like this work. And I think that also ties into the message of the movie, which is, you know, it's another one of those classic stories where it's about, yeah, you get this

Starting point is 00:13:59 McGuffin that brings out a certain aspect of your character that you initially think just doesn't exist within you at all. It allows you to become a whole new kind of person that has these qualities that maybe you have wished you could possess and then slowly learning, no, these do exist inside you. You just have repressed them. And some of them, yeah, are urges you need to curb and or quash and, you know, maybe, yeah, build out of your approach to living. But some of these things you do need a little bit more of. You know, you could stand to be a little bit more forward or expressive or whatever it might be. And I'm wondering now if me, myself, and Irene doesn't have a similar kind of quality, but maybe you're like

Starting point is 00:14:40 splitting those aspects up into two different people. or something. Either way. You know, like, there's enough going on that this felt like super appropriate to what it is, or at least, again, the prospect of a comic strip with this conceit adapted into a motion picture. And yeah, I really like the effects. You know, it is CG, you know, I think Roger Rabbit would be certainly a comparison point here. And that dazzles with its blend of 2D with, you know, 2D classic animation, had drawn animation with live action stuff. But yeah, this had, you know, more of a CGI approach to that, which, you know, at the time, I imagine this was probably pushing the boundaries of what CG can do, which is cool to see.

Starting point is 00:15:17 And it's one of those things where, yeah, even if it doesn't look photo real, that's okay and that probably helps. You know, like the cartoonishness probably helps. Just as a nerd, I would have loved to have seen a couple of gags that were in the hand-drawn tradition. But, again, you know, the blending, it's like I said during the reaction. It's like a lot of, especially apparent in monster movies and things like that is, you know, the combination of physical and visual and makeup effects, you know, to sell monsters or action. And this movie kind of helped me to further clarify the idea that slapstick is like the action iteration of comedy. You know, it's that thing that involves stunts and specific timing and all those things. And so, yeah,

Starting point is 00:16:00 this is kind of like a monster movie in a way, but with comedy instead. So you have this prosthetic makeup that, you know, helps to enhance the natural zaniness of Jim Carrey's expressions and whatnot. And then you have the, you know, just way in which he is so beautifully able to, you know, beyond that, yeah, you know, create these punctuated, you know, emotions and expressions and things. And then, you know, you can take that, you know, further into fantasy with the use of CG and other things. And yeah, this was a movie that required a combination of effects and stuff. And funny, you know, yeah, the masks should be green. So I can only imagine that that probably just helped the effects as much as it did, just, you know, stay true to what. I imagine the original design would have been. And yeah, like, there's a lot of other comic book movie aspects to this as well that aren't doing it the way, not as much doing it like you would see them today where it's like, hey, we're paying homage. It's like, no, like there are aspects of this, like especially when the villain gets the mask and he's, you know, basically turning into like the Venom version. It's like kind of like a dark Spider-Man Peter Parker thing. And, you know, Tina comes to see him and she's got this whole thing where she is drawn to Stanley, but she's,

Starting point is 00:17:12 also drawn to the mask, but ultimately it's really the qualities of Stanley that she's actually responding to and, you know, certainly other flourishes and certain tonal things felt like maybe it could have been hearkening to spawn, which I haven't seen as a movie, but I'm familiar with at least some of the iconography of. And it also has that, you know, bit with Loki where they, you know, acknowledge the myth, you know, obviously Marvel and Crate that, although that's a fun thing reminiscent of other mythology and comics. It does enough, just enough with that Ben character to address that idea of the theme of the masks we put on, the people we aspire to be. And I love that that moment plays out with him, basically just actually encouraging him,

Starting point is 00:17:51 despite the obvious awkwardness of the situation and the fact that he thinks he's a bit deranged. He's still like, go as both people, be yourself, but also brings out some of those more assertive qualities that you think you could benefit from and realize that they're both just you. And even though, yes, I mean, there is a MacGuffin, there is some science. hi-fi thing happening here with an actual magic mask, you know, it's like you didn't have to do that. And I feel like a lot of movies nowadays wouldn't weave a theme that way, the way that this movie did, you know? And yeah, you know, like classic film noir things or things like Dick Tracy, which is another thing I should see at some point. But yeah, there were certainly like film noir

Starting point is 00:18:31 crime classic tropes here. You've got the, you know, the, what do they call it, the Cocoa Bongo, the, you know, Copacabana style, like, you know, big band club and, you know, your femme fatals and you've got your, you know, journalist who turns out to be like a double cross and, you know, the food chain of crime and the cops and everything. And yeah, this just managed to blend so many things together instead of fun Madcap way and to have, you know, like, again, a story that matches your requisite comedy for this time period especially where it's just like, yeah, a, you know, nice guy who's a little bit timid and maybe a bit down. on his luck, trying to, you know, improve his life and, you know, get the good gig and get the girl and all that other, you know, basic stuff. And, yeah, it's got that. And it's got, you know, a bit of a romance. But then, yeah, it's got this whole superhero thing and multiple identities thing without having to get too overwrought with any of those qualities. And in a way that, yeah, let's the imagination and the fun and the wildness shine. And you get some of the,

Starting point is 00:19:34 you know awkward comedy of you know like discovery of of how this thing works and how it you know interacts with regular people and how to you know stifle the the aftermath it's like when he's trying to clean up the apartment when the cops at his door uh you know and sort of learning to harness this force that has you know come into your life and even just the simplicity of the opening of you know you've got this diver and there's almost like a peripheral magic where this diver goes down, opens the chest, the mask floats out, you get the sense that it's something that was put there, you know, long ago for, you know, a reason washed away by time. And then, you know, the pipe immediately falls and knocks the dude out. And then, you know, even the way he finds it,

Starting point is 00:20:15 and even those moments that, like, it, I like when movies, and I feel like this used to happen more in the past, when they'll remind you of things and nod to stuff. But again, it's more, it's not really taking any kind of break, not that movies directly say that, but I think there is more of like, you'll see movies now with a greater sensibility of like, oh, let's leave an applause break here. You know, like, they're not doing that.

Starting point is 00:20:38 So it's kind of up to you to just catch these things and appreciate them or not. But yeah, like I thought it was rich with those things and I really like the chemistry of Cameron Diaz. And I bought Amy Yazbeck, you know, the Peggy Brandt, like, you know, even though, again, this isn't the kind of movie where we can spend the utmost amount of time with those characters. The classic tropes help you to identify with

Starting point is 00:20:59 who they are. And then, you know, you like Peggy enough and she's charming enough that when that double cross happens, it is a major surprise and you are bummed because at least for me, early on, I was like, man, they both seem like kind of great. Like I could see how he would be great with either of them in one way or another. And so, yeah, this is an example of a movie that, you know, it feels more classic because, yeah, it's doing all the craziness that you would expect, and it certainly is a vehicle for a presence like Jim Carrey. But it seems like a lot of care went into how to shoot this and how to bring energy to everything that was going on, because sometimes comedies can be shot flat, even effects comedies can be shot kind of flat aside from

Starting point is 00:21:39 their set pieces. Whereas this, yeah, just felt like one of those older movies where like every little thing had a joke on it, everything had color, even the incidental things had some type of personality. There are a lot of great character actors across the board. And And, yeah, man, like, this is great. I had such a blast. I'm so, I, as much as, you know, again, people are going to be like, how'd you never feel? Like, you know, being aware of it for so long, this was about as lovely as I could have hoped for, for finally paying off this experience. And, and, yeah, like, I cannot wait to watch this again.

Starting point is 00:22:13 Like, this is, it's, yeah, the full peak of zany, you know, sort of overwhelming Jim Carreyness. And you can see certainly variations of the kind of movie that would become a Jim Carrey. movie in light of something like this. But yeah, man, this was just such a blast and I thought it was really well, you know, attuned to what it was trying to be. It had just the right amount of tempered dimensionality to, you know, sell all the things it was trying to sell. I don't really know much of, I feel like this director's name, Chuck Russell, is kind

Starting point is 00:22:43 of familiar. But yeah, yeah, just the idea of a loony tune hero or not even hero. It's not even a superhero. That's the thing. It's like, you could be. But it's, yeah, it's all about how you. You use it. Oh, this guy directed the Scorpion King and Nightmare on Elm Street 3.

Starting point is 00:23:00 Okay. Dream Warriors, one of the best ones. Not bad at all. Okay. So, yeah, man, I was really enthralled by this. This was super fun. And, yeah, I mean, I don't really know what else you could say about it. Just firing on all cylinders, lots of craftsmanship and good, you know, visual work on display.

Starting point is 00:23:18 And, yeah, a real marriage of every facet of filmmaking and movie magic coming together. So, hey, guys, leave me your thoughts. And, yeah, what else should I check out? What are the Jim Carrey movies? I've seen a handful of his classics, but there's certainly ones I haven't seen and certainly ones where, you know, I would have probably been so young

Starting point is 00:23:38 that if I had been in the room for them, I don't remember them now. So, yeah, I'm excited. Like, again, dumb and dumber, and now this have me very excited to check out more Jim Carrey, you know, classics moving on because, yeah, and especially in the day and age of the comic book movie.

Starting point is 00:23:53 This holds up, like, really well for the most part. And it's not even, there aren't a ton of things. It's like even within its own internal logic. And it's not a movie that requires you to be too anal-specific about the internal logic. But you're like, the rules are fun and fanciful, and you can ask questions about them. But there's enough of everything and enough thought of everything to, I don't know, just, yeah, sell them very nicely. And in a time where, you know, again, we are so saturated with this kind of thing, albeit not in this tone at all.

Starting point is 00:24:26 And as comic book movies try to figure out how to reincorporate humor without making themselves a joke, I feel like there's such a stigma from the time in which people just didn't take anything comic books seriously before you prove through a Batman or something that they could be serious. Yeah, I feel like now we're in this weird place with comic book humor where, you know, you could stand to learn a thing or two from a movie like this, not the day. Everything has to be slapstick. But anyway, yeah, I really appreciated this, and I hope you did too. So, hey, leave me your thoughts, and I'll catch you on the next one.

Starting point is 00:24:59 Much love. And, hey, before we go, let's do a patron of the day shoutout. Eric Horsman, what's up, buddy? Listen, I just wanted to say, if there's anybody's classic John shoutout, because if there's anybody at Patreon, I would be thrilled to see Don the Mask and who they turn into under those circumstances and pretences it's you buddy I mean the amount

Starting point is 00:25:24 I feel like you would be like the peak sort of like Tasmanian devil Pepe Lepew kind of presence very very I don't know if you would be a bugs or a daffy see that's the thing there's so many possibilities and yeah and you're a colorful guy you've got the rejects

Starting point is 00:25:40 to two which would probably come to life the reel would spin and it would like pop out in 3D and there would be flames you could use it to light a cigar cigar et and then it would explode you know all the possibilities and then you could you know

Starting point is 00:25:55 tornado your way out here sweep us up take us back to Atlanta and you could show us around and I just think that that would be a lovely and wonderful experience so hey work on that get yourself a voodoo mask and I'll catch you on the next one

Starting point is 00:26:11 but seriously here at the start of the year you know seeing your name in our you know master list here just the amount of love You have shown us the amount of time you've dedicated to just, you know, being on this ship with us and being supportive and being lovely really, really appreciate you. And yeah, much love for now. And we'll catch you next time. Eric and everyone else. All right, that's the video. Cheers.

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The Reel Rejects - THE MASK (1994) IS SMOKIN'! MOVIE REVIEW!! FIRST TIME WATCHING!

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