CINEMA: William Pretorius
SOONER or later, I guess, we’d all like to turn into our=20 favourite cartoon character. As nerdish bank clerk=20 Stanley Ipkiss in The Mask, Jim Carrey turns anarchic=20 when he puts on a magic Nordic mask personifying the god=20 of mischief, banished from Valhalla and accidentally=20 released from the sea.
The Mask, based on the Dark Horse comic, is the closest=20 movies have come to turning humans into cartoon=20 characters. The cartoon-noir Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and=20 various other Disney movies tried to mix humans and=20 cartoon characters, breaking barriers between animation=20 and realism. Brent Spiner as Data, the android in Star=20 Trek: The Next Generation, made the cyberpunk crossover=20 between humans and computers, but this was achieved using=20 special make-up, not special effects.
Carrey effortlessly morphs into a living Looney Toon,=20 Ipkiss’ favourite comic character. The mask allows the=20 wearer to act out their suppressed desires. Ipkiss turns=20 into a party animal, a prankster in perpetual motion.=20
What is important is physical movement, the human form as=20 funny putty. The story means nothing — it can be summed=20 up as nerd versus crooks and crime.
One of the most mobile actors around, Carrey is probably=20 ideal for the part. In Ace Venture: Pet Detective, his=20 face was in constant motion. According to reports, he got=20 $8-million for The Mask — which is shrewd considering=20 he’s limited; his repertoire of facial expressions=20 becomes repetitive and tedious. Turning himself into a=20 cartoon character was a logical step.
Some have complained that the movie is not anarchic=20 enough. Perhaps, but Carrey is not paid $8-million to put=20 audiences off their breakfasts. He provides a frame for=20 special effects — The Mask uses state-of-the-art=20 computer graphics — and as such another step is taken in=20 eliminating humans from movies.=20
Still, The Mask is fun, working through constant,=20 surprising energy. And luckily it’s highly expensive to=20 make this kind of film, so old-fashioned acting (and=20 comics) will be with us for a long time yet.