After it bombs in its first run, surely to be denounced by the nation’s middlebrow film reviewers, I have no doubt that someone somewhere will point out what a strange movie “Son of the Mask” really is.
For one thing, instead of the joys of parenthood that usually pervade kid movies, this one depicts the utter terror of bringing a child into a home. The new father is so freaked out by his infant son that the baby becomes a demonic figure, especially when mom goes away on a business trip.
We also witness a huge war between the baby and a family dog, the baby performing supernatural bodily functions in the direction of dad, and the baby inflating its own head to three times its size. I hasten to add that computer-generated special effects form a large part of this picture.
And if the title sounds familiar, there’s that too. This is a belated sequel to “The Mask,” the huge hit that helped make Jim Carrey a mega-star in 1994. Mr. Carrey is nowhere to be seen in this one.
Instead, we have an appearance by the magical mask. It floats into the life of Tim Avery (Jamie Kennedy), a would-be cartoonist. When he puts on the mask for an evening, it transforms him in the eyes of his boss (Steven Wright) and wife (the fun TV actress Traylor Howard).
In fact, while he is wearing the mask, he impregnates his wife (this is the first of many weird moments) and a child is delivered. An extremely unusual child.
Tim doesn’t take to fatherhood, and flounders at work. The family dog has buried the mask-and at one point puts it on himself, leading to a wild animated sequence that recalls the most ferocious of the old Warner Bros. cartoons.
Director Lawrence Guterman, who made “Cats &Dogs,” leans heavily on animation and the cartoon mindset. The Avery home is decorated in early Pee-wee Herman, and the plot hinges on the baby’s viewing of the classic Warner Bros. short, “One Froggy Evening.”
A subplot follows Loki, the god of the underworld or something, as he searches for his mask. He is played by Alan Cumming, who tries to have fun with the role (and gets a few laughs in his disguises), although he’s overwhelmed by the special effects. Same for Jamie Kennedy, who can be a funny comedian but who gets lost in the film’s noise. (His transformation into The Mask, especially compared with Jim Carrey’s, is pathetic.)
One lesson reinforced here: Computer-generated babies are creepy, creepy, creepy. There’s something about seeing a cute infant digitally transformed into a realistically fake character that calls to mind a horror movie, not a comedy. To say nothing of the non-fun of a kid in frequent jeopardy. Didn’t anybody remember “Baby’s Day Out?”
Jamie Kennedy contends with a strange dog and an even stranger child in “Son of the Mask.”
“Son of the Mask” H
Unfunny: Sequel to the Jim Carrey movie, with a new owner (Jamie Kennedy) of the magic mask. He begets a son with superpowers, and the creepiest parts of the movie involve the computer-animated baby doing bizarre things.
Rated: PG rating is for violence.
Now showing: tk
“Son of the Mask” H
Unfunny: Sequel to the Jim Carrey movie, with a new owner (Jamie Kennedy) of the magic mask. He begets a son with superpowers, and the creepiest parts of the movie involve the computer-animated baby doing bizarre things.
Rated: PG rating is for violence.
Now showing: Alderwood, Everett 9, Galaxy, Marysville, Mountlake, Stanwood, Meridian, Metro, Woodinville, Cascade.
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