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The Mask
Timid bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss discovers a magical mask infused with the spirit of the Norse god Loki. Donning it transforms him into an unrestrained, green-faced, cartoon-like wild man. While the mask grants him the confidence to woo a local singer, it also makes him the target of a ruthless mobster.
1994 · Directed by Chuck Russell · 101 min · Comedy · Fantasy · Crime · Romance · Screenplay in the scene database · 15 frames
Tagline
From zero to hero.
Plot
In Edge City, insecure bank teller Stanley Ipkiss is frequently ridiculed by everyone except for his co-worker and best friend, Charlie Schumaker. Meanwhile, gangster Dorian Tyrell plots to overthrow his boss, Niko, who owns the Coco Bongo nightclub. One day, Tyrell sends his singer-girlfriend, Tina Carlyle, into the bank to record its layout for an upcoming robbery. Stanley is attracted to Tina and she seemingly reciprocates.
After being denied entrance to the Coco Bongo to watch Tina perform, Stanley's faulty loaner car breaks down during his drive home, leaving him stuck at a harbor's bridge. After noticing what he thinks is a humanoid figure in the river, he jumps into the water to discover it is a pile of garbage. He begins to pick up and throw the trash everywhere, tossing it all around the place, which leads him to uncover and discover an wooden mask, which was the thing that was what he thought was a drowning person. He is soon confronted by confused onlookers but he lies to them and says he owns and had dropped the mask. He takes the mask home and tries it on, transforming him into a green-faced trickster titularly named "The Mask", who can cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. With newfound confidence, Stanley indulges in a comical rampage through the city, humiliating several of his tormentors, including his temperamental landlady and the mechanics who gave him the faulty car. Meanwhile, Niko learns of Tyrell's plans and warns him to leave Edge City in a week or face his wrath.
The following day, Stanley encounters Detective Lieutenant Mitch Kellaway and newspaper reporter Peggy Brandt, who are investigating the Mask's activity. To obtain the funds necessary to attend Tina's performance, Stanley dons the mask and raids the bank, inadvertently foiling Tyrell's robbery. At the Coco Bongo, Stanley dances exuberantly with Tina, whom he kisses. Tyrell soon confronts him for disrupting the theft and Stanley flees, leaving behind a scrap of cloth from his suit, which reverts into a piece of his pajamas. After arresting Tyrell and his henchman, Kellaway finds this evidence and suspects Stanley's involvement.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Mike Werb
- Cinematography: John R. Leonetti
- Edited by: Arthur Coburn
- Music: Randy Edelman
- Production design: Craig Stearns
- Produced by: Robert Engelman
Cast
- Jim Carrey as Stanley Ipkiss / The Mask
- Peter Riegert as Mitch Kellaway
- Peter Greene as Dorian Tyrrell
- Amy Yasbeck as Peggy Brandt
- Richard Jeni as Charlie Schumaker
- Orestes Matacena as Niko
- Tim Bagley as Irv
- Nancy Fish as Mrs. Peenman
- Johnny Williams as Burt
- Reg E. Cathey as Freeze
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: Swedish, English
- Studios: Dark Horse Entertainment, New Line Cinema
- Budget: $23,000,000
- Box office: $351,583,407
- Themes: dual identity, bank, superhero, mockery, transformation, villain, surrealism, based on comic, slapstick comedy, balloon
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