Movie Review: Son of the Mask
Rate This Article
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this movie has strong language for
a PG ("Hell, no" "The crappiest piece of crap in crap-town").
There is a lot of comic violence, including hits to the crotch
that are supposed to be funny. There is some mild sexual
material, including discussion of wanting (or not wanting) to
have a baby, and the central plot point is based on Tonya
getting pregnant while Tim is wearing the mask. Tonya jokes
that she is going to make a baby with the neighbor. There is
some vulgar humor, including potty jokes.
Families who see this movie could talk about how parents decide when they are ready to have a baby. Why was it so important to Tim that he be someone his child would be proud of? Why did Tim say that the baby helped him grow up? What is "positive reinforcement" and why is it important? Why are there stories about a god of mischief? What other characters in stories and myths like to cause trouble?
Common Sense Media Review
The Mask had a clever and inventive director, striking
design, wildly imaginative special effects, and Jim Carrey, who
is something of a wildly imaginative special effect all by
himself. SON OF THE MASK is both watered down and jazzed up,
like a kid who's had too much sugar. This semi-sequel (all new
characters except for a cameo from Ben Stein) is directed at a
younger audience, and despite some questionable material, it is
more mild than wild. There's not much by way of imagination and
few of the effects qualify as "special."
Jamie Kennedy ( Malibu's Most Wanted) may be many notches down the star pole from Jim Carrey, but he is a likeable and funny guy. For some reason, though, this film fails to make the best use of the talents he does have, making him the straight man. To a baby and a dog.
In the first film, a shy bank employee finds a Norse mask with magical powers. When he puts it on, it unleashes his hidden desires and removes all inhibitions, turning him into an infinitely malleable cartoon character transformed by every impulse. Whether he was performing in a nightclub or standing up to a gangster, he was always fearless.
At the end of the movie, the mask is once again thrown away.
In this sequel, Kennedy plays Tim Avery, a would-be animator who lives with his wife Tonya (Traylor Howard) in a cartoony-looking little house. She wants a baby, but he does not feel ready. One night, on his way to the office Halloween party, he finds the mask. Everyone at the party is impressed with his "costume" and the outrageous behavior just seems natural at an animator's office party -- everyone assumes he is just trying out a new cartoon character. When he gets home, his wife is in bed. Perhaps it is because his inhibitions have been removed by the mask, or perhaps he is just feeling proud of himself for being asked to develop a character for a possible cartoon series. But he is willing to have a baby.
