Top Box Office Movies - Son of the Mask

Son of the Mask (2005) New Line Cinema
1 hr. 35 mins.
Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Alan Cumming, Traylor Howard, Bob Hoskins, Liam and Ryan Falconer
Directed by: Larry Guterman

Son of the Mask

Rating:

E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG

Photo: New Line Cinema

It had been well over a decade since 1994’s The Mask arrived on the scene in its merry and manic state. Of course this was one of the zany vehicles that propelled Jim Carrey into the comedy stratosphere. Enter director Larry Guterman’s sequel Son of the Mask, a messy and meandering frantic farce that dissolves quickly into its foolish-minded feyness. Other than lacking the enjoyably spastic presence of Carrey and the carefree nutty spirit of the original entry, Son of the Mask is an irritating and relentlessly boisterous bomb without any kind of kooky conviction. Clearly, this banal computer-generated clunker has all the witty bounce of a disabled kangaroo.

Guterman (Cats & Dogs) and screenwriter Lance Khazei (Nickelodeon TV’s CatDog, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters) indulges the audience with various over-the-top sight gag stimulation that heightens the weary senses yet never establishes a natural rhythm to all the aimless mayhem that ensues. There’s a generous free-for-all wackiness that indifferent tykes will swallow without reservation. Son of the Mask is so busy trying to convey its labored silliness that it forgets to instill a sense of imagination and intrigue to accompany the hysterical happenings. With Guterman’s tacky direction and Khazei’s woefully derivative and scattershot script, there’s no way to cover up this particular Mask.

Jamie Kennedy (Malibu’s Most Wanted) takes over for Jim Carrey as the lanky lackey that spearheads the misguided mania surrounding the unpredictable Mask. Kennedy plays Tim Avery (perhaps the name is an indirect reference to Warner Bros. animator Tex Avery?), a struggling illustrator stuck in a creative funk. Tim is married to his pretty marketing executive wife Tonya (Traylor Howard from television’s Monk). The couple is childless and Tonya is ready for the arrival of little feet running around their premises. Of course Tim is skittish about his pending fatherhood as it is an overwhelming concept for him to deal with at this anxious point in time.

Tim must somehow impregnate Tonya in order to have some peace of mind and avoid the inevitable nagging. There's one device that allows Tim to effortlessly “do his thing” and create his offspring. Thanks to his trusty dog that happens to stumble upon the mysterious mask, the mutt brings this item to Tim’s attention. Naturally, we are well aware of the mask’s erratic powers whenever a living soul places it on its unassuming noggin. After Tim’s initial experimentation with the mask, he miraculously conceives a baby boy with Tonya—a bundle of joy they name Alvey (Liam and Ryan Falconer). Eventually, little Alvey will be blessed with the strange aftermath effects of the mighty mask that arms him with bizarre feats of magical and skillful capabilities.

Soon Alvey’s inherent prowess will cause his father Tim some chaotic and cartoonish pain and suffering while trying to perform his care-taking duties. And if that’s not enough to create some trivial tension, the Averys’ pet pooch harbors some envious resentment as his master Tim focuses his undivided attention on the bombastic baby therefore putting the neglected canine on the backburner as a forgotten priority. Thus, baby Alvey presents a double-duty conflict to Tim that has him handcuffed with this powered problem child and to the scheming family mutt that considers this conniving kid a territorial menace.

In the meanwhile, Norse god of mischief Loki (played with an annoying campy flair by Alan Cumming) is in search of the missing mask that he haphazardly let get away from him. Loki must get his hands on this prized possession if he wants to escape the continued scrutiny from his intolerable father Odin (Bob Hoskins). And so the battle is on as all the parties engage in the warped warfare to overcome the main nuisance that triggers the on-going insanity—the controlling of the mischievous mask. Will Tim competently challenge Loki for his son’s super-charged soul? Can a brutish boy and his devious dog bond despite being rivals for the affection of their young and inexperienced put-upon parents? Better yet, do we remotely care if anyone triumphs in this rollicking yet underdeveloped special effects eyesore?

Nobody will completely knock Son of the Mask for its sole bid to delve into mindlessness. But even a cheeky vehicle that depends on its senseless surge should at least have an ounce of genuine energy in his hasty heart. This laughless and limp spectacle insists on regurgitating frivolous images for the moviegoers to gawk at constantly in a meager manner to solicit lazy chuckles. There’s no doubt that anyone with a single brain cell will buy into this desperate and disjointed fusion of the Baby Geniuses flicks meets the Home Alone series. Although Guterman meant to construct a high-spirited live-action cartoon in the spry tradition of the cherished nonsensical animated shorts, Son of the Mask comes off as a dispiriting dud that willfully distracts more than it gainfully delights. It is as if Guterman’s flimsy fable exists only to toss around its tepid techo-effects in exaggerated fashion. Without catering to any semblance of a cohesive plot, this disposable offering settles on merely fueling its slaphappy credo with inert references to poop jokes and other juvenile fare.

Had the Son of the Mask been able to retain the services of Jim Carrey in its weak-kneed follow-up, the writing still would have been on the wall. For those who were reminded that an absent Carrey from a previous Carrey smash hit (remember the interminable Dumb and Dumberer?) spells immediate d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r then why take the ill-advised chance of repeating what would be an inevitable disappointment? There were bound to be comparisons made and why invite such an obvious wrath? Kennedy can be riotous in his given doses but he is out of his league when wallowing in such drivel as the cobbled together Mask. Kennedy tries to hold his own in this middling material but it is as futile as eating chicken soup with a pair of chopsticks. To say that Kennedy is the solution to replacing Carrey in this staggering display is to also infer that temporarily putting deodorant on a skunk will make it a permanently clean critter.

Granted, Son of the Mask needs to hide its hideous face. Utterly flavorless and uninspired, this overactive CGI romp may placate the tots that don’t know any better by being fascinated with this whimsical washout. But for the rest of us, there’s no excuse whatsoever. Alas, another hyper-active children’s tale that’s full of wasted spunk but empty-headed in other major considerations.

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Frank Ochieng
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