Some sequels should not be made. I mean, was there any reason to have another Caddyshack? So who thought having a sequel to The Mask was a good idea. And not have Jim Carrey. Son of the Mask goes into the category of unnecessary sequels.
The premise is simple: the missing mask (which can give the wearer powers) is found floating in a stream by Otis, a dog. The dog takes it back to the Avery family. Tim Avery, a cartoonist, is played by Jamie Kennedy. The new mask gives him new powers,…and the baby he creates with his wife becomes a mask baby. The baby’s face contorts and he can jump around (the baby is basically a cartoon). Meanwhile, the god of mischief Loki (played by the usually solid Alan Cumming) is sent by his father Odin (Bob Hoskins desperate for a paycheck?)on the trail of this mask.
Conflicts, hi-jinks, and stupidity ensue. Jamie Kennedy is not funny here, and everyone is trying too darn hard to be comedic. There’s a simple rule in comedy: if you think you’re funny, it’s not funny. That message is very apt of this film.
Audio
The mix can be heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0. The 5.1 has a more full rounded effect. There are a lot of those “crazy sound effects”. Many of these can be heard on your rear speakers. The mix is strong, but stronger doesn’t necessarily mean better. The movie is already annoying, why complicate matters.
Video
Not as good as the audio. There are issues of graininess in the darker scenes. The picture is not detailed enough to have a lot of edge enhancement. The colors are natural and not as eye popping as I would’ve thought. There is definite feeling of “fuzziness” watching the picture. Crisp is not a word I would use to describe this transfer. The aspect ratio is 1.85:1 Widescreen.
Special Features
There is a wealth of extras for this disc. Why do bad movies get so many special features?
First off, we have 19 deleted scenes. Yes…Nineteen! And you can watch them all with optional director commentary. The scenes are particularly inspiring in any way. The main reason for cutting most of them out, says the director, is for time. Notice how he doesn’t mention…he cut them out for just being bad scenes.
There are few longer featurettes. “Creating Son of the Mask: Digital Diapers and Dog Bytes” is a feature that details the computer animated effects and how they were created. They still look ridiculous in the movie though. “Paw Prints and Baby Steps: On the Set of Son of the Mask” is a 15 minute piece on the difficulties of working with babies and dogs. Jamie Kennedy, at the start of the piece, says this movie did something you should never do: work with babies and dogs. Do you think that was an omen? A reason not to make the movie? “Chow Bella – Hollywood’s Pampered Pooches” is a featurette about Hollywood residents and the relationship with their dogs. A curious sociological piece. Mildly interesting.
There is a commentary with actor Jamie Kennedy, director Lawrence Guterman, and writer Lance Khazei. This is semi-interesting commentary about the nature of filmmaking and the process of making a sequel. Kennedy is a little more entertaining here than he is in the movie.
There are some interesting Storyboards and Art Galleries. Here, we can see artwork and storyboards and how they transferred to the finished product in the film. A good feature.
Finally we have a trailer for the film and some sneak peaks of other kid oriented movies like Racing Stripes and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Cowabunga dude!
Final Thoughts
Son of the Mask can be thrown in the “Bad Idea” bin. I wonder why it was made. Make a sequel to The Mask without Jim Carrey? Who’s the genius? Basically, this is a just a live action cartoon, with none of the charm. Everything is so overdone, one loses sense of what comedy is supposed to mean. Well…I think we know what it’s not supposed to mean: Son of the Mask. New Line has really put out some quality extras for this movie though. I guess you gotta make some cash off of this dog.
Special Features List
- Actor, director, and writer commentary
- Deleted Scenes
- “Chow Bella – Hollywood’s Pampered Pooches” featurette
- “Creating Son of the Mask” featurette
- On the Set of “Son of the Mask” featurette
- Storyboards and Art Galleries
- Trailer and Sneak Peaks
