Son of the Mask
Son of the Mask is a 2005 comedy film[1] directed by Lawrence Guterman. A stand-alone sequel to The Mask (1994), it is the second installment in The Mask franchise, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Dark Horse Comics. The film stars Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, an aspiring animator whose child is born with the powers of the Mask. It co-stars Alan Cumming as Loki, whom Odin has ordered to find the Mask, alongside Traylor Howard, Kal Penn, Steven Wright, Bob Hoskins as Odin, and Ryan and Liam Falconer as Tim's baby Alvey. Ben Stein cameos as Doctor Arthur Neuman from the original film. The film was a critical and financial failure upon release, grossing $59.9 million against its $84–100 million budget.
Son of the Mask
Lance Khazei
- Erica Huggins
- Scott Kroopf
- Malcolm Campbell
- John Coniglio
- Debra Neil Fisher
- New Line Cinema (United States)
- Warner Bros. Pictures (Germany)[2]
- February 18, 2005 (United States)
- March 10, 2005 (Germany)
94 minutes[3]
English
$59.9 million[4]
Plot[edit]
Doctor Arthur Neuman is giving a tour of the hall of Norse mythology in Edge City's local museum. Neuman mentions that Loki, the God of Mischief, created the mask and unleashed it on Earth to spread chaos among mankind, and that those who wear it are granted his powers. When Neuman mentions Loki's imprisonment at his father Odin's hands, a stranger becomes furious and transforms, revealing himself to be Loki. The tourists panic and flee, but Neuman stays to argue with Loki, who takes the mask in the display case, only to realize it is a replica. In anger, he removes Neuman's face and puts it in the case, disposes of the arriving authorities, and storms out of the museum.
In Fringe City, the real mask is found in a river by a dog named Otis, who belongs to Tim Avery. An aspiring animator, Tim is reluctant to accept parenthood with his wife, Tonya. On a tropical island, Loki is relaxing until Odin orders him to resume the search for the mask, believing it has caused too much chaos for mankind. Loki asks his father for help, but Odin says that he has to take responsibility for his actions. Tim puts on the mask for his studio's Halloween party, and becomes a green-faced party animal who can magically alter his surroundings. When the party turns out to be a bore, Tim uses his newfound powers to perform a remix of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", invigorating the event and giving Tim's boss, Daniel Moss, the inspiration for a new cartoon.
That night, Tim returns to his house and has sex with Tonya, while still wearing the mask. A baby is conceived, and is born with the same powers as the mask, which alerts Odin. Possessing a store clerk, Odin informs Loki and tells him that if he finds the child, he will find the mask. Months later, Tonya goes on a business trip, leaving Tim with their son Alvey. Tim, now promoted, desperately tries to work on his cartoon at home, but is continuously disrupted by Alvey. To get some peace and quiet, Tim lets Alvey watch various cartoons on television, which inspire Alvey to torment his father using his powers. Otis, who has been feeling neglected by Tim, accidentally dons the mask, gains its power, and tries to get rid of Alvey, but his attempts are foiled by the craftier infant.
Leaving a trail of mayhem in his wake, Loki finds Alvey and confronts Tim for the mask, but Alvey uses his powers to protect his father. Odin, possessing Tim's body, finally had enough of Loki, scolds his destructive approach and strips him of his powers. Tim is later fired after failing to impress Moss during a pitch but reconciles and bonds with Alvey. Loki, determined to please his father, sneaks into the Avery household and completes a summoning ritual and appeals to Odin to restore his powers. Odin agrees, but only for a limited time, stating this is his last chance.
Loki kidnaps Alvey in exchange for the mask. Tonya returns home and goes with Tim and Otis, to whom Tim had apologized for his negligence, to make the exchange. Loki decides to keep Alvey despite the exchange, forcing the group to chase after them as Tim becomes the Mask once more. The subsequent confrontation is relatively evenly matched, prompting Loki to halt the fight, suggesting they let Alvey decide who to be with. Although Loki tries to lure Alvey to him with promises of fun, Tim takes the mask off and convinces his son to choose him. Enraged, Loki tries to kill Tim, but his time runs out and Odin appears in person, again scolding Loki for his failure. Tim, however, feels sympathy for Loki and reminds Odin that regardless of their problems, they are still family. Odin reconciles with Loki, and the duo returns home.
Some time later, Tim is rehired when his cartoon, based on Alvey and Otis competing for his attention, becomes a success. After the Avery family watches the cartoon's premiere, Tonya reveals that she is pregnant again.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The film earned back $59.9 million of its $84–100 million budget, making it a box-office bomb.[2]
Critical response[edit]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 6% based on 105 reviews and an average rating of 3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Overly frantic, painfully unfunny, and sorely missing the presence of Jim Carrey." The site ranked the film 75th in the 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s.[16] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 20 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.
In his review Richard Roeper stated, "In the five years I've been co-hosting this show, this is the closest I've ever come to walking out halfway through the film, and now that I look back on the experience, I wish I had."[18] Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 stars and stated, "What we basically have here is a license for the filmmakers to do whatever they want to do with the special effects, while the plot, like Wile E. Coyote, keeps running into the wall." He later named it the fifth worst film of 2005. On their television show, Ebert & Roeper, they gave the film "Two Thumbs Down".[19] Nell Minow of Common Sense Media gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "This movie is dumb and loud, which some kids will confuse with entertaining, but others will just find it overwhelming."[20]
Jim Schembri of The Sydney Morning Herald was more positive, saying that the film was "a bright, fast, kiddie-oriented lark with US TV comic Jamie Kennedy doing well as the beneficiary of the magical mask that turns anyone who wears it into a dazzling display of computer-animated effects."[21]
The poor reception of Son of the Mask inspired Kennedy to co-create the documentary film Heckler, an examination of hecklers and professional critics.[22]
Accolades[edit]
Son of the Mask was the most nominated film at the 2005 Golden Raspberry Awards with eight, winning for Worst Remake or Sequel,[23] and won several 2005 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, including Worst Actor (Jamie Kennedy), Worst Sequel, and Worst Couple.[24] In a 2007 countdown of the 94 "worst to best" comic book to film adaptations, Rotten Tomatoes listed the film 94th.[25]
Video game[edit]
A video game based on the movie of the same name released for the mobile phones on February 10, 2005. The game was published and developed by Indiagames.[27]