Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Emerenciano I first saw this film when I was about 12 and since that day I have seen it some times. The special thing about "Mask" is the strong characters played by Cher and Stoltz, as well as the good plot and Peter Bogdanovich's direction."Mask" is a lesson for life and shows love, comprehension, patience and dreams are bricks to build a better life. And it is with this base that Florence (Cher) and Roy (Stoltz) go over Roy's deformity and try to carry on with a normal life.

capone666 MaskIf inner beauty were important Miss America would have a colonoscopy portion of the show.That is why the deformed student in this drama is having a hard time fitting in.Born with cranial disfigurement Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz) wasn't expected to survive. But with the love of his mother (Cher) and her biker gang, Rocky proved medical science wrong. And he'll do it again as his enter junior high.While students initially react poorly to his appearance, Rocky wins them and his teachers over with his humour and intellect. However, his health and his mom's addictions undermine his scholastic achievements. With believable performances, a touching script and remarkable make-up, this true story doesn't pander to the public to get its point of accepting others across. Hopeful, without being pretentious or exploitative, Mask is a bonafide tearjerker.Incidentally, facial disfigurement and scientific brilliance are the leading cause of super-villainy among teenagers. Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

vincentripol Although I'll probably consider "The Last Picture Show" as Peter Bogdanovich's greatest film, "Mask" is such a close runner-up, it's almost a tie - along with "Paper Moon". What's more surprising is the gap between those two early Bogdanovich classics and the mid-80's "Mask", making it a sort of comeback for the inconsistent director.It's a true story, and although it's been Hollywood-ized, it still rings true. The relationship between Cher and Eric Stoltz as mother and son is what anchors the film, and it's one of the most unconventional family dynamics ever portrayed, even in the era of the alternative single mother raising a unique child. Cher and Winona Ryder would come close to matching that chemistry in "Mermaids", but perhaps because "Mask" involves an only child, the bond is stronger and more focused than what Cher later achieved with Ryder and Christina Ricci.The supporting cast also is excellent, and includes "Golden Girl" Estelle Getty as Cher's mother, as well as Laura Dern as a blind teenager. Such great work all around helps the typical dramatic elements feel more natural, and highlights the real-life accomplishments of Rocky Dennis in an entertaining and inspiring manner, no matter how many times you see the film and know its outcome. Among many great scenes that were successfully incorporated for dramatic effect, the amusement park fun-house mirror is one of my favorites. I can't say enough positive things about this wonderful movie.

sddavis63 An excellent portrayal of the last year or so in the life of Rocky Dennis (played by Eric Stoltz), a teenager who lives with a hideously deformed face as the result of a rare disease. This is a movie that you cannot help but be pulled in by. It's funny in places, emotional virtually all the way through and bittersweet at the end. Rocky clearly had challenges to overcome - and not all of them revolved around his face. His mom Rusty (Cher) has a drug problem and has a poor relationship with her own parents, and he spends his time hanging out mostly with a rather tough looking group of bikers, at least some of whom are also into drugs. And yet, this is his world, and - for all their problems - these people are his family; they're the ones who accept him and love him unconditionally and look out for him. Seeing this relationship with the bikers (and especially the voiceless Dozer, played by Dennis Burkley) is almost as fascinating as anything else in the movie. Rocky has been told he doesn't have much time to live, but he does have dreams: a bike trip to Europe with a friend, and he wants to fall in love with someone. It's almost as if the dreams keep him going. He goes to a summer camp for blind children as a counsellor, and falls in love with Diana (Laura Dern) - a beautiful but blind girl who's able to see the beauty inside him. But then he goes home, and it all falls apart. His friend moves to Michigan, and the dream of Europe is gone; his new girlfriend's parents don't want her to have anything to do with him, and his dream of love is gone. With his dreams shattered, there's not much left for Rocky to look forward to. The shattering of his dreams is perfectly depicted by the scene in which he pulls the tacks off the map of Europe where he's been marking all the places he wanted to visit. You know it's happening, but the scene when his mom goes into his room and finds him dead in bed still can't help but put a few tears in your eyes.Director Peter Bogdanovich took a chance on casting Cher. She really didn't have much acting experience in 1985, but she pulled the part off very well (although given the circumstances in which Rusty lived, I thought Cher looked a little too good for the role.) Stoltz was convincing as Rocky, and Laura Dern was completely believable as the blind girl who falls head over heels in love with Rocky. Overall, though, I thought perhaps the strongest performance was Sam Elliott's as Rusty's sometime lover Gar. He looked the part, sounded the part and acted the part brilliantly.Apparently the movie takes a few liberties with Rocky's story. From what I understand, Diana didn't actually exist (although some think she may have been a composite of several girls in Rocky's life) and, while touching, the closing scene, where Rusty, Gar and Dozer visit the cemetery and Dozer puts flowers on the grave, is also a creation - Rocky's body was donated for medical research. There is no grave. Still, you can't help but be deeply moved by this absolutely engrossing story. It's well worth 9/10.