Mask, The (Blu-ray)

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"Our love is like a red, red rose,
And I'm a little thorny."

When the audio-video industry first announced high-definition discs several years ago, one of the first movies I thought of was "The Mask." I figured it had enough colorful CGI tomfoolery in it to please the most demanding videophile, and that lossless sound like TrueHD and DTS-Master Audio would just be icing on the cake. It took a while for "The Mask" to arrive on Blu-ray, and even though it isn't quite the superspectacular demo disc I had hoped for, it's still worth one's time and money.

Although it would take several more years for Jim Carrey to prove to the world that he could do more than make funny faces, one can see evidence of his acting skills in this highly entertaining 1994 comedy-fantasy. Playing a character similar to the one in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a milquetoast bank clerk who discovers a superhuman alter ego when he puts on an ancient, magical mask. It's a mask supposedly designed by Loki, the Norse god of mischief, and when anyone puts it on, it brings to life his or her innermost desires. Stanley's transformation from a timid, reticent character to the heroic, outgoing superhero known as "The Mask" is a pleasure to watch. Besides which, the computer graphics, sound effects, and musical numbers show up better than ever on Blu-ray.

The story concerns Stanley's finding the mysterious mask, learning its secret, and becoming everything he ever wanted to be and more, a man with supernatural powers, albeit a man with a green face and huge, glistening white teeth; well, nobody's perfect. The film is a combination of Forties' film noir and Looney Tunes cartoons, with Stanley assuming all the personas of his favorite old cartoon characters.

But every story needs a plot, so in Stanley's case he gets involved with a sexy femme-fatale gangster's moll, played by Cameron Diaz; the gangster himself, played by Peter Green; and a couple of Green's gangster cronies. Further along the way, Stanley meets a police lieutenant, played by Peter Reigert, who thinks Stanley has robbed a bank; the lieutenant's wonderfully dense partner, played by Jim Doughan; and then a pretty, young reporter, played by Amy Yasbeck, who provides a potential romantic interest. Richard Jeni plays Stanley's best friend and fellow bank employee; and even Ben Stein ("Anyone, anyone?") makes a brief appearance as an expert specializing in the figurative psychology of masks. The scene stealer, however, is Stanley's loyal mutt, Milo, a true wonder dog.

With the exception of a few minor lapses here and there, occasional dead spots, it's all pretty funny and sustains repeat viewing, just one of the reasons for buying the movie on Blu-ray. To be honest, even the slow stretches went by pretty quickly, so I can't complain.

Interestingly, it was the movie's several musical numbers that the studio initially wanted to cut. But preview audiences loved them, common sense prevailed, and the music stayed in as some of the best material in the film. For demo fare, go to the Coco Bongo Club or "Cuban Pete" numbers. Great stuff, especially in high def picture and sound. The other highlights are the aforementioned acting of Jim Carrey and, of course, the special computer graphics, designed and implemented by Industrial Light and Magic. When in the guise of "The Mask," Carrey becomes, in almost every sense of the term, a cartoon superhero. He looks like a cartoon character, he behaves like a cartoon character, and he has the invincibility and super powers of a cartoon character. This is all no doubt attributable to The Mask's origins as a comic-book character.

The cartoonish graphics, done relatively early in the evolution of CGI and unthought of just a few years earlier, stand the test of time and remain a pleasure unto themselves. I enjoyed "The Mask" better than ever on BD, even if the picture and sound didn't exactly knock me out as some other high-def movies have done. Believe it, though: The movie has never looked or sounded better, except maybe in a theater.