Fo Mi: Live-action cartoon a good chunk of comedy The Mask’s plot is lifted straight from comic hook Tim Belf FILM REVIEW The Mask x* (New Line Cinema) Rated Mature {at the Park & Tilfard, Granville, Oakridge, Richport, Coquitlam, Scott 72, Station Square, Guildford, Harris Road and Langiey cinemas) BANK’S motto: Service worth waiting for. That's one of the better jokes in The Mask, so gauge accordingly. The special effects are amaz- ing, but this live action cartoon is a perfect showcase for one tal- ented performer. With endless versatility and amazing range, we're going to be seeing a lot of this fuzzy face in the future. {’m talking about Max the Dog. His role as Milo, The Mask’s wonder pooch, gets the best laughs and (almost) without spe- cial effects. As for humans ... the star is Jim Carrey, the comique du jour with a rubber face and almost as many facia! contortions as his canine companion. Of course, Industrial Light and Magic’s com- puter expertise contributes a good chunk of comedy, morph- CRITICS. ing Jim into a wreen-taced, Zoul- suited cartoon who owes a lot to Jerry Lewis’ The Nutty Professor. Even his character's name, Stanley Ipkiss, is pure Lewis. Stanley, a spineless but nice hank clerk, visits his best friends daily after work. They make him laugh, never let him down, and they're two-dimensional. Thcy are Tex Avery's Looney Tunes of the ‘40s. Then, as the promo says, a magical wooden mask zooms him from “zero to hero.” One minute Stanley is a mousy schmuck, the next, he’s a brassy, outrageous cartoon. His unleashed romantic impulses, rude puns and animated inde- structibility make him popular with the ladies, especially a mob- ster’s molt named Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz). The mob finds him considerably tess amusing. So will many audience mem- bers. Since the plot's lifted straight from a comic book, don’t expect substance. This is just jokes, folks, fast and furious. But if you guffaw at body gases, think louder is funnier, or enjoy talented pups, you'll prob- ably enjoy this hyperkinetic vari- ation of Jekyll and Hyde. Alt oth- ers beware. Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters Box Set k*k* (MCA/Universal Home Video) This laser disc set shows that Abbott and Costello's four encounters with Universal's clas- sic creatures from 1948 to 1955 have aged remarkably well. In their first time at bat with Meet Frankenstein, they nailed the perfect blend of comedy and thrills. Dracula, the Wolfman and the Monster play it straight while MPAA HEME VIOLENCE COARSE SEX & J AVERAGE RATING LANG. RUDITY Lots ' Lots » Sumef ; Mild | None | 2, Forrest Gump “