By ARIEL GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
About 25 years ago, a timid bank clerk named Stanley Ipkiss went from zero to hero, garnering over $300 million abroad and at home at the box office in The Mask. There was only one reason for this success and it was due to the man who portrayed Ipkiss: Jim Carrey.
In 1994, Carrey was on top of the world, he was coming off a successful tenure on the sketch comedy TV show “In Living Color,” and at the box office, Carrey had broken out as a box office attraction with “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” The success garnered by Carrey at the box office catapulted his career into international stardom which would only be enhanced by a final box office bonanza, “Dumb and Dumber,” in December of that year. At the end of 1994, Carrey had grossed over $550 million in total box offices, prompting the studios involved with the films to seek sequels but “The Mask” would never receive a true sequel due to Carrey simply not wanting to.
After the success of “The Mask” and “Dumb and Dumber,” Carrey reprised his role for “Ace Ventura” the following year which was a commercial success but bombed amongst the critics. However, a sequel to “The Mask” was signed off on with Jim Carrey and co-star Cameron Diaz returning to reprise their roles, but Carrey declined to portray Ipkiss once more because he disliked to play the same role twice especially after “Ace Ventura” although he was being offered $10 million dollars.
A sequel would be released in 2005 titled “Son of The Mask,” however Carrey nor Diaz had any involvement and the plot was completely different from the first. Now almost 26 years later, rumors have begun to circulate about a possible sequel to “The Mask” with Carrey reprising his role but with his history of declining to make sequels and his latest attempt to making one being the critically panned “Dumb and Dumber Two” in 2014, one can be skeptical of what the outcome of these negotiations will be.
The time has come for Carrey to give fans the pleasure of a long-awaited sequel to “The Mask.” With recent renaissance to acting careers such as Keanu Reeves, this very well may catapult Carrey back into the limelight and give this generation of fans something to laugh about. With Carrey making a return to the screen in “Sonic the Hedgehog” in 2020, a revisiting to Ipkiss character later in the year could potentially make Carrey’s return to the movies a box office attraction even if his films pan with critics. No other actor can fill Carrey’s shoes in the iconic role that once blossomed him into international success, his unique style of playing a role of an ordinary man who has nothing at all who then by night transforms into a slick green faced dancing hero battling crime is second to none. If Carrey again decides to forgo portraying Ipkiss then the idea should be shelved that very moment, because there’s only one Stanley Ipkiss and that nice guy will always finish last in our hearts.
