The Mask (DVD, 1997, Standard and Letterbox)

Boring bank account officer Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) is tired of kowtowing to his know-nothing boss and being rejected by attractive women. But just before he decides to end it all, Stanley is transformed from a spineless accountant into a jiving zoot-suited hellion when he discovers the superhuman powers of an ancient wooden mask he finds floating in the river. With the mask, Stanley has the courage to do everything he's ever dreamed of. That includes wooing blond bombshell Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz), a torchy singer at the swanky nightclub Coco Bongo. Too bad Tina's caught up with mobster Dorian Tyrel, a brutal villain planning to rob Stanley's bank and take over the city! Now it's up to Stanley to rid the besieged metropolis of Tyrel. Based on the Dark Horse comic book, THE MASK introduced Diaz to audiences and helped cement Carrey's fame after ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE. Its story of a human cartoon, courtesy of computer effects and Carrey's talent for impressions, was a perfect fit for the comedian's pliable facial features., When a no-account bank clerk discovers a curious wooden mask he finds it has some interesting properties; to wit, the mask magnifies the wearer's personality to superhuman proportions--oddly, others seem to find this attractive. The no-longer-nebbischy clerk enjoys his new life considerably, but when he seduces the girlfriend of a powerful gangster, complications result. Academy Award Nominations: Best Visual Effects.