Mask

This movie is unique. Everybody must see it. It is very sentimental, but it is not exasperated. Great Cher, great Eric Stoltz, great Sam Elliot. This movie makes you laugh, makes you cry, makes you think about the lucky aspects of life and the unlucky ones. One of the most striking aspects is that good feelings are found in an environment that most people think is bad: a young ex-drug addict mother, a group of motorcyclists. I will not tell you what is Mask, I just tell you he is a normal guy except for a difference: find it by your own, you will be satisfied. Surely a good movie.

This is one of my favorite films of all time with a brilliant cast. Cher puts on the performance of a lifetime as the mother of a child frowned upon by society because he looks different. Eric Stoltz also gives a hell of a performance as Rocky Dennis, the teenager who's head is a weird shape because of a growth problem. When Rocky finally gets accepted into a school and does really well, his Mom and friends give him a massive cheer and applause! Touching stuff. Sam Elliot gives great support as Rocky's mom's fella. Rocky later meets Diana, a beautiful blind girl and romance blossoms. When Rocky teaches Diana how to 'see' through touch she is delighted at her new way to see and this has to be one of the most beautiful scenes ever committed to camera in a movie. This is by far one of the best films of all time.

"Mask" is truly a beautiful movie. It shows the possibilities of what courage and love can do. I cannot see the film without crying, but I always feel uplifted after watching it, and the cathartic experience of watching it stays with me for days afterwards. I love how Rocky finds someone at the school for the blind who cannot see his face but loves him for his heart. I suppose we are all looking for that. And the power of his mother's love is something that stays with you forever. Peter Bogdanovich, Cher, Eric Stoltz, and the others who participated in making this film should be very proud of the wonderful movie they created. It has affected many, many lives. The real life story of Rocky Dennis will always be there, on DVD, to enrich young generations to come.

Ugh, what a gut-wrenching movie this is. Peter Bogdanovich avoids the maudlin histrionics that could have marred this story about a young man suffering from a fatal disease that leaves him horribly deformed. Eric Stoltz is remarkable as the young man, Rocky Dennis, and it's entirely thanks to him, and to his charm as an actor, that we fall in love with Rocky and are heart-broken to see him die at the end. Cher is equally as good as his mom, who sees nothing ugly in her son and feels nothing but ferocious love for him. I will always remember a wonderful scene in this movie, in which Rocky is trying to explain colors to a blind girl (played by a lovely and young Laura Dern) and does so by giving her items to touch -- a hot potato for red, cotton for white, ice for blue. Grade: A

It is a very spooky feeling to see a film based on someone you knew in real life. I honestly do not know how much artistic liberty was taken with this film as I did not know his family, but I knew Rocky Dennis as a teenager and Eric Stoltz did an absolutely fantastic job of capturing his heart and soul as well as his intelligence. I am grateful that such a remarkable person will be remembered for who he truly was.

This movie has moved me since it first came out in the 1980's. The performances- particularly by Cher and Eric Stoltz as Rusty and Rocky Dennis- are fantastic, the camera work (by the great Lazlo Kovacs) fluid and superb, the make up won an academy award, the music perfect, and the story, well, it's almost too good to be true. It's real life we're watching here, and knowing that it's also a true story makes it all the more touching and wonderful. I watched it with my boyfriend, then my husband, and now with my children. It's a simple tale of triumph of the spirit, but it goes deep and really stays with you if you let it. If you haven't seen this movie yet, go out and rent it tonight, you won't be disappointed.......