Mask
American drama based on the true story of Rocky Dennis
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Starring Cher and Eric Stoltz
Released March 8,1985
by Live Music Head
“I don’t remember hearing Springsteen songs in this film before!"
was the first thing that came out of my mouth
when I re-visited Mask on dvd.
A much-loved film I’ve prob’ly seen a dozen times
since its release,
and I was hearing Badlands in the opening scene
for the very first time.
WTF?
As the camera zoomed in through the window
of a teenage boy’s bedroom;
a 1970’s bedroom of baseball cards
and walls postered with rock stars;
the teenage bedroom of Rocky Dennis’ broken dreams...
I exclaimed, “Whaaaat?!”
"It was music loved by a child without hope,"
said Peter Bogdanovich in the bonus features.
Yes, it was in the bonus features of the dvd
that I learned why I didn’t remember hearing Badlands
or The Promised Land in the soundtrack before.
Peter Bogdanovich, the director,
and a big fan of Bruce Springsteen,
sought permission to use The Boss’ music in the film
and invited Springsteen to a private screening
when it was completed.
The Boss came away misty-eyed and embraced Bogdanovich,
giving his full approval for the way his songs were used.
But there were issues between the record company
and the movie studio that prevented the film
from being released with The Boss’ music.
Unable to reach an agreement,
Bogdanovich was understandably furious when
all Springsteen songs were pulled just before theatrical release,
and replaced with the songs of Bob Seger.
Being the enormous Springsteen fan that I am,
I was knocked off my feet hearing this story.
It brought a whole other level of meaning to a movie
that I already dearly, dearly loved.
I realized I was watching the 2004 director's cut,
complete with all Springsteen songs intact,
the way it was originally intended.
Not that, I have to say,
I didn’t love hearing the songs of Bob Seger.
For I loooooove Bob Seger!
But now I was seeing Rocky pinning all the places on the map;
places he dreamed of one day visiting,
while Racing In The Street by
my numero uno rock and roll hero
played on the stereo.
Mask,
a film based on the true life story of Roy L. Dennis,
is about a boy who suffered from craniodiaphyseal dysplasia,
an extremely rare disorder that disfigured his face.
It’s a heart-warming and heart-wrenching story
of a pretty cool teenage kid
(portrayed by Eric Stoltz)
who was treated with fear and pity,
and teased by cowards too stupid to be aware of his intelligence.
Not that being any less intelligent
would have made it okay to bully.
Stoltz was so dedicated to portraying Rocky Dennis accurately
that even when they weren’t shooting,
stayed in makeup and went out out in public that way
to see for himself what it may have been like for Rocky.
Apparently it was completely awful,
as anyone can imagine.
Michael Westmore and Zoltan Elek won the Oscar
for Stoltz’s make-up,
the first time the Academy Awards had ever honoured anyone
in this category.
Cher portrays Rusty Dennis, mother of Rocky.
She was chosen over all the other great actresses of the day
because unlike say, an actress as great as Jane Fonda,
Bogdanovich knew Cher would be more believable
as a biker chick.
Having only a handful of acting roles to her credit at the time,
(most notably the role she held previous to this one in Silkwood,
opposite Meryl Streep), Cher,
first known to me as a singer in a pop duo
with her then-husband Sonny (may he rest in peace),
has certainly gone on to prove her outstanding acting ability
starring in great films such as Moonstruck and Mermaids;
two films I hold in as high regard as I do Mask.
Bogdonavich who wasn’t under the most
friendliest of terms with Cher,
was nonetheless thrilled with her performance,
zooming in for many a close-up to show off her eyes,
the saddest, he says, and most soulful eyes he’d ever seen.
Cher’s portrayal of Rusty Dennis definitely does rank
as one of her best.
As the story goes,
Rusty raised Rocky as a single mom
(although I do believe he had a sibling in real life)
with the help of her biker gang family,
one member of which was the adorable Dozer,
who took Rocky to school every day
on the back seat of his Harley.
The gang also takes him to places like the carnival
to rough around in bumper cars and haunted houses,
trying to keep his teenage life as normal as possible,
and his loneliness at bay.
And it is particularly moving to see this biker gang
defend Rocky against tormenters he meets
at every turn.
Not the kind of humanity you’d expect from a biker gang,
but the kind in which many would be grateful to have shown us,
with or without a physical deformity.
Yet despite the love and support of his extended family,
Rocky’s life is still a very lonely one.
And if life isn’t hard enough for him already,
Rocky is compelled to look out for his lonely,
irresponsible, and drug-addicted mother.
Rusty would do anything for her son,
fearlessly confronting any so-called authority figure
and shredding the hell out of their unsolicited advice,
but as tough as she is,
Rusty has trouble coping with her emotions.
She is often seen stumbling home at night,
or in the wee hours of the morning
with one of many drunken lovers in tow.
Well, until Gar, the love of her life returns
in the form of Sam Elliott.
As Rocky tries to stay focused on saving enough money
to travel the land with his best friend,
he too dreams of love from the opposite sex.
So Rusty, trying to be the good mom,
buys him one.
The one she buys is Lorrie from the local bar,
played by Kelly Jo Minter who reminds me of the girl
who played alongside Michael Jackson in the Thriller video,
but didn’t.
This action by Rusty certainly doesn’t boost Rocky’s self-esteem,
but deep down inside he knows that his mother’s actions
only come from the heart.
And if it’s one thing this story has a lot of,
it’s heart.
Soon thereafter,
Rocky takes a job as a counselor’s aide at summer camp
where he meets Diana (Laura Dern),
a beautiful blind girl who becomes his first and true love.
They’re shown slow dancing to The Beatles at the ball.
Rocky is too smart, however,
and knows he will never ever really be allowed
to have Diana for himself, as his girlfriend.
Diana “sees” only Rocky’s goodness,
loves him back,
and wants him just as much for her boyfriend.
But the cruel people of the world
will do anything and everything to
keep beauty and the beast apart.
“Take a knife and tear this pain from my heart!”
The director: “Bruce’s voice echoes Rocky’s pain.”
Peter Bogdanovich who had a relationship with Dorothy Stratten,
the Canadian Playboy model deemed
one of the most beautiful women in the world,
tells the story of how she became fascinated by John Merrick
after seeing The Elephant Man,
the biopic of another intelligent human being
who was outcast from society because of a physical deformity.
Bogdanovich says Stratten collected books
with very graphic illustrations of Merrick’s disease,
and studied them.
It wasn’t until after Stratten’s death
that Peter realized why she was so fascinated.
“Either extreme beauty or extreme ugliness sets you apart.
And it’s the being set apart that’s difficult to live with.”
Stratten was murdered with a shotgun by Paul Snider,
her estranged and jealous husband-manager
who then committed suicide by turning the gun on himself,
afterwhich a distraught Bogdanovich
didn’t make another motion picture for four years.
Until Mask...
the story that reminded him of Stratten,
and therefore a film he just knew he had to make.
The story basically covers one year in the life of Rocky Dennis,
the year between 1979 and 1980.
But if there was any uncertainty
as to how much time elapsed before Rusty, Gar, and Dozer
are seen visiting Rocky’s resting place,
the song that blasts from the truck’s radio answers that question.
For those who may not have seen this film,
it is advisable to have many boxes of Kleenex on hand
before you do so.
And do so, you must.
But be sure it’s the director’s cut you watch.
The trailer for Mask...
