CineTV released a prompt a few days ago asking us to discuss a film that has a prominent pet in it to talk about.
This is a pretty interesting topic and one that I had to think about for a good while, as it's a pretty tough one. Instantly, I thought of Marley and Me, but I don't want to talk about that as it's too painful to remember; I only saw it once, and don't think I could watch it again, to be honest.
Here's A Link To The Post If You'd Like To Check It Out.
The Mask
I have this one on VHS from back in the day and watched it countless times as a child. Funnily enough, I had a few Jim Carrey films growing up and would circulate between them often. Namely, Ace Venture: Pet Detective, When Nature Calls, and The Mask.
Re-watching The Mask a few years ago was a lot of fun, and while there was so much of the film I'd forgotten, I could also remember much of it from back when I was a kid.
It's a pretty funny story and in general a pretty wacky premise for a movie. Jim Carrey is down on his luck and comes across a magical mask that basically allows him to turn from a shy introvert to an outgoing extrovert. Much like another of my favourites of his, Me, Myself and Irene. Actually, it's kind of the same as Bruce Almighty Too, Fun With Dick and Jane... and Yes Man... and Liar Liar... What is it with him playing these rolls where he's two characters rolled into one?
I can just hear Grandpa Simpsons saying, "Back then, films would have one actor portray multiple types of people, as was the style at the time.
The Pet
I was just thinking that the dog was called Spike, and could literally hear Jim Carrey's voice calling the name, but the dog is called Milo, Spike is the name of the monkey in Ace Venture.
Milo reminds me of my nan's dog from when I was growing up, he was a little Jack Russel too called Scrumpy Jack.
The dog Milo is a pretty funny character of his own in the film, especially the scenes where Jim Carrey is trying to leave the house but Milo decides to play tug of war with his keys before he leaves.
I think I was always drawn to the dog in that film because of my nan's dog; Jack Rustles are pretty intelligent. Scrumpy used to hear the phone ringing and would knock it off the block and bark down it. I remember my mum would be trying to ring and would just say, "For god's sake. Mum!" as she tried to shout over the tirade of barking on the other end of the line.
Milo essentially saves the day at the end of the film, and in a way is the reason the Mask is discovered in the first place. I'm nearly sure Milo barks at it in the water, and that's where Jim Carrey looks to see it and then retrieve it. Also, thinking about it there, Milo is essentially the voice of reason to Jim Carrey's character and is one of the reasons he decides to stop wearing it.
My Own Dog
I have a little pug/ beagle called Jabba, who I seldom call Jabba The Mutt, depending on how he's being.
Jabba is literally like Milo in The Mask, post-wearing the mask, when he turns into a devil dog. He can tend to be cute and nice, but he has a bit of a nasty streak and has attacked people in the house before, so we have to warn everyone not to touch him.
He would fit in pretty well in the film, however, I shudder to imagine what he'd turn into if he had a mask of his own. However, the effects of the Mask itself tend to change depending on the wearer, so maybe it would make him consistently nice.
Would I Want A Dog Like Milo
I'm pretty happy with Jabba, even if he can be a little shit sometimes, I don't know how he would act with another dog in the house because as it is now, he's pretty much spoiled and most likely wouldn't want to share his territory with anyone else.
After Thought
While writing and thinking about this movie, I couldn't help but wonder why they don't make movies like this anymore. I mean, the plot is pretty bizarre, but there were so many films out years ago that were just kind of weird, wacky, funny, and zany - while also having a bit of heart.
It seems like these types of movies just went away one day, to be replaced with the kinds of films we have now, which aren't exactly bad, but are very different in tone and theme.
I think we should all get together and make a petition or something, requesting that they create more weird and funny films that we don't need to think too hard about.
The closest film to this style I've seen in a while is See How They Run, which - while not exactly like this - has elements of the funny weirdness that seems to be lacking these days in films in general.