Parents' Guide to

Mask

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Moving, mature story of teen with facial differences.

Movie PG-13 1985 120 minutes
Mask Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 5 parent reviews

age 14+

Sex: 6/10 ~ Violence 2/10 ~ Language 9/10 ~ Drinking ~ 9/10

SEX: *A woman pulles a man into a kiss and they lean back on a tree. *A woman brings a strange man home to her house for a one night stand. She kisses him and then closes the door to imply sex. *A man and a woman kiss romantically inside of a funhouse with their arms around one another. *A woman and a man roll on top of each other in a bed and the scene cuts off implying sex. *A woman runs outside with a man and they kiss each other but are interupted by the ringing of the phone. *A man and a woman kiss each other in the doorway possible implying sex. *A man and a woman romantically kiss at a new year's eve party. *A woman tells a man that she would love to kiss him, but her parents are there. *A woman and a man cuddle on a bench and breifly kiss. *A man gives a woman a necklace and they share a kiss for a short period of time. *A woman tells a man that his jacket is the only thing of his that will ever be on her bed. *A man pushed a woman agenst the car and trys to kiss her, but she refuses. *A woman brings home a prostitute for her son but they end up not having sex. *A woman tells a man that she is about to have sex with to wait for her or get the h*ll out. *A woman tells her father that she had sex with her boss in an office and then quit her job. (NOTE: Cher's character in this film is always bringing home a new man every night and implying sex) - VIOLENCE: *A woman picks up a box of drugs and throws them at a lamp causing it to break. She then breaks glasses and knocks over her cabinet. *A man punches two guys and throws them off of a platform. *A man threatens teenagers by walking up to them in a mean mannor. *A woman slaps her son and they get into a fight. *Woman talk about slapping people to get them into shape. (NOTE: There is little violence in this film and much of the scarey moments are in verbal fighting scenes) - LANGUAGE: There are plenty of swear words in this movie. 2 f*cks, at least 12 sh*ts, bullsh*t, ash*le, godd*am, b*tch. And many of these words are used in fights, such as "OH THE F*CK WITH THAT!" - "I FIND THEM ALL OVER THE G*DDAMN HOUSE!" - "BULLSH*T, MOM!" (NOTE: The swearing is one of the biggest issues of the film). - DRINKING: *A woman has a drug adiction and she is shown oing drugs at least 6 or 7 times. *We see a woman sitting on her boyfriends lap and they are trying different kinds of drugs. *A man and a woman get into many fights about drugs. *A woman gives up drugs for her son but finds it very difficult. *A woman tells her drug dealer she doesn't need him anymore but he tells her he will be waiting for when she wants to try them again. *A woman drives to a bar to buy 40$ worth of drugs. *A woman does drugs whenever she is angry or depressed. *After getting into a fight with her boyfriend, a woman has mo many drugs that she can hardly even speak clearly with her son. *People drink all sort os beers and alchohal in different scenes. *A woman smokes throughtout the entire movie.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
2 people found this helpful.
age 13+

Great Film I Encourage Everyone to See!

Mask is an 80s classic, it has a great story and a great all star cast with great performances, and excellent dialogue! There is some mild sexual content and many drug references in this film but it's nothing terribly offensive, however this film is very emotionally intense, but there are also a lot of funny scenes that had me laughing out loud. This is a film all teens should see, this film has a great message: don't judge others by the way they look. The main character Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz) suffers from a terminal disease that makes his face look extremely disfigured, and his life expectancy is quite short. Regardless of how weird or scary he might look, Rocky is a smart guy with a witty sense of humor and the people who get to know him begin to love him. Rocky lives with his mother Rusty (Cher) who is a single mother and a chronically depressed drug addict who hangs around with a biker gang. Mask is a film about two very imperfect people who would do anything to see each other happy and healthy.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (5):

This isn't a typical "disease of the week" movie about someone triumphing over adversity; it's a far more complex and moving story about two people who love and care for and about each other. Though in other aspects of her life Rusty is completely irresponsible, even dissolute, with Rocky she is the ideal of maternal strength and commitment. And Rocky is a source of strength for her, too, acting almost as her parent.

Mask has several exceptionally touching moments, and it shows us over and over again that it is not about an "abnormal" boy in a normal world, but about a real boy in a world where everyone is different. As he says, "I look weird, but otherwise I'm real normal." Rocky has some interesting ways of coping with his problems. He has his version of Pollyanna's "Glad Game," using happy memories to help him through hard times. And his mother, who herself uses drugs, helps him manage his headaches without drugs by "talking them away."

Movie Details

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