One thing I sometimes avoid are Hollywood bio-pics. This is because rarely do the filmmakers ever allow the real story to come out but instead they embellish the crap out of it because they simply don't trust the truth nor the audience. This is definitely the case with "Mask", a film which is only very loosely based on the later years of Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz),a young man with a rare medical condition, Craniodiaphyseal Dysplasia. Instead of just telling his story, they sanitized much of his life and made him inspirational...something very formulaic but which also take away from the guy's humanity. As a father with two disabled daughters, I take exception to this and just wanted to know the real Rocky and his life. What we do have is a nice inspirational film...but not exactly a true portrait (especially when it comes to Rocky's mother).

The story is set in the last year or so of Rocky's life. He's in his final year at middle school and he has many of the typical problems a teen might have in addition to his medical condition. His mother (Cher) is loving and very appropriate in some ways...and a train wreck in many others.

So is it any good? Yes...very much so. Despite playing fast and loose with some of the facts (such as having Rocky NOT being legally blind like he was in real life, never mentioning his brother and much more),the film is enjoyable and will keep your interest. Stoltz is quite nice in the lead (though Cher received top billing). He seemed to be able to do quite a bit as a young actor despite being under tons of makeup and prosthetics. The makeup by Michael Westmore and Zoltan Elek was pretty amazing and earned the Oscar for this category. And, the direction by Peter Bogdonovich was also lovely. No major complaints about anything other than the film taking too many liberties with the facts.

I saw Mask because I like Peter Bogdanovich's films, and also it was on a subject that I identified with. I had been told so much about Mask, how moving and how great it was. And after eventually seeing it, having been behind with my movie watching, it fully lived up to expectations. Mask is a wonderful movie, very moving and Bogdanovich's second best movie after The Last Picture Show. Mask is beautiful to look at, with crisp cinematography and evergreen and autumnal images. The soundtrack is memorable and is careful not to be overpowering in key moments. The scripting is touching and honest, and the story has a subject that will resonate with anybody with a disfigurement, knows somebody with one or neither. More importantly, none of the film feels forced or in your face. Bogdanovich's direction is superb, and he sensibly focuses on mother and son's strengths and weaknesses. The two leads are superb. Whether it is her best performance or not is up for debate, but regardless Cher's performance is wonderful. That's not to dispute Eric Stoltz either, he is just heart-wrenching as he struggles with his disfigurements and faces death. Overall, Mask is such an achingly moving movie, and sadly one of the the 80s most overlooked films. 10/10 Bethany Cox

It's 1978 Azusa, California. Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz) has massive facial deformities. His biker single mom Rusty (Cher) registers him into the 9th grade. He's a happy well adjusted teen who dreams of riding motorcycles with his friend around the world. She's a force of nature. He excels in school academically. The surprised principal notices his tutoring jobs and gets him a counseling job at Camp Bloomfield for the blind. He falls for blind girl Diana Adams (Laura Dern). Gar (Sam Elliott) is a fellow biker who is in love with Rusty.

This is a wonderful feel-good movie. Eric Stoltz is utterly charming. Cher is a great momma bear and Laura Dern is angelic. The puppy love is heart warming and heart breaking. The story is an inspirational tale and the actors make the movie even better.