Son of the Mask

If you are after a comedy that actually makes you laugh out loud, Son of the Mask is available in Australia on HBO Max right now. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. A 4/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Jamie Kennedy's performance alone is worth the time investment. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on HBO Max.

Son of the Mask arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Son of the Mask gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. Tim Avery, an aspiring cartoonist, finds himself in a predicament when his dog stumbles upon the mask of Loki. Then after conceiving an infant son "born of the mask", he discovers just how looney child raising can be. Jamie Kennedy and Alan Cumming lead a cast that never overplays a joke. Son of the Mask came out in 2005. The real test of any comedy is whether it is still funny once you know all the jokes, and Son of the Mask holds up on rewatch in a way that separates it from one-off curiosities. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Son of the Mask is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Jamie Kennedy is funny in a way that holds up on rewatch. Put it on when you need something guaranteed to land.