The 1985 movie Mask w/ Cher, Eric Scholtz and Sam Elliott - Off the topic
Kate
stars Cher, most of Cher's movies are sad. The movie is about a boy named Roy
"Rocky" L. Dennis who has craniodiaphyseal dysplasia which deforms his skull.
Rocky was born in 1964 and died in 1980. As you can see Rocky wasn't that old
when he died, Rocky was only 15 years old. Here is a little article about Roy
"Rocky" L. Dennis:
Roy L. "Rocky" Dennis
Birth: 1964
Death: 1980
He was born with the rare disease, craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, which causes
calcium to accumulate on the skull and makes the head grow to twice its normal
size. The movie "Mask" was about him.
Cause of death: craniodiaphyseal dysplasia
Burial:
Unknown
Specifically: Location of Body is Unknown
Has anyone else seen the movie Mask before? What did you think about the movie
Mask?
http://www.dionysus.org/x1101.html
This is another article about Roy "Rocky" L. Dennis, but this one is quite
long:
Last Article Whatever-Dude Next Article
Peeling off the Mask
posted by Dave, Jen and Paul on 11/09/01
What is the real point of "Mask"? Is Rocky Dennis a hero or a villain?
Whatever-Dude's motley crew offer their individual perspectives.
Our beauty is on the inside:
Dave
Now I know what a lot of readers are probably thinking.. It's pretty cruel to
devote a whole week to making fun of a movie "based on a true story"… Well,
that's just it.. we're making fun of the movie.. and not the true story. I'd
actually be curious to hear what Rocky's life was "really" like and not the
Holywood-ized version of it. I'm sure the true story is a lot less cut and
dry.. and a lot more heartwarming in it's own way.
The movie version of this young man's story is such a jumbled mess, I don't
even know where to begin. The director, Peter Bogdanovich is trying to make the
tone and message of the movie so clear, "That true beauty is on the inside"..
yet he doesn't realize that the material he is presented with his not really
supporting what he's trying to cram down people's throats.
The key to why I can look at this movie and not feel too much remorse picking
it apart is quite simple. While trying so hard to come across with a "true
beauty is on the inside message".. never once do they give Rocky a scene where
he's being beautiful on the inside. From the get-go, he cons his best and only
true friend, Ben, out of his Rube Walker baseball card. Don't you think if he
just said, "Hey Ben.. I need that Rube Walker for my 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers
collection.. Here though, since I have three Steve Garveys, I'll give you two
of them for it.", that Ben would have given it to him? The kicker is, Rocky was
proud that he had "conned" Ben out of his Rube Walker.. that I guess he was
overlooking the fact that an early 70's Steve Garvey is worth more than a 1955
"common" card. Rube Walker was important to Rocky, and yet when Red and the
gang gave him a Steve Garvey, he looked at them like they were idiots because
they couldn't remember the name of the player he needed. Ruby Walters? Then he
"conned" Ben out of the card.. and later in the movie called him "stupid"
because he had made that trade. That summarizes Rocky perfectly, cause Rube
Walker was important to him, it should have been just as important to everybody
else.
How's about I trade you these magic beans for your Rube Walker, dummy.
When Rocky went to school, just from the way he presented the whole Helen of
Troy story, we get the impression that he's smart.. but he's not really that
smart, cause he told the story pretty half assed. Later on, when he came home
with a poem that he got an "A" on.. it was clear that obviously some teachers
were treating him sympathetically.. and not just like everybody else… I mean,
c'mon does this poem deserve an "A"??
These things are good.
Ice cream and cake.
A ride on a Harley.
Seeing monkeys in trees.
The rain on my tongue.
And the sun shining on my face.
These things are a drag.
Dust in my hair.
Holes in my shoes.
No money in my pocket.
And the sun shining on my face.
Here's a poem that I had written in college.. Strangely enough, I got a "D" on
it.
These things are good.
Making a great bobbling save while almost dropping the soap in the shower.
Finding a ten dollar bill in my winter coat from last year.
Flame broiled Whoppers.
Having a really drunk girl grab your junk in public.
And the sun shining on my big half Italian/half Jew nose.
These things are a drag.
Having to take a shit while out at a bar.
Not being able to find my shoes after a night of drinking.
Fat chicks.
And the sun shining on my big half Italian/half Jew nose.
This sympathy shown by the school became much more evident at the year end
awards when Rocky pretty much won every award there. I mean c'mon, this was
worse than watching the Academy placate Robin Williams by giving him the Best
Supporting Actor Oscar for Good Will Hunting, just so we could see commercials
for Bicentennial Man stating, "starring Academy Award winner, Robin Williams.."
and the little girl from the Pepsi commercials who is solely there to make sure
Robin Williams is guaranteed not to be the mostannoying person in the movie.
Do you have a half hour? I need to say a sentence to you.
When Rocky goes to the camp for the blind.. he obviously has some ulterior
motives going on. From the second he stepped off the bus, he was on the prowl
for some nice visually impaired poontang pie.
Is this the corner of Know-Your-Role Blvd. And Jabroni Dr.?
Seriously, Rocky's supposed to be there as a counselor's aide… yet there's
only one scene where he is even remotely helping out campers.. and that's when
he's leading a group of four of them over to the kickball game..so he can
unload them and go try and find the hot little blond he had his eye on earlier.
From there on out, he only spends his time with Diana, trying to get into her
pants.
Now the funny part is, Diana is blind.. which is her flaw… just as Rocky's
looks are his flaw. Yet, just as he wants people to accept him for who he is on
the inside… he can't do the same with Diana. When she tells him that she
doesn't understand color because she's been blind by birth.. he has to push on
her what his view of the human experience should be like.. by trying to show
her what colors "look" like by sticking hot and cold rocks in her hand.
If ya smellalalalalalaowww!!! What the Rock is cookin.
When Diana's parents come to pick her up, she tells them that Rocky was voted
"Best Buddy" and "Friendliest Camper" , which I guess makes sense because he
spent all of his time with Diana and ignoring the job he was getting a free
ride to camp to perform. Once again.. must've beem sympathetic judges for that
contest.
At the end, when things start falling apart.. and Ben has to cancel the trip to
Europe because he wants to go back and live with his Dad.. He tries to explain
to Rocky that he has a job lined up to make decent money.. but instead of
realizing that Ben's not happy in California.. and a move back East might be
the best thing for him… Rocky goes off on him and lets his true colors come
out. He calls Ben stupid and kicks him out of the house.
I'm pretty sure that at this point, Rocky knew that his health was in decline..
so the fact that he let Ben leave without even saying goodbye to him was pretty
selfish. Think how Ben must've felt a few weeks later after he received the
news that Rocky died. My bet is that he felt pretty shitty. Nice one, Rock.
Ben, don't go away mad... Ben just go away.
I can't honestly name one selfless or kind act that Rocky performed throughout
the course of this movie.. and how am I the viewer supposed to see the intended
point of the movie, that he was "beautiful on the inside".. when he really
wasn't. If anything.. and like Jen pointed out in one of the article's earlier
this week.. it was Dozer and Ben who were truly more exemplary of the whole
point. Dozer was a mute.. but he went out of his way to do nice things for
Rocky.. Ben was an imbecile.. but he still treated Rocky with respect and never
resorted to even hinting about what Rocky really looked like. Rocky on the
other hand, was just a pretty mean and selfish individual.. or at least that's
how the material presented itself. Beauty on the inside is what counts.. but
that just wasn't evident with the protagonist of this movie. He was pretty much
an ugly person all around. I'm thinking the real life Roy L. Dennis probably
deserved a little bit better than this film about him.
Dave
da...@whatever-dude.com
Whatever-Dude.com - Next up, Ishtar Week
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Jen
The lessons behind the Mask:
There are a lot of Aesop-inspired life lessons to take away from Mask. We
learned that beauty is only skin deep, as Rocky's inner beauty manifested
itself despite his hideous appearance. We have learned not to judge a book by
its cover, as evidenced by Rocky's friend Eric Dempsey, who looked like he was
gonna be the Billy Zabka of the movie, but turned out to be a good friend and
confidante. Slow and steady wins the race is another good Aesop fable; it
didn't appear in this movie, but it's a good lesson. But for, the most
important lesson that came out of this movie was that the less we have, the
happier we are.
The visual cure for rampant horniness.
In the beginning of the movie, Rocky had little. He was fatherless, had only
one friend, and only a smattering of material possessions, but was saddled with
a face that definitely wouldn't launch a thousand ships. But he was happy. When
he went to the doctor's office and was told the "great news" that his jaw had
only grown an 1/8th of an inch since his last check-up, he put on his game face
(is that possible?) and made a lighthearted joke about it, "Gee, I'm cured!"
After taking a long look in the mirror at his horrid appearance, Rocky simply
turns to the doctors and says, referring to his skimpy nightgown, "When you
gonna invent one of these things so a guy's rear-end isn't always hanging out?"
When people said he looked like Frankenstein, instead of coming back with
something appropriate like, "Eat shit," Rocky comes back with a casual, "What's
the matter, haven't you seen anyone from the planet Vultran before? Beep. Beep,
beep." Even when the school principal, a man who is supposed to be a beacon of
diplomacy, looks at Rocky in disgust, instead of flipping him off, Rocky says,
"Don't worry Mr. Simms, I look weird, but I'm real normal."
One of my other personal favorite scenes, is in the classroom, when the teacher
announces two new students. First we have Miss Nancy Lawrence. Where are you,
Nancy?" Then, in the first time in the history of new student introduction, one
student says sexually, "Where are you Nancy?," another one smooches the air,
and the entire class of students claps. Nancy's 5 seconds of fame allow her to
say, "Wow!! Thanks a lot!" Now, no offense to Miss Lawrence, but in the words
of Tamara Lowery, "She ain't even all that." Of course, when the teacher
introduces Rocky Dennis, nobody says a word. Rocky jokingly says, "Wow. Thanks
a lot." With this quip, the whole class laughs, not at him, but with him, and
after that he starts to make friends.
After this point, Rocky finds it easier to make friends with some of the track
stars and such, again, because of his positive attitude. The movie progresses
with him swallowing some pretty severe remarks, just because of his great
attitude.
At the pinnacle of the movie, Rocky wins a number of awards at his graduation
and then goes to a camp for the blind, where he meets and falls in love with a
beautiful girl. When he returns from camp, you would think his attitude would
have improved exponentially, but it doesn't.
"Cotton balls are billowy.. My balls bouncing around in your mouth is
beautiful!"
Instead, Rocky seems less able to take criticism from people. When Ben tells
him he can't go to Europe with him, Rocky freaks out and throws Ben out of the
house. When he calls Diana (his love) and she isn't home, he slams down the
phone in childish anger. When he returns to school and one kid angrily says,
"If that's a mask he's wearing, I SURE WISH HE'D TAKE IT OFF!!!!" instead of
blowing it off as usual, Rocky grabs the kid by the neck and throws him into a
locker growling, "I'll take my mask off if you take your mask off, you
sonofabitch."
Seriously, if you've never seen this movie before, this scene right here is
reason enough to watch it. The kid who made that remark looked so animated and
angry about Rocky not being attractive, it was ridiculous. You see this awful
pall go over his face and the intensity of his voice rises to a crescendo right
as Rocky passes him by. It's almost as if the kid thinks Rocky grew the ugly
just to offend him or something.
"You're not exactly Donny Osmond yourself, asshole!"
Anyway, the point is, sometimes people, as they accumulate more, be it
possessions or friends or whatever, realize that it's never enough. Think about
it…the people who always have a boyfriend or girlfriend, are never content to
just be alone. The people who make 6 or 7 figure salaries, are often the ones
driven to work more hours just to accumulate more and more. Maybe it wasn't
healthy for Rocky to be content with a stagnant, futureless life, it's just
interesting to note the change in behavior caused by events that logically
should have made him happier. And with that slightly vacant conclusion, I am
finished talking about Mask. Dave, Paul, Mask fans, I'm sorry but I don't have
anything left to give.
Jen
j...@whatever-dude.com
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Paul
"Mask", to me, has always been a pretty touching movie with a lot of deep
themes coursing through the narrative. The obvious and striking point that the
film-makers try to hammer home is that "beauty isn't skin-deep". Using Rocky
Dennis as their poster boy for this overdone mantra, your first impression is
that they hit the traget. But while I wouldn't go out my way to call Rocky a
bad character, he's not as pure as we're first tricked into believing. The
movie does lull you into that trap, but it's taken my, say, fifty viewings to
realize that there's more going on here.
Rocky is not a pretty guy, but his unsightly face and high-pitched voice fool
us into believing this is the second coming - sympathy for him clouds our
judgment. That seems to affect most characters in this movie. At the end of the
day, what does he do for anyone, except for his mother? The good things that he
does, like patronizing his Mom about getting off drugs, is possibly for his own
benefit - sure, he loves her, but isn't it possible he only wants her around so
she can tell him fairy stories whenever he's bothered by the pains in his
over-sized head? And, while she has total compassion for him, he is less
understanding. He accepts that she's no saint, but he doesn't even try to
empathize about why she might be taking drugs.
A big clue to why she might be taking drugs (other than wanting to hear Jewish
guys asking other men to recommend hair-care products) is the immense pressure
she's under; he does, to his credit, try to keep the ship afloat, but she also
does a lot for him - getting him into a regular school, treating him as normal,
introducing him to Gar and nursing him when sick. How does he re-pay her? Well,
he gets angry at her for going out. She then tells him to do the dishes and he
smashes the f'n plates! Can you imagine this scenario if it was with a "normal"
kid? There'd be zero audience empathy. Rocky is essentially a spoiled brat.
He may have to take some shit because of his looks, but he's more than
compensated in other ways.
Think about it. Besides being given preferential treatment by the
establishment, everyone in his circle bends over backwards for Rocky. They'll
buy him trading cards and give him a by-ball if he's throwing a hissy fit. Gar
bought him a suit, his grandparents took him to the Dodgers' game and Dozer
gave him a map. What did Rocky ever get these people? For me, one of the
pivotal scenes in the whole movie is when Rusty's parents come to visit. This
reveals, more than ten minutes of dialogue or constructed "messages" ever
could, the true dynamic at play. Just before her folks arrive, we see Rusty and
Gar in her room. She is tense. She reaches for some pills. Gar tells her "maybe
you should play this one straight. Give your old man a chance."
Anyone seen my baseball?
There you go. Instantly we know why Rusty takes drugs. All her life, from an
early age, she was made to feel inferior. Did Rocky even bother to ask this?
Sure, he can go around telling prostitutes that they have a "real shitty
attitude", but it's easier to point the finger than try to get to the root of
the problem. During this scene, we see all the old animosities stirred up. We
see Rusty's dad making zingers about his daughter's failings. We see Rusty
getting annoyed. We see Gar standing back, drinking tea and being cool - he has
no reason to get involved in family squabbles. And besides, he gets off on her
feistiness. But what of Rocky? When his mother - the same mother who protected
his honor in the doctor's office and in front of Mr Simms - is being made to
feel like a reject, what does he do? Does he speak up for his mother? Does he
try to ease the tension? Oh no, the selfish asshole walks out of the room.
Obviously he was too concerned about getting his well-hidden Dodgers' tickets
to worry about his Mom's feelings.
Then when he comes home from the game, he has the audacity to get pissed at her
for being loaded.
In some ways, you could think of this as American Dream movie going awry. It's
about learning to cope with your failings and learning to accept. And, of
course, looking more closely at those around us. The ironic thing is, Rocky is
just as guilty of misjudging society as anyone. He has no sympathy for his
friend, Ben. There is never a moment when he tries to help his troubled friend.
Sure, it's much easier to lull him into going to Europe, judas him in baseball
card trading and then call him "so stupid" when he's unable to travel. Nor do
any of the services he provides have any altruistic or generous undertones. He
charges students a considerable sum of money for algebra tutoring, he is a
babysitter for hire and he only wants to go to blind camp because it's a free
trip and he might be able to get his possibly huge weiner into someone who
can't see his face. It's all about him. None of the money he gets goes back
into the house nor does he buy any gifts; it's all needed for his stupid tacks,
cards and to save some money for his big European adventure.
Europe and 1955. Two places Rocky Dennis, unlike Marty Mc Fly, will never be.
The European trip, for me, is a metaphor for escape and that plays into the
American Dream. Rocky wants to go somewhere new, start afresh and just be free.
Deep down, he knows it's unlikely, but since he's passionate about that prided
American sport (baseball), he knows that an elusive dream isn't a bad thing to
have. What strikes me as odd is that for someone who's living with a facial
disfigurement his motives are less than pure. No sooner is he at blind camp
than he's already putting the moves on one of the hottest blind chicks you'll
ever see. This proves that he thinks beauty is on the outside, because out of
all the oblivious girls he could have chosen, he opted for the prettiest one
stroking the horse. Does this not show that Rocky is as shallow as the people
we're supposed to dislike in this movie? I'll freely concede that personality
is a key requirement in a relationship, but does Diana love Rocky because of
his soul or because he showed an interest?
"Your face seems ok to me?" "That wasn't my face, it was just some acne."
Judging by their rather bland conversations, it'd be fair to say Rocky was
using poor Diana for sex. Think about it: how could two people be in love when
their dialogue consists of talking about clouds and how Rocky "doesn't really
look like Adonis"? The very fact that, after feeling his face, Diana didn't
retreat, showed that her love was pure. How did Rocky prove his love? Well, he
said he was in love, but after calling Diana a few times on the phone and
getting no answer, he cried like a big baby and went to see her.
Let me sum up your feelings...
He visited Diana at her stable, repulsing her friend and basically ending the
relationship when he heard she was leaving the state. She never even got his
calls or his tapes (?), because her parents didn't tell her - they probably
knew he was just using her for sex. Yet, Rocky displays his nature by not even
trying to make the relationship work, proving that unless are 100% on his
terms, he'll just cave in. Selfish asshole.
"Is this the guy who looks like Adonis? OMG LOL!"
Above all, the movie seems to be about heart. You really do have to admire
Rocky's heart and his resilience. I mean, it's really quite enviable. Put it
this way: if I had a pimple on my face, I'd have been reluctant to speak up in
class, yet this kid tells a whole story in front of his classmates; he's also
unashamed about showing up to his graduation and thinks nothing about busting
other people's balls. The guy is a walking bag of confidence. He knows his
appearance is frightening but that doesn't stop him meeting Diana's parents,
and it certainly didn't stop him from thinking he had a shot at one tasty piece
of blind tail. That's more than I would have done, and higher than I'd have
ever estimated himself.
I suppose Rocky's story proves that confidence is king. At the end of the day,
didn't he have a pretty good life? Didn't his confidence and selfishness help
him get by?
Go now: Dream big, live for the moment and stick tacks in maps.
Paul
pa...@whatever-dude.com
AOL IM: paulwdfans
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Dave, Jen and Paul
Thanks to: www.rockydennis.com
We hope you've enjoyed Rocky Dennis week here at Whatever-Dude.com. It's
certainly been a lot of fun to write and we look forward to more special
"themed" weeks - if you have any specific article requests, feel free to pass
on the feedback. We love you all very much.
Do it all over again!
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Kate
Not diagnosed yet (don't know if I am Autistic, Asperger's Syndrome, NLD, etc.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Robin May
> This is another article about Roy "Rocky" L. Dennis, but this one is
> quite long:
That was a massive post of a boring article. Couldn't you just have posted
links?
--
message by Robin May, living in the great bit of Greater London
"You're a big money prize in the lottery of life."
sent from RISC OS 3.7
BradHAWK
>
> I love the movie Mask, and it is a real sad movie. I really like movies which
> stars Cher, most of Cher's movies are sad. The movie is about a boy named Roy
> "Rocky" L. Dennis who has craniodiaphyseal dysplasia which deforms his skull.
> Rocky was born in 1964 and died in 1980. As you can see Rocky wasn't that old
> when he died, Rocky was only 15 years old. Here is a little article about Roy
> "Rocky" L. Dennis:
I remember that movie, it was great. I think it's the only
Cher movie I've seen, but she was good in it. I usually like
movies about unusual people.
BradHAWK
Ian Molton
Kate *DONT DO THAT*
please dont post whole articles. Only post LINKS to them so we dont have to
have the misfortune of reading them if we dont want to...
Larry
Posting something which interests you but may not interest others and simply
be regarded as a nuiscance.
OK. that is autistic behavior but it would be well to adopt a strategy to
avoid it.
I remember when I made my first posting ever to usenet which was a long
article and I was heavily flamed for it. I soon realised that the proper way
for me to express my interests was by writing a web site I could put all
this stuff on then people could look at it if they wanted.
The idea then is to post a URL to something of interest so that those who
are interested will pursue it and maybe even comment and those who are not
(who probably form the majority) will ignore it.
I hope this helps
--
Larry
L'autisme c'est moi
"Space folds, and folded space bends, and bent folded space contracts and
expands unevenly in every way unconcievable except to someone who does not
believe in the laws of mathematics"
"Kate" <kateg...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020414011251...@mb-mv.aol.com...
neral
news:20020414125755....@clara.net...
I did'nt got the original message anyway. I switched over from the
telenet newsbin-server to the telenet-text server wich allow only
messages of 16kb or lower. Her message was probably bigger than 16kb.
--
neral
Anna Hayward, Alien Visitor
>Kate you have done it again
>
>Posting something which interests you but may not interest others and simply
>be regarded as a nuiscance.
>
>OK. that is autistic behavior but it would be well to adopt a strategy to
>avoid it.
It is very autistic behaviour. OTOH, it's pretty harmless and she did
label it "Off topic". Personally, I just ignored it because it's not
about one of my own obsessions.
>I remember when I made my first posting ever to usenet which was a long
>article and I was heavily flamed for it. I soon realised that the proper way
>for me to express my interests was by writing a web site I could put all
>this stuff on then people could look at it if they wanted.
>
>The idea then is to post a URL to something of interest so that those who
>are interested will pursue it and maybe even comment and those who are not
>(who probably form the majority) will ignore it.
Good advice. I also had to learn the same lessons.
--
Anna Hayward, Alien Visitor
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Kalen
If you like it, why did you post a negative review of it?
> I really like movies which
> stars Cher, most of Cher's movies are sad. The movie is about a boy named
Roy
> "Rocky" L. Dennis who has craniodiaphyseal dysplasia which deforms his
skull.
> Rocky was born in 1964 and died in 1980. As you can see Rocky wasn't that
old
> when he died,
Most of us can do the math.
> Rocky was only 15 years old. Here is a little article about Roy
> "Rocky" L. Dennis:
And here should have been a link, not the whole article. Your post should
have stopped here. It would have been off topic, but that's generally OK
here (better if you can link it to the topic or if it comes up in
conversation, but totally off topic is OK; it's also better if you put "off
topic" at the beginning of the subject line so people who have the subject
column too narrow will still see it.)
You got part way there by adding a bit of your own commentary instead of
only the article. Now you just have to learn not to post the article.
Kalen
Kate
>the topic
>From: Robin May northc...@btinternet.com
>Date: 4/14/2002 4:40 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <4b26fc2173n...@btinternet.com>
Sorry!
Kate
>the
>Date: 4/14/2002 5:33 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <3CB95AC8...@tourette.net>
Me too!