Mask (1985)

“Sometimes the most beautiful things in life don’t make sense.”

Join Ian & Liam, along with BFF of the BFE: Ariannah (Who Loves BFE the Most™), for our 303rd episode as we ride through the heart and humanity of Peter Bogdanovich’s Mask (1985) — the moving, funny, and unforgettable story of Rocky Dennis, his extraordinary mother, and the people who refused to let difference define them.

This week we discuss:

• How Mask walks the perfect line between sentiment and sincerity without tipping into melodrama.
• Cher’s powerhouse performance — fierce, fragile, and absolutely magnetic but was she well directed (or even well written?)
• Eric Stoltz’s stunning transformation and how the film lets his humanity shine through the prosthetics.
• Why this might be the most compassionate film of the 1980s — and what it still teaches us about empathy today.
• Ariannah joins us to talk about how disability and difference are portrayed on screen, and why this one hits harder than most.
• The use of music (and that classic Springsteen debate) — how the soundtrack shapes the film’s emotional DNA.
• We rip on Bogdanovich’s simplistic direction and how his brevity is far from the film's greatest strength.
• Ian wonders whether the film’s emotional punches still land as powerfully for modern audiences.
• We talk about how Mask redefined expectations for family drama and biopic storytelling.
• And finally, whether Mask (1985) is the Best Film Ever — or just one of the most human films we’ve ever covered.

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• Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM
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Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor.

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/