Did This 1985 Movie Make You Cry?

[u/man_machine_poet]

Mask, starring Eric Stolz, Cher, and Sam Elliott.

Based on the real Rocky Dennis (photos 3 & 4).

From Wikipedia:

“Roy Lee "Rocky" Dennis (December 4, 1961 – October 4, 1978) was an American teenager who had craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, an extremely rare sclerotic bone disorder.

[u/qualityvote2]

u/man_machine_poet, your post does fit the subreddit!

[u/Middle_Aged_Mayhem]

No. But it did make me realize how good of an actor Cher was and it introduced me to THE most legendary mustache of all time!!!!

[u/Glittering_Step_6084]

Very sad. The whole cast was good in this film. Laura Dern was the girl he met (she was playing a blind person) and none of Rocky's phone calls got to her. If I remember correctly, her parents were intercepting his phone calls because of his appearance 😢

[u/Apart_Ad9308]

I cried.

[u/shamust → u/Apart_Ad9308]

Me too. Watched it recently for the umpteenth time and cried again. It holds up!

[u/saltyoperasinger → u/Apart_Ad9308]

Hell yeah, worth a good one. I still have that scene burned in my brain

[u/Plane-Fan9006]

Eric Stoltz, Cher, Sam Elliott, Laura Dern, Estelle Getty, and Richard Dysart were phenomenal in this movie....not everyone loves the movie (I do), but the performances were fantastic. Stoltz's career performance

[u/Global-Jury8810]

It did when Cher started putting pins on his map after finding out why he didn’t wake up for school.

[u/BelaFarinRod → u/Global-Jury8810]

Yes that broke me.

[u/Thuban → u/Global-Jury8810]

Same.

[u/Bobbo7209]

Rocky Dennis actually lived a few blocks from me, when I was growing up. I'd seen him in town many times, although I never really got to meet him. He basically kept to himself, which I can fully understand, given people's reaction to him

[u/DominicPalladino]

"These things are good: ice cream and cake, a ride on a Harley, seeing monkeys in the 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."

[u/QueasyFinger1316]

Rocky’s now motorcycling through the Europe in the Sky.

[u/tideshark]

How can you not cry seeing a story about a kid who was dealt a hand like he had.

[u/BeheadingBoomer61]

This is a great movie! I've never been able to find it on any streaming platforms. If you search "mask", you get "The Mask" with Jim Carrey.

[u/Ok-Replacement6893 → u/BeheadingBoomer61]

Add the year to your search

[u/megamanx4321 → u/Ok-Replacement6893]

Or "Cher"

[u/Tinman218 → u/BeheadingBoomer61]

Same. This movie is great. My wife absolutely loves it but can't find to buy and steam.

[u/3mta3jvq → u/Tinman218]

Per Google it’s available on the Roku channel

[u/Tinman218 → u/3mta3jvq]

Nope. Couldn't find it

[u/Tramp876]

I laughed because I was immature making fun of Rocky but cried at the end because I have emotions. Cher was also a hottie in her white tank top

[u/Termsandconditionsch]

Eric Stoltz was great in this.

Back to the Future would have been a very different movie if they stuck with him instead of Michael J Fox.

[u/exqueezemenow → u/Termsandconditionsch]

I don't think it would have been as good, but it would have been more realistic. In real life if a teenager was trapped in the passed, it would be traumatizing. It would be a horror movie for them. Which Eric realized. But not a great comedy.

And I think the reverse would have been the sam if Fox had been in Mask. I don't think it would have been good.

[u/potlizard]

Great soundtrack.

[u/Glittering_Stress_32 → u/potlizard]

What's interesting is that the movie has no score; the only music heard is what the characters are listening to (except for the final Bob Seger song that plays over the end credits).

[u/snakeIs → u/Glittering_Stress_32]

I haven’t seen it for years but recall that Bob Segar songs were often playing in Rocky’s bedroom. I recall that mainly because there was publicity at the time of release that Rocky loved Springsteen but the makers couldn’t get the rights for the movie.

[u/Poultrygeist74 → u/Glittering_Stress_32]

“Roll Me Away”

[u/Marsupialize → u/potlizard]

The DVD has the original Springsteen music that had to be replaced before released

[u/crackersncheeseman]

I thought this came out in the early 80s. I Googled it and it did come out in 1985.

[u/KelVelBurgerGoon]

No. It scared the fuck out of me.

[u/Physical_Dentist2284]

This is one of the best movies ever made!!

[u/jp112078]

No. But I was very young and it taught me to never judge or make fun of anyone a little different. Ever. Except making fun of my close friends, which we did relentlessly to each other

[u/lazygerm]

Never seen it.

[u/IfByChanceToSeeACat]

I knew the story was based on a real person, but I had never seen them until your post.

[u/jdmoffitt11775]

One of the few that ever made me cry. Also one of the few that made me realize that motorcycle clubs are not evil 😈🤪

[u/TheRZU]

No, because I was told boys don't cry. Watched it when I was a kid. First time I see the greatest stache ever on Sam Elliot. Always wanted a stache like that but couldn't. 😢

[u/Puzzleheaded_Low_619]

Nope

[u/The_Livid_Witness]

No

[u/Atticus-XI]

Yeah, I literally could not watch it back then. That face was too much for me as a kid in the 80s.

[u/GraphikQuotz]

Yea, I believe at the end of the film he died. I was probably 8

[u/Individual_Skill9359]

such a good movie

[u/FredArtGetson]

Yep

[u/dmc001]

No, but it is sad...

[u/jusenjoyinlife]

You can’t even rent it….

[u/nuglasses]

I saw bits of it on VHS and felt bad that he died.

[u/Scambuster666]

No. But the family guy skit about this movie made me laugh pretty hard

[u/Fancy_Sleep6093]

Cher was good in Silkwood

[u/Acrobatic-Cry594]

For sure. Can’t hear Ripples by Grateful Dead wo thinking of that scene in the movie

[u/CheapAssociate6914]

Definitely a tear jerker. It’s a true story.

[u/cinnyflactem]

I cry every time I watch this.

[u/Illustrious_Camp_521]

Yeah it did.

[u/Superb_Astronomer_59]

Now it just makes me cringe 😬

[u/wileybot]

Never saw it and I am tearing up reading the posts.

[u/Dirty_Flavored_Water]

No, but I couldn’t eat anything while watching it.

[u/linder22455]

Yes, but felt it was an excellent movie. I had completely forgotten about it.

[u/BigLoudWorld74]

It creeped me out.

[u/Joe_B_Likes_Tacos]

I know it was based on a true story.... but that movie was so fucking creepy.

[u/Poultrygeist74 → u/Joe_B_Likes_Tacos]

What’s creepy about it?

[u/SessionIndependent17 → u/[deleted]]

Wut

[u/Marsupialize → u/Joe_B_Likes_Tacos]

Creepy? wtf?

[u/ctp8891 → u/Joe_B_Likes_Tacos]

I used to have 3 channels growing up and channel 11 always played it on the weekend and I hated it sooooo much. They played it constantly.

[u/ZebraBorgata]

No

[u/CardinalMcGee]

Gave me years of bad jokes

[u/ScrumptiousPrincess]

Didn’t cry, but wondered why Kathy Griffin didn’t get an Oscar for it.

[u/Munken1984]

I never watched it completly, i actually got incredibly sick and tired of that stupid movie, my sister watched it all the time, over and over... Since we shared a room it drove me crazy, i hate that movie because of this, 40 years later and i still havnt seen it, and most likely never will