Son of the Mask is one of those sequels I hoped would never get made. But given the success of the original, a follow up was inevitable. Trust me when I tell you however, this ill-conceived comedy/fantasy will ultimately find a place atop a dusty video shelf right next to that un-rented copy of Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd.

Son of the Mask is a sloppy, effects-heavy noise machine, that is unable to muster one iota of the original's charm. While The Mask is hardly a masterpiece, it was far more entertaining than this and was able to cruise along thanks to the considerable energy of Jim Carrey and the undeniable charm of Cameron Diaz. Son of the Mask has . . . Jamie Kennedy. What? I'm sorry, but when Kennedy first dons the mask and breaks into a bizarre Vanilla Ice type dance sequence, I was ready to get the hell out of the theater - and that was in the first ten minutes of the movie.

In Son of the Mask, Kennedy plays Tim Avery, a father/cartoonist whose infant son was conceived during a wild evening in which the dopey animator wears the mask that created all the chaos in the first picture (apparently, his wife couldn't tell the difference). As a result, the couple's child is able to perform all sorts of weird, magic tricks including talking in a manly voice, and engaging in song and dance numbers (isn't that whole, creepy, dancing baby thing, like, so five years ago?).

Son of the Mask is an absolute mess of a movie. It's going for a Looney Tunes sensibility but is unable to muster up any sort of cohesive structure. Rather than develop any kind of rhythm, the film makers have chosen to throw in everything but the kitchen sink. When Kennedy isn't wearing the mask, the family dog does, and when the family dog isn't in the picture, the film resorts to showing the infant engaging in the previously mentioned creepy stuff. If that weren't enough, Alan Cumming shows up as a strange, mystical being who apparently created the mask and desperately wants it back.

What's really sad about Son of the Mask is how hard the effects team work at livening up the proceedings. There's some excellent visuals here. Characters twirling around like Tasmanian Devils and such. Alas, it never adds up to anything. It's all just a big, headache inducing experience without an ounce of charm. Thank you Jim Carrey for moving forward and taking chances instead of taking-on processed pabulum like this.