Mask is a 1985 American biographical drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Cher, Sam Elliott, and Eric Stoltz with supporting roles played by Dennis Burkley, Laura Dern, Estelle Getty, and Richard Dysart.

[2] The film is based on the life and early death of Roy L. "Rocky" Dennis, a boy who had craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, an extremely rare genetic disorder known commonly as lionitis due to the disfiguring cranial enlargements that it causes.

In 1978 Azusa, California, Rocky Dennis, a teenage boy with the extremely rare genetic disorder known as craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, is accepted without question by his freewheeling biker mother's boyfriend Gar, who is a father figure to him, his "extended motorcycle family," and his maternal grandparents who share his passion of baseball card collecting; but is treated with fear, pity, awkwardness, and teasing by those unaware of his humanity, humor, and intelligence.

Rocky thrives at school, making friends with his wit and humor, tutoring his classmate for $3 per hour, as well as assisting a fellow student with his locker combination, and telling an entertaining rendition of the Trojan Wars to his history class.

Rocky feels the need to leave his chronically depressed and drug-addicted mother, and helps her break her drug habit, and he accepts the job offer as a camp counselor.

He is further crushed when his lifelong dream of a motorbike trip through Europe is shattered when his best friend Ben, who was to accompany him, reveals that he is leaving Azusa and moving back to Michigan permanently, to live with his father.

Rocky's biker family, Rusty, Gar, and Dozer, later visit his grave, leaving flowers and some 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers baseball cards by his headstone.

Rusty Dennis sold the film rights to Rocky's life story for $15,000, most of which went to pay medical bills for her son Joshua, who was undergoing treatment for AIDS.

[5] Bogdanovich sued Universal for $19 million, alleging the film studio switched the music without his approval in violation of his final cut privilege.

"[9] Gene Siskel described Mask as "superb" and also singled out Cher's portrayal of Rusty as the heart of the film, but criticized the marketing campaign that kept Stoltz's face secretive as a revival of a freak show mentality.