Liar Liar

Liar Liar (1997)

Director: Tom Shadyac

Writers: Paul Guay, Stephen Mazur

Cast: Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Amanda Donohoe, Jennifer Tilly, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwes, Anne Haney, Jason Bernard, Swoosie Kurtz, Mitchell Ryan, Christopher Mayer, Eric Pierpoint, Randal 'Tex' Cobb, Cheri Oteri

Synopsis:

Fletcher Reede (Carrey) is a fast talking and successful lawyer who has built his career on lying. He also has a habit of putting his career first over everything, including his his young son Max (Cooper). After breaking another promise and missing his birthday party, Max makes a wish that for one whole day, his father can't tell a lie. Shockingly, the wish comes true and Fletcher has to navigate life without being able to tell any sort of lie, white or otherwise. Mayhem ensues.

First Impressions:

I originally saw this one in theaters when I was in my early 20s. I generally liked most of Carrey's movies back then (it was before he started trying so hard to win an Oscar), however, there were a few - such as The Mask - that I really didn't care for. That being said, I enjoyed Liar Liar for the most part. There was a healthy dose of Carrey madness that's hard not to laugh at and a good amount of absurdity that I always enjoy. I never considered it one of his best (that honor goes to Dumb and Dumber) but I got a giggle or two out of it and that's not nothing. It's not a flick I return to very often and it's been quite a while since I last saw it. Let's see how the hijinks hold up.

Story/Direction:  

"The pen is blue. The pen is blue! The goddamn pen is blue!"

Like most screwball comedies, there's not of ton of story to dissect in Liar Liar and the story, such as it is, is really just a vehicle to string together the humorous set pieces in the film. As I've mentioned before in some of my other comedy reviews, this doesn't bug me all that much. when I'm watching a comedy, my first priority is to laugh. If I do that, the as far as I'm concerned, the movie was successful. So, the question is, did Liar Liar make me laugh? The short answer is yes. I find that Carrey's early brand of comedy stands up well to the re-watch. This is mostly because it involves a fair amount of slapstick (even in scenes that are not meant to be slapstick), which always tends to make me laugh. However, there's also a lot of clever dialogue sprinkled throughout the movie, which provides a good amount of variety in the comedy.

However, there were some things about the film that I did not enjoy. First off, much like my recent viewing of Willow, found Liar Liar to also have issues with tone. The premise is very family friendly and there are a lot of "cute" scenes between Max and Fletcher. But most of the scenes with Fletcher on his own tend to skew a bit more raunchy than many parents (especially at the time) would have liked their kids to see. I think this issue might have been rectified by aging up Max a little bit from a kindergartner to maybe someone in middle school. I also found it a bit weird that nobody in the film seems at all incredulous that a magic wish has somehow made Fletcher unable to lie. When other characters find out about Fletcher's issues, they just kind of...go with it. But that issue is purely secondary because, as I said previously, story doesn't matter too much to me in a comedy. 

As far as the comedy itself goes there are some truly funny bits, such as Fletcher's "honest" responses to some of the people he meets in his daily life. The scene where he tries to "convince" his hand that the pen he's using is red and not blue. Of course, the key comedic scenes are the ones that take place in court, specifically the one where Fletcher beats the shit out of himself in the bathroom. So, despite the tonal issues, there are some really good laughs to be found in Liar Liar.

Acting/Characters:

This is a Jim Carrey movie and, of course, the whole thing is going to center on his antics. He is in top form in Liar Liar, bringing all manner of Carrey wildness to bear upon the audience. While his goofy and elastic silliness is what you pay to see, Carrey also has a sincerity in his performances that's also worth noting. In those quiet moments with Max, you can see he cares deeply for the boy but he just can't overcome his own nature to be the father he's supposed to be. It's a little heart-breaking, which I suspect was the point. Otherwise Fletcher would have no redeeming qualities, which was important because back then it was filmmakers wanted the audience to like the main character in a film of this type (not so much now). 

Normally, I try to highlight at least one other performance, but really, this is Carrey's movie all the way and everybody has to take a back seat. However, there are some decent performances to be found including: Maura Tierney as Fletcher's long-suffering ex-wife, Audrey; Amanda Donohoe as Fletcher's conniving boss Miranda; Cary Elwes as Audrey's milquetoast boyfriend Jerry; and Jason Bernard as the confused and irritated Judge Stevens. All-in-all its a cast well-suited to let Carrey do his thing and react accordingly. 

Score/Soundtrack:

The music for the film was composed by John Debney and it's pretty unremarkable and generic. This is often the case with comedies, as they tend to be lower budget ordeals and, of course, music isn't as vital (though it can be useful) in a comedy. I honestly don't remember much, if anything, of the film's music and I suppose that's better than having distractingly bad music, so kudos I guess?

Final Verdict:

Overall, I'd say this is a pretty funny movie and worth a view if you haven't already seen it. It's classic 1990's Jim Carrey at his goofiest. So, if that's your jam, check it out.