Film Review : LIAR LIAR * * * 1/2

Submitted by jblack on Tue, 04/17/2001 - 02:47
Tags: 
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati

Liar Liar (1997)

Cast Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwes, jennifer Tilly, Amanda Donahoe

DIRECTOR Tom Shadyac

"Liar Liar" is a director's wet dream Tom Shadyac had the undeniable pleasure of just letting the camera's role and letting Jim Carrey do his thing.

Jim Carrey is Fletcher Reed, a lawyer who tells a little lie here and there to help him win cases. His lies become a little too frequent for his son Max (Cooper). After Fletcher misses his son's birthday party, Max is crushed and he makes a wish that his father wouldn't be able to tell a lie for one whole day. This is where the film switches gears in to a high gear laugh fest. The first sign that we get that the wish came true, is when Fletcher is in an elevator with a beautiful curvy woman who was recently hired in the building. He can't help but tell her why everyone has been so nice to her. This opens the flood gates for what is to come.

Jim Carrey is in his best comic form in this movie. Making faces and contorting his body in ways only cicus people know how to do. The coutroom scenes are the highlight. Carrey has a field day with ad lib lines and acting that brings comedy to a different level entirely. There are gratuitous comedic lines thrown in here and their for the other characters, like throwing a dog a bone, but the real show is Carrey.

The film has a plot which circles around Carrey and his ex-wife Audrey (Tierney), who finally gets fed up with Fletcher and decides to move to boston with Jerry (Elwes) to get married and live. This is a pretty shakey plot with a mud like foundation. What rescues the film from sinking in sentimism is the presence of Carrey, along with the fact they dont stay too long at any one time to the mushy plot. It's carrey and his inability to lie for one day which makes this film highly recommended and so enjoyable to watch. The supporting players in the film are good. Tierney is adequate as the mother trying too do whats best for her son. I think maybe, if the screenplay could have had Carrey unable to lie under different circumstances, that this would have been a great film instead of a very good one.