Liar Liar

Liar Liar is a 1997 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur and starring Jim Carrey, who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy. It tells the story of a lawyer who built his entire career on lying, but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth for a single day, during which he struggles to maintain his career and to reconcile with his ex-wife and son whom he alienated with his pathological lying.

For other uses, see Liar Liar (disambiguation).

Liar Liar
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTom Shadyac
Produced byBrian Grazer
Written by
Starring
Music byJohn Debney
James Newton Howard (theme)
CinematographyRussell Boyd
Edited byDon Zimmerman
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • March 18, 1997 (1997-03-18) (Hollywood)
  • March 21, 1997 (1997-03-21) (United States)
Running time
86 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$45 million[4]
Box office$302.7 million[3]

The film is the second of three collaborations between Carrey and Shadyac, the first being Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and the third being Bruce Almighty. It is also the second of three collaborations between Guay and Mazur, the others being The Little Rascals and Heartbreakers.

Plot

Fletcher Reede is a crooked lawyer and divorced father living in Los Angeles. He loves spending time with his young son Max; they often play a game where Fletcher makes his hand into "the Claw", with which he tickles Max and pretends to chase him with it. However, Fletcher has a habit of giving precedence to his career, breaking promises to Max and his former wife Audrey, and then lying about the reasons. Fletcher's compulsive lying has also built him a reputation as a successful defense lawyer at his firm. Ultimately, Fletcher misses his son's birthday party to have sex with his boss Miranda in the hopes of making partner. Max makes a birthday wish that his father would be unable to tell a lie for an entire day — a wish that immediately becomes true.

Fletcher soon discovers, through a series of embarrassing incidents, that he is unable to lie, mislead, or even withhold a true answer. These incidents are inconvenient, as he is fighting a divorce case which could be a boost to his career. His client is Samantha Cole, a gold-digger. His main witness, Kenneth Falk, who Samantha has been cheating with, is eager to commit perjury to win, but Fletcher discovers that he cannot even ask a question if he knows the answer will be a lie; he even objects to himself when he tries to lie to get the desired information. Meanwhile, Audrey is planning to move to Boston with her new boyfriend Jerry, and decides that Max will go with them to protect him from the disappointment Fletcher causes him when he breaks his promises.

Fletcher tries desperately to delay the case, even beating himself up, but is unable to lie his way into a continuance. On the verge of losing the case, he discovers that Samantha had lied about her age and therefore had signed the prenuptial agreement as a minor, rendering the contract void. This entitles Samantha to 50% of her husband Richard Cole's marital assets, equal to $11.395 million, allowing Fletcher to win the case truthfully. However, Samantha also insists on contesting custody of their children for an extra $10,000 in child support payments from Richard. A disheartened Fletcher, realizing that he had corrupted Samantha with his own lies, watches as she pulls her crying children out of Richard's arms. Horrified by his mistake, Fletcher demands that the judge reverse the decision, but his attitude angers the judge and he is arrested for contempt of court. Fletcher calls Audrey to bail him out, but she informs him that their plane leaves for Boston that night; his bail is eventually paid by his secretary, Greta.

Recognizing Max as his highest priority, Fletcher rushes to the airport, but Audrey and Max's flight has already left the terminal. In desperation, he hijacks a mobile stairway to pursue the plane onto the runway. After throwing one of his shoes at the plane's windshield, it finally stops, but Fletcher is injured after he crashes the mobile stairway. On a stretcher, Fletcher vows to Max that he will spend more time with him. He points out that it has been over 24 hours since Max's birthday wish, but Max believes him. Ultimately, Audrey and Max decide not to move to Boston with Jerry.

One year later, Fletcher and Audrey are celebrating Max's birthday. Max makes a birthday wish, only to find that Fletcher and Audrey are kissing. Fletcher asks Max if he wished for them to get back together, but Max says he only wished for roller blades. The family returns to normal as Fletcher chases Audrey and Max around the house with "the Claw".

Cast

Liar Liar was the film debut of actress Sara Paxton, who played one of Max's classmates and his birthday party attendant. It was also the last film to feature Don Keefer, who retired in 1997 before he died in 2014, and Jason Bernard, who died shortly after filming was completed. The film was dedicated in Bernard's memory.[5]

Reception

Critical response

Liar Liar received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 82%, based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 6.93/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite its thin plot, Liar Liar is elevated by Jim Carrey's exuberant brand of physical humor, and the result is a laugh riot that helped to broaden the comedian's appeal."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[7] In CinemaScore polls, audiences gave the film an "A-" grade from an A+ to F scale.

Critic Roger Ebert gave the film three stars and stated, "I am gradually developing a suspicion, or perhaps it is a fear, that Jim Carrey is growing on me," as he had given negative reviews to his previous films Dumb and Dumber and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.[8]

Some critics noted similarities between the plot of this film and "The Whole Truth", an episode of The Twilight Zone in which a used car salesman comes into ownership of a car that is haunted and forces him to tell the truth so long as he owns it. In particular, one scene that bears a resemblance to an element used in Liar Liar is the part where the salesman's assistant asks for a raise, and he is compelled to come clean that there is no raise.[9][10]

American Film Institute recognition:

Box office

The film is the second of three Carrey/Shadyac collaborations, all of which did extremely well at the box office: the opening weekend made $31,423,025 in 2,845 theaters. In North America, the film made $181,410,615, and at the box office in other territories it made $121,300,000 for a total of $302,710,615.[3]

Home media

Liar Liar was released for VHS on September 30, 1997 by Universal Studios Home Video. The DVD was released on January 20, 1998 in full screen format. DTS Full Screen and Collector's Edition Widescreen versions were also released for DVD in 1999. The Blu-ray with Multi-Format (including a Digital Copy and Ultraviolet) was released on July 9, 2013 , it was also released on the 1990s Best of the Decade Edition on Blu-ray and re-released on October 16, 2018. A new DVD was re-released on May 10, 2016 by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

References
  1. Apatow, Judd (April 23, 2000). "How I Got Kicked Out of High School". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  2. Fleming, Michael (June 11, 2003). "Inside Move: It's not plain who will play Jane". Variety. Retrieved June 12, 2019. Aside from “The Cable Guy,” he’s done uncredited script work on “Liar Liar” and “Bruce Almighty.”
  3. "Liar Liar (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  4. "Liar Liar (1997)". The Numbers. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  5. "Jason Bernard – Biography". IMDB. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  6. "Liar Liar (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  7. "Liar Liar reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  8. Ebert, Roger (March 21, 1997). "Liar Liar review". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  9. Hunter, Rob. "Exploring The Twilight Zone #50: The Whole Truth". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013.
  10. Handlen, Zack. "The Twilight Zone: "Back There"/"The Whole Truth"". avclub.com.
  11. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs Nominees" (PDF). afi.com.
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