Liar Liar
| Liar Liar | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Tom Shadyac |
| Written by | Paul Guay Stephen Mazur |
| Produced by | Brian Grazer |
| Starring | Jim Carrey Maura Tierney Justin Cooper Jennifer Tilly Anne Haney Swoosie Kurtz Cary Elwes Amanda Donohoe |
| Cinematography | Russell Boyd |
| Edited by | Don Zimmerman |
| Music by | John Debney James Newton Howard (theme) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date | March 21, 1997 |
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $45,000,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | $302,710,615 (worldwide) |
Liar Liar is a 1997 American comedy film written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award (1997) for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical. The film is the second of three collaborations between Jim Carrey and Tom Shadyac, the first being Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and the third being Bruce Almighty. It is also the second of three collaborations between Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, the first being The Little Rascals and the third being Heartbreakers. It was shot entirely in California.[citation needed] The film is remade in Bollywood as Kyo..Kii Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta.
Plot
Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) is a career-focused lawyer and divorced father. He loves his young son Max (Justin Cooper); they often play a game where Fletcher makes his hand into "the Claw" and pretends to chase Max with it. But Fletcher has a habit of giving precedence to his job, breaking promises to Max and his ex-wife Audrey (Maura Tierney), and then lying about the reasons. Ultimately, Fletcher misses his son's birthday party because he is having sex with his partner Miranda (Amanda Donohoe), and 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 — such as when he tells Miranda that he has "had better" sex than he just did with her — that he is unable to lie, mislead, or even withhold a true answer. These incidents are inconvenient, as he is fighting a divorce case in court which, should he win, could be a huge boost to his career. His client is Samantha Cole (Jennifer Tilly). His main witness is willing to commit perjury to win, but Fletcher discovers that he cannot even ask a question if he knows the answer will be a lie; during the case 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 (Cary Elwes), and to take Max with them.
Fletcher tries desperately to delay the case, even beating himself up, but he cannot conceal that he is able to continue, so the judge (Jason Bernard) insists that he does. Finally he realizes that his client had lied about her age and therefore had signed her prenuptial agreement while a minor, rendering it invalid. This allows him to win his case truthfully, but the repercussions become a catalyst to his understanding of what he himself is about to lose. Samantha takes custody of her children and literally pulls them out of the arms of their responsible and caring father, much as Audrey has done with Max. Fletcher has a crisis of conscience and shouts at the judge to reverse the decision, and is jailed for contempt of court. Audrey refuses to pay his bail, which is eventually paid by his secretary Greta (Anne Haney), who forgives him for his earlier rude truth-tellings after hearing he "went all noble" in front of their firm's senior partner.
Now recognizing his son Max as his highest priority, Fletcher struggles to keep him. He hurries to the airport, but Audrey and Max's plane has already left the terminal. Desperate, he hijacks a mobile stairway and pursues the plane onto the runway. The plane finally stops, but Fletcher is injured. On his way to the hospital, he vows to his son to spend more time with him. Even though the 24 hours of truth are up, Max knows he means it.
One year later, Fletcher and Audrey are celebrating Max's birthday. The lights go off when Max blows out his birthday candles. When they go back on, Fletcher and Audrey are kissing. Fletcher asks Max if he wished for his mom and his dad to get back together and Max replies "No, I wished for roller blades!" The family seemingly returns to normal as Fletcher chases Audrey and Max around the house with "the Claw".
Premise
The premise of Liar Liar, that of a protagonist who must tell the truth for the next 24 hours, can also be found in the Bob Hope movie Nothing But the Truth - whose rights had been acquired by Universal by the time they released Liar Liar.
Cast
- Jim Carrey as Fletcher Reede
- Maura Tierney as Audrey Reede
- Justin Cooper as Max Reede
- Anne Haney as Greta
- Amanda Donohoe as Miranda
- Cary Elwes as Jerry
- Jennifer Tilly as Samantha Cole
- Swoosie Kurtz as Dana Appleton
- Cheri Oteri as Jane
- Eric Pierpoint as Richard Cole
- Jason Bernard as Judge Marshall Stevens
- Mitchell Ryan as Mr. Allan
- Christopher Mayer as Kenneth Falk
- Krista Allen as Elevator Girl
- Randall "Tex" Cobb as Skull
- Eric Sharp as Sharpo the Clown
- Don Keefer as Ben Develing
Reception
Critical response
The film received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 82% of 51 sampled critics gave the film positive reviews and that it got a rating average of 6.9 out of 10.[1]
Critic Roger Ebert stated, "I am gradually developing a suspicion, or perhaps it is a fear, that Jim Carrey is growing on me".[2]
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]
References
- ^ "Liar Liar (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (March 21, 1997). "Liar Liar review". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- ^ "Liar Liar (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
External links
