In a film thats geniunly funny, the characters need to act silly but without them looking like they're forcing it. Jim Carry in 'Liar liar" looks like he is forcing his silliness so intensely, he is just shoving it into everyone's face. He overacts so much it gets pretty irritating at times. Like for example in the boardroom scene, that scene would've been much funnier if Carry had still said all of the exact same things but if he'd just toned it down about 20 notches. And the boardroom manager's reactions were just as bad, so forced, annoying, and draining to watch, I felt like doing the same thing Carry did at the end of that scene, he fainted. The same problem occurred in a scene where Carrey's secretary asked him a question about if he would normally lie if she was asking him that same question. Just watching Carrey yell and kick and put his fingers in his ears and make and twist faces when she was trying to talk to him, I was not laughing even slightly, I was totally irritated. Carrey's exaggerated overacting continued through a lot of the film. And it's a damn shame because the other aspects of the film were pretty darn hilarious. The idea was a good one, about what Carry would say in given situations if he was unable to lie for a day. And many of the things he said were very very funny. Like what he said to the guy at the impound lot, or what he said to the cop pulling him over, or what he said to his different work colleagues at his law firm, or the things he said in the courtroom, or the things he said to his sexy client (Jennifer Tilly). Very creative, funny lines from Carry. It's too bad he had to overact so forcefully in the way he delivered them, so in your face. I could imagine Groucho Marx saying similar kinds of lines in a similar kind of plot, but it would be so much funnier due to the difference in the deliveries from the two different guys. Groucho did not overact like that. I did like the way Carrey bonded with his five year old son, and the scenes with his ex. She kind of reminded me of Jennifer Aniston. Carrey's ex's new boyfriend Cary Ewles was seen in a more American role, instead of the English acting and English accent he's been very good with in films like "Princess Bride".

-May Contain Spoilers- Jim Carey was at his best in this movie and because of that, i really loved this movie. This movie is stars Jim Carey and he plays a civil attorney called Fletcher Reed and if you can't tell by the title, he's well, a liar...i mean a lawyer (his son said that). Anyways, Fletcher is a compulsive liar, he will lie like every time he opens his mouth. he comes to pick up his son to spend the day with him and to take him to a wrestling show and sees his ex-wife (who likely divorced him due to his lying) and her boyfriend (who's on the dorky side). he takes his son to his office, only to find out that he's getting a case and now has to work and won't be able to take his son to the show. after he drops his son back off (on his birthday) he tells him that he'll see him at his birthday party, but big shocker here, he misses that. so his son wisely wishes for his dad to (for one day) not tell a lie and the wish comes true and quickly (and badly for Fletcher) he can't lie at all and tells the cold and blunt truth which hilariously gets him slapped or thrown out of a room. i won't give away too much, but basically this is a very funny movie and it's worth every penny to watch it. Jim Carey is just amazing in this movie and it's almost like the person who wrote this movie told Carey, "you know what, just be yourself." Watch this movie if you want to laugh because trust me, from getting pulled over by a policeman to him questioning witnesses in court and much more, it's very funny.

By the middle to late 1990s, Jim Carrey had solidified his presence in Hollywood history by moving from Saturday Night Live skits to major box office grabs like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), The Mask (1994) and Batman Forever (1995). It seemed as if Carrey was destined to always play some kind of supernatural character that had no limits as well as not being able to live on the common social level at the time. That is until he starred in this movie. For this role, it was actually a step down from the weird and crazed out parts Carey had played in the past. It is by no means as toned down as his performance he would later play in The Truman Show (1998) but at this point, it was the beginning of that transition. The story follows Fletcher Reede (Carrey), a lawyer who loves doing what he does by unethically lying to get by; that also means his family. After missing out on his son's birthday, Max (Justin Cooper) wishes that his dad couldn't lie for one whole day, which ends up coming true.The catch is, Fletcher has a huge case coming up which if he wins (by lying) he could earn the big bucks. The script written by Paul Guay, Stephen Mazur and directed by Tom Shadyac (who has worked with Carrey before) prepare and execute the story properly. Specifically the way the characters are written is a big part. The Reede family show that his son and divorced wife Audrey (Maura Tierney) try endlessly to work with Fletcher's schedule of lies but it wears thin quickly. Making things tougher is Jerry (Cary Elwes) a friend who's moving out and wants Audrey and Max to come with him. Another large strain are the characters that take part in the court case, mainly Samantha Cole (Jennifer Tilly) the defendant and Fletcher's boss Miranda (Amanda Donohoe). All of these smaller threads are taken care of and provide the right character development for Carrey's role. The other interesting spin the writers put on this story is how the plot uses morals, ethics and social commentary on the judicial system as a backdrop for the entire message of the film.The only problem to the writing is the wish that Fletcher's son, Max makes. Up and until the wish is made and takes full effect, the audience gets the idea that the world they are in is the real world. However, when the wish is made Fletcher can't control himself. By what means made this come true and what's keeping him from making a lie? Most would consider this very nitpicky and too critical but it is a giant question in the film's story. Who has the power to grant these wishes? Do they apply to other children or people in general? All unanswered questions that probably the writers had no time to think about. The best supporting element to the story however is Jim Carrey's comedy. These are the moments that allow Jim Carrey to be himself and be spontaneous with his responses were which many are sure most lines were unscripted. But it's also not just the lines, the actions Fletcher takes to make sure that he doesn't get himself into trouble is hilarious too. Some of which situations are so extreme it makes the viewer wonder if one would go to such measures too.The other elements that work in this film's favor are the music and cinematography. The director of photography belongs to Russell Boyd who is competent in his work at getting the right shots from the courtroom to the office hallways. However, the best things Boyd does is when Fletcher starts going crazy. This leads to various angles at which the camera portrays other objects in the room as other living things. That's clever because audiences then begin to believe the object being focused on is living. As for music composed by John Debney who didn't have many well-known scores released at the time manages to pull off the comedic and dramatic scenes quite well. The only negative thing that can be said is that it sounds very dated with its familiar like 90s family comedy drama sound. It sounds so 90s. Finally the only other thing that dates the movie more than it should have were the visual style of the haircuts and dressers back then. Haircuts like Jerry's are just really old looking now. Other than that it's good.The dated sounding music and visual appearance of the actors don't let it age well. Plus the reasoning behind how Max's wish came true weren't explored. But for the most part, the writing is spot on with well- developed characters, downright laugh out loud scenes, and the story's subtext commentaries it addresses.

In 1994, Jim Carrey broke out as Hollywood's favourite funny man in movies with Dumb & Dumber, The Mask and Ace Ventura. 1995 and 1996 saw him starring in the lesser like Ace Ventura sequel and The Cable Guy. 1997's Liar Liar made him show the world that he was still the real deal.This is one of Jim Carrey's best and funniest movies. He is over-the-top funny and also displays good acting. He plays hotshot lawyer, Fletcher Reede, who is the best liar in the business. His fibs help him score huge wins in court, while also distancing himself from his son (Cooper). When he misses his son's birthday party, his son makes a wish that he couldn't lie for one whole day and it actually comes true! He gets in trouble with everybody in the courtroom that day as well as everybody out because he depends so much on lying. Sole honesty makes his chances of winning a prestigious case impossible. He must also find a way to keep his ex-wife (Tierney) from taking their son with her boyfriend (Elwes) to Boston.The character of Fletcher is, like most of Carrey's characters, goofy and comical. When he gets cursed with honesty, he becomes extremely outrageous and Carrey's comedic brilliance really pours out. Every time he confesses to something, the entire truth rolls out as he struggles to keep it in and lie. I believe that sometimes wishes do come true. But not lying is too unrealistic. The movie's theme is not to go back on a promise and stick to the truth whenever possible. It is nice to see such a hilarious movie with such a nice moral.