Rent Liar Liar (1997)

An absolute flat-out comedic masterpiece, genuinely funny & heartfelt, with a never-better Carrey - Liar Liar review by Timmy B

Liar Liar is genius. If you are a fan of Jim Carrey's brand of humour, this film is your nirvana. Whilst it was criticised by some for being effectively a one-joke film (which in many ways it is, I won't deny that,) the script, story & acting are to me as good as Ace Ventura, maybe even more so when you consider the moments of genuine pain, contrition & guilt shown.

Fletcher Reede (Carrey) is a high-flying & successful lawyer. He is divorced with a young son who he adores, as well as feeling tremendous guilt for the way his marriage fell apart. The reason for this is due to his pathological & incessant lying to anyone & everyone, whether for personal gain or not wanting to do something. His son Max is repeatedly heartbroken & upset by his father's failure to be in his life, as well as seeing his mother move on without his father. After being let down again by his father on his birthday, Max makes a wish when blowing out his candles that for 1 day, his father wouldn't be able to tell a lie. His wish comes true, leading to Fletcher's life falling apart with hysterical consequences.

Watching Carrey as Fletcher attempting to navigate this new world where everything he says is the truth is a masterclass in comedy. Throughout this film's runtime, literally there is a laugh every 30 seconds. When the truth compulsion kicks in, the mic-drop line in response to his boss's question, followed by the look of bemusement & horror on his face is priceless. And the film just continues in this way, Carrey letting his improv skills run riot with sensational results. A confrontation with a rival lawyer involves a skit which I cannot believe got filmed with the cast keeping a straight face. Whether it is a run-in with the police or finally coming clean to his downtrodden & exploited secretary, the laughs just keep coming.

But as I said earlier, the other reason this film is so impactful to me is because of the times when it shows a very different & vulnerable side to Fletcher, which was not something comedy films, especially big Hollywood productions, did at that time. And this was no doubt influenced by Carrey's own extremely painful dealings with relationship breakdowns & solicitors. In sober moments, it is clear that Fletcher hates what he has become but has fallen so far down the rabbit hole of lying (aided & abetted by his career rewarding him for dishonesty,) that he is trapped in this nightmare scenario.

The most powerful moment with this is when Fletcher is talking to his estranged wife (whilst in the middle of his truth-telling compulsion) and says truthfully what he is, followed by the horrible realisation of the words he has uttered, finally being truthful to himself. And the range of emotions which Carrey shows in that moment really make you feel it, irrelevant of whether you have children or not.

By the time we get to the crazy finale, this movie has firmly cemented itself in the annals of comedy films as one of the best in recent years. Carrey, as well as the rest of the cast, are operating at the peak of their powers and the result is without question one of the funniest films I have ever seen: insanely quotable, flawlessly performed and endlessly watchable. A stone cold comedy classic