March 22, 1997 -- Jim Carrey has re-established himself as the hottest property in Hollywood with "Liar, Liar." After his big flop with "The Cable Man," it appeared that there was a chink in that armor, but the armor is intact.

Carrey plays an unprincipled lawyer (is that a redundancy?), Fletcher Reede, who habitually lies to everyone, including his own son. Reede is also relentlessly ambitious and is willing to do anything to win a case and advance his career.

His ex-wife, Audrey (Maura Tierney) and their son, Max (Justin Cooper), have had enough of his act, and prepare to leave him. Max, stood up by his father at a birthday party, wishes that for just one day his father had to tell the truth.

That sets off a funny chain of events as Reede desperately tries to lie in order to win a case defending a rich woman, Samantha Cole, (Jennifer Tilly) who is trying to soak her husband in a divorce settlement. Carrey's famous facial contortions are effective conveying his various attempts to lie his way out of situations.

Unlike "The Cable Guy" we see a softer side of Carrey in this film as he slowly is forced to face his true self and come to terms with what he really wants out of life. While the ending is a little too syrupy for my taste, it is still a very funny film, mostly because of Carrey's antics. It rates a B.

Some of the credit for the relative quality of this film goes to the director Tom Shadyac, who also directed "Ace Ventura, Pet Detective," and "The Nutty Professor." Brian Grazer, whose credits include "Apollo 13," "Ransom" and "The Nutty Professor," is the producer of the movie.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 1997 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.