Liar, Liar
There is little doubt now that Jim Carrey can certainly ACT, as his Oscar-worthy turns in Truman Show and Man On The Moon would prove, but back around 1997 when this comedy was released, he was still in the throes of playing overdone “goofy” parts, and depending on your point of view, it can either help or hinder the project. Carrey plays a successful divorced lawyer, who despite working a full-time job and maintaining his career, seems to try his best at spending time with his young son (better than a lot of divorced dads anyway). But, since he can’t be there to play with the kid 24/7, the depressed tyke goes and makes a birthday wish that his dad would actually be physically unable to tell a lie for one day, which leads to off the wall comic hilarity since obviously he’s a lawyer and also since he has an important case to try in court that day. What hurts the credibility of the story right off the bat is that even before his son puts the curse on him, Carrey is already in full lunatic mode when we first see him, which can almost lead the film to be retitled Ace Ventura: Attorney At Law, but this is no surprise considering that Carrey is working again with director Tom Shadyac (who put him through his paces on the first Ventura film), and it would seem that Carrey is allowed to ad-lib and come up with all kinds of outrageous schtick at will, such as coming at his son with “The Claw” which his son seems to love so much since it involves his dad squeezing his belly. Moreso, once the curse is in place, Carrey comes to the point where being forced to tell the truth results in such spastic physical distress that it’s a wonder nobody suspects him of having a nervous breakdown. Regardless, if the viewer just sits back and accepts that Carrey is just doing more classic craziness, there IS the occasional laugh to be found, and he’s certainly helped along by a game and likable supporting cast: Maura Tierney as his ex-wife brings a beautiful yet down to earth quality to her role that complements nicely with Carrey’s madness; Justin Cooper as the son is only a medium on the slappability scale, and convinces the viewer that he does love his dad, warts and all; Anne Haney gets a few good zingers as Carrey’s battle-axe secretary; Jennifer Tilly continues to be the epitome of slinky sex appeal as Carrey’s client in the divorce case guilty of adultery (which causes problems since their entire defense is based upon lying about it); Amanda Donohoe likewise brings some reptilian charm to the role of Carrey’s maneating boss at the law firm; Jason Bernard gets smiles as the flustered judge in charge of the court case; while Swoosie Kurtz gets some nice exchanges in as the opposing lawyer; and Cary Elwes gets saddled with the thankless role of the boyfriend of the ex-wife, manfully essaying the type of “other guy” role that Bill Pullman used to play to perfection back in the day, even as the script makes it clear that no matter how much he tries to bond with the little boy, the child’s strongest connection will always be to his actual father. Nonetheless, it’s still Carrey’s show, and the rubberfaced theatrics that made his name are in full force here, with the scene in the boardroom with the law firm’s partners where he tells each of them exactly what he thinks of them (and they roar in laughter at his honesty) being one of the funniest scenes of his career. The film does try to go for a bit of a comically overwrought ending, as Carrey literally risks his life to stop his family from flying cross-country with Elwes, and winds up yanking on the heartstrings rather than merely tugging on them, but overall, a perfectly serviceable offering for those that preferred the days when its star was an unbridled comedy maniac…
7/10