Likeable Carrey Vehicle Bogged Down by Schmaltz

Rating: 8/10 (5 November 2000)

Liar Liar, Jim Carrey's return to comedy that made him a star (after audiences failed to appreciate his bitingly dark turn in 1996's The Cable Guy) finds him as a habitual liar/lawyer whose son decides to wish his father can tell nothing but the truth for an entire day.
Carrey, as usual, turns in an all-out, body-flailing, mugging, and excruciatingly hilarious performance. His comedic timing is impeccable, his physical antics singularly unique, and he constantly proves to be an inventively outrageous comic actor. We can sympathize with his inability to lie as well, as we realize that we all lie to some extent.
With such a big focus and so much more attention put on Carrey's dilemma, however, the rest of the cast is overshadowed. Maura Tierney and Carrey Elwes' relationship isn't really too believable and Carrey's relationship with son Justin Cooper really feels tacked on at times. While the film is certainly more accessible to a much wider age-range than some other of Carrey's crude, ill-spirited brand of humor, the family-film element brings down this movie. This obviously isn't a family type film, so why bog it down with such a subplot? Jennifer Tilly, on the other hand, fares well in her thinly-scripted role.

Besides the sometimes schmaltzy familial moments, Liar Liar is a much more likeable, restrained second collaboration between Carrey and director Tom Shadyac. Newcomers to Carrey's brand of comedy will be pleased, as he isn't out-and-out crude and is generally likeable; die-hard Carrey fans might ask why he's not out of control. Overall, however, a very enjoyable, light-hearted comedy.
7 out of 10