Liar Liar (1997)
I was a massive Jim Carrey fan in the 90s. I have watched this and The Mask countless times. Easy to jump in at any point when it was on TV and just laugh yourself silly.
Of course Jim Carrey carries 90% of this movie but Justin Cooper does really well as the kid, and I also like the smaller role of his secretary by Anne Haney. Cary Elwes is perfect as the goofy new boyfriend. Maura Tierney as the ex wife and Amanda Donohoe as the boss doesn’t quite nail the comedic timing needed for this kind of movie.
While not very subtle and even though the basic premise is just to have an excuse for Carrey to go crazy, the general message of trying to be a good parent isn’t a bad one and gets me more now I am a father myself. While no one should strive to be Fletcher, he is objectively a terrible person to both his son and ex-wife, but the special bond he still has with Max is admirable.
As for the actual humor and jokes, it may be rather dumb and unsophisticated - but impossible for me not to laugh at. Especially the court scene is littered with perfectly timed lines from Carrey and deadpan reactions from the rest. The judge is hilarious in his own relaxed way. It still has plenty of physical comedy and ridiculous facial expressions from Carrey but it is still mostly well written dialogue which I prefer to the more gross out humor in Dumb and Dumber and Ace Ventura.
Rating: 4.5