Liar Liar

Liar Liar is yet another in the line of comedies of varying quality in which Jim Carrey is the absolute crowd-puller. Carrey plays the unscrupulous, go-getting lawyer Fletcher Reede, whose successful career and private failure are both due to his well-honed ability to play very fast and loose with the truth. His ex-wife Audrey is considering moving with her new boyfriend Jerry to the other side of the USA, but wants to give Fletcher one more chance, which strictly speaking he does not deserve.

When Fletcher fails to turn up for his son Max's birthday because his female boss Miranda is in the process of seducing him, Max's secret wish as he blows out the candles is that his father will not be able to lie for the next 24 hours. The wish comes true, which Fletcher sees as a catastrophe and which gives rise to many funny scenes. At the same time, though, Fletcher also comes to realise that he has not had his priorities in life in order.

Carrey is masterly as always in the comic scenes, but he comes unstuck when the film veers into family drama and mum and dad have to have a serious talk. He has not mastered the fine little nuances. Liar Liar makes a bit more sense than the "Ace Ventura" films, but the script is still too thin. It is miles away from "The Mask".