Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Liar Liar Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 8, 2022

It’s easy to forget all these years later, but in 1994, Jim Carrey went from being a comedian doing consistent work on a Fox television show to become the biggest and most bankable star in Hollywood. This special year gifted “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “The Mask,” and “Dumb and Dumber” to the world, with Carrey showcasing his considerable gifts with chaotic funny business, becoming a household name in the process. 1995 continued the party, as Carrey stole “Batman Forever” and suited up for sequel duty with “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.” With 1996’s “The Cable Guy,” Carrey took a chance on darker material, which didn’t connect in full with his audience, making 1997’s “Liar Liar” a careful realignment of his known comedic fury, offering the actor a chance to revive his tornado-like screen presence with a slightly softer offering of sentimental hokum, teasing newfound dramatic interests from the star. It’s the Carrey of old meeting the Carrey of tomorrow, and while “Liar Liar” fails to be meaningful, it does offer some wonderfully unhinged work from the actor, who works at top speed and volume to make a big studio smash out of simple high concept comedy.

Fletcher (Jim Carrey) is a lawyer with no moral core, doing whatever he can to defend his guilty clients. He’s also a bad father, barely paying attention to his son, Max (Justin Cooper), also dealing with his ex-wife, Audrey (Maura Tierney), who’s moved on, getting serious with Jerry (Cary Elwes). Caught up in a heated divorce case with his client, Samantha (Jennifer Tilly), Fletcher can’t be around for Max, who makes a special birthday wish, removing the lawyer’s ability to lie for a single day. Dealing with family issues and his professional future, Fletcher is horrified to learn he can’t be dishonest, trying everything he can to prevent disaster as he scrambles to stifle the truth.

“Liar Liar” wants to provide some heart to go with its hilarity, presenting Max as the raspy moppet who needs his father’s love, putting pressure on Fletcher to manage his professional rise at his law firm and parental disinterest, watching as Audrey is about to begin a new life with Jerry, an affable guy trying to create a future for his love. The screenplay only offers the basics in character motivation, happily skipping over the ugliness of Fletcher and Audrey’s initial break-up (there’s a line about him being a serial philanderer) to focus on the lawyer’s sudden crisis, with a sad child’s birthday wish magically removing his ability to lie his way out of anything.

It’s a fun concept that’s mostly treated as a cartoon by director Tom Shadyac (“Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”), who gives Carrey room to explode, showcasing his incredible ability to make a mess of everything, speeding through hundreds of reactions along the way. There are big laughs in “Liar Liar,” especially with Fletcher’s recognition of his powerlessness, forced to share his real thoughts on office employees and his client, Samantha, who’s ready to reap the rewards of her lawyer’s highly trained ways with dishonesty. Carrey is fully in his element here, rampaging through the film with wild displays of physical might and improvisational speed, working to single-handedly carry the movie with his practiced intensity, transforming Fletcher into a maniac, culminating in a sequence where the lawyer decides to violently beat himself up inside a bathroom to avoid courtroom obligations.

The frenzy of “Liar Liar” is occasionally interrupted by the production’s need to soften the character, tracking Fletcher’s growing realization that he’s been awful to others, including Max, who craves his father’s attention. The psychological wounds are fairly deep here, but Shadyac doesn’t have interest in pursuing anything more than superficial emotion. Dramatics are here to ground the picture, but “Liar Liar” doesn’t need the heart, doing just fine as a farce about a man suddenly exposed to everyone he’s been deceiving in one way or another.

Liar Liar Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Liar Liar," Shout Factory finds a way to refresh the feature for its Blu-ray return (the title was previously released in 2013). The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is not a general recycling of the previous Universal transfer, and while information is not available concerning the source materials used for this release, it's clear a new scan was acquired. "Liar Liar" looks fresher and film-like again, with slightly softer but appealing detail throughout the viewing experience, picking up on courtroom expanse and office decoration. Facial surfaces are textured, along with costuming, which favors stiff business attire and tight dresses. Colors are respectfully refreshed, securing the woodsy browns of the courtroom and Fletcher's workplace, and warmer hues are found in domestic interactions. Delineation is satisfactory. Source is in good condition.

Liar Liar Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix doesn't provide a rigorous surround experience, with scoring cues mostly reaching circular, contributing to a defined orchestral sound for the picture. The track is largely frontal, with clear dialogue exchanges and a balanced level of Carrey-branded anarchy, with his screaming fits never slipping into distortion. Sound effects are pronounced, and while low-end isn't challenged for the largely verbal feature, some sense of engine power emerges during the climatic plane chase.

Liar Liar Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Tom Shadyac.

• "In Session" (21:23, HD) is a video conference interview with screenwriters Stephen Mazur and Paul Guay. "Liar Liar" first materialized in 1990, with Guay sharing the sheet of paper that was used to detail initial story ideas. The partners took their premise around town, delivering terrible pitches that failed to attract any interest from Hollywood, but help soon arrived with Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer, who flipped for the concept. The creative process of screenwriting is analyzed, and early excitement was found with Hugh Grant, who circled the project during a stint in L.A., eventually dropping out due to his "indiscretion" during this week. Enter Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac, with the pair giving the original script new ideas, and Guay admits he's disappointed in the dialogue that was lost in the process. He offers a candid reaction to his first screening of the picture as well, growing used to a vastly different "Liar Liar" than what was originally envisioned.

• "The Case for Comedy" (18:41, HD) is a video conference interview with actresses Swoosie Kurtz and Jennifer Tilly. A large section of the conversation is devoted to the Jim Carrey Process, which dominated scenes, forcing the actors to work with his professional needs, including the careful building of jokes over different takes. Kurtz and Tilly discuss on-set laughing fits and play time with their co-star, and they marvel over his career evolution, with "Liar Liar" introducing a more dramatic Carrey. Co-stars are celebrated, and the interviewees explore character choices.

• "Bridging the Comedy Chasm" (16:08, SD) is a 1997 featurette on the making of "Liar Liar," including interviews with director Tom Shadyac, producer Brian Grazer, and actors Jim Carrey, Justin Cooper, and Jennifer Tilly. Information presented here is pure salesperson stuff, but real highlights emerge with BTS footage, presenting a chance to watch Carrey clown around between takes.

• Deleted Scene (3:53, SD) offers time with Fletcher in the courtroom, where he enthusiastically creates the honorable intent of a violent thief.

• Outtakes (1:34, SD) collect various laughing fits and flubbed lines.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:16, HD) is included.

Liar Liar Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Liar Liar" is easily digestible and quite amusing, powered by Carrey's need to dominate the endeavor, going extra wild with his performance (which is saying something after the delightful anarchy of "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls"). Shadyac can't find a workable balance between insanity and sincerity (the ending is absurd), but he wisely keeps the movie short (80 minutes before end credits) and mostly on-the-go, tasked with delivering premium Carrey craziness for viewers who, in 1997, couldn't get enough of the stuff.