Liar Liar on DVD

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Dom Robinson reviews

Liar Liar
Distributed by

Columbia TriStar

    Cover

  • Cat.no: UDR 90007
  • Cert: 12
  • Running time: 83 minutes
  • Year: 1997
  • Pressing: 1999
  • Region(s): 2, PAL
  • Chapters: 16 plus extras
  • Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround
  • Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
  • Subtitles: 9 languages available
  • Widescreen: 1.85:1
  • 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
  • Macrovision: Yes
  • Disc Format: DVD 5
  • Price: £19.99
  • Extras : Scene index, Theatrical trailer, Biographies, Filmographies, Production Notes

Producer:

    Brian Grazer

Screenplay:

    Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur

Music:

    John Debney

Cast:

    Fletcher Reede: Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura 1 and 2, Batman Forever, The Mask, The Cable Guy, Dumb And Dumber)
    Audrey Reede: Maura Tierney (Primary Colors)
    Max Reede: Justin Cooper
    Jerry: Cary Elwes (Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Jungle Book, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Twister)
    Greta: Anne Haney
    Samantha Cole: Jennifer Tilly (Bound, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Getaway, Made In America)
    Miranda: Amanda Donohoe (Castaway, The Madness Of King George, TV: L.A. Law)
    Judge Marshall Stevens: Jason Bernard
    Dana Appleton: Swoosie Kurtz (And The Band Played On, Bright Lights Big City, Reality Bites)
    Lady In Elevator: Krista Allen (Raven)

Liar Liar stars Jim Carrey as Fletcher Reede, a fast-talking attorney and habitual liar. When his son Max (Justin Cooper) blows out the candles on his fifth birthday cake, he has just one wish – that his dad would stop lying for 24 hours.

When Max’s wish miraculously comes true, Fletcher discovers that his biggest asset – his mouth – has suddenly become his biggest liability ! Fletcher tries to keep his practise afloat and his ex-wife Audrey (Maura Tierney) from taking their son and moving to Boston with her new love Jerry (Cary Elwes).

That’s not the only problem facing Fletcher though as he has his most important case today. He has to fight for Jennifer Tilly to get her children back, despite the fact that the pre-nuptial agreement she signed stated that she’ll lose everything if she’s unfaithful. Her 7 affairs may put paid to that unless Fletcher manages to lie again. If he fails though, he’ll also miss out on becoming a partner in the business with Amanda Donohoe.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out how this comedy ends, but there’s an enormous amount of fun to be had along the way and it doesn’t wallow in sentimental mush like you’d expect it to.

The basis of the film lies in its main performance from Jim Carrey as the lying lawyer. I was never really Carrey’s biggest fan after Ace Ventura 1 but films like this and The Mask prove that some doses of his zany madness do work very well and as such he commands around $20 million per picture.

Maura Tierney is fine as his ex-wife, but there’s not a great deal in the role for her, and given that she’s a Jennifer Aniston-lookalike, one wonders if the role was written with her in mind. Justin Cooper makes for a cute kid, save for his bowl-head haircut, bringing out one of Carrey’s best lines when, during the 24hrs of truth, he pulls his face and asks, “Will it get stuck like that ?”, to which he replies very honestly, “No, and in fact some people make a good living that way.”.

The cast is fleshed out with Carey Elwes as snooty Jerry; Anne Haney as Fletcher’s secretary, and very similar-looking to the late Jessica Tandy; Jennifer Tilly as the voluptuous adulteress, Amanda Donohoe as the voluptuous partner, Swoosie Kurtz as the lawyer for the prosecution, Krista Allen as the lady in the elevator who keeps Fletcher in check during their one scene together, plus the late Jason Bernard as the court judge.

I’m certainly not lying when I tell you that the print seen here is free of artifacts and looks spot-on perfect. The film is presented in its original widescreen ratio of 1.85:1 and is anamorphically-enhanced for 16:9 widescreen televisions which provides 33% higher resolution – and the average bitrate is a very good 6.74Mb/s, regularly peaking over 8Mb/s.

The sound quality, while not full of surround-sound moments, plays very clear throughout with some comic sounds but mainly incidental music. This DVD comes complete with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound for the English soundtrack, unlike the PAL Laserdisc which could only accomodate a Dolby Surround one.

movie pic

Jim Carrey told one Benny Hill joke too many.

Extras :

Chapters and Trailer : There’s only 16 chapters here to cover the 83-minute film, which isn’t too bad but pales in comparison with the 25 that adorned the PAL Laserdisc. The original theatrical trailer is included.

Languages and Subtitles : Both English and French are available in Dolby Digital 5.1, while German, Italian and Spanish can be heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround). Subtitles can be seen in English, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Polish and Czech.

Filmographies and Biographies : Extensive biographies with accompanying filmographies are available for all the principal actors right down to the pint-size Justin Cooper plus producer Brian Grazer and director Tom Shadyac.

Menu : Similar to the first batch of Universal releases, the menu is static and silent with a picture mirroring the cover on the main menu while other menus contain pictures of cast members. On playing the disc you see the Universal logo and a copyright message before the main menu appears.

There’s only one thing that annoys me a bit in this film which is when Carrey launches into a Tina Turner impression, and at its “singing” height the shot cuts to Amanda Donohoe for a reaction shot of her laughing unconvincingly, when an alternative shot of Jennifer Tilly looking bemused, which I saw on TV in a slightly-extended version of the featurette found on the PAL Laserdisc, worked much better.

Aside from that minor quibble, the entertainment value of the film cannot be questioned as it’s a thoroughly enjoyable comedy. It’s just a shame that it’s missing the aforementioned featurette – “Bridging The Comedy Chasm” – and the greater number of chapters.

A review of the PAL Laserdisc can be found here.

FILM : ***** PICTURE QUALITY: ***** SOUND QUALITY: ***** EXTRAS: ** ——————————- OVERALL: ****½

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.

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