Forced by his son's birthday wish, fast-talking attorney and habitual liar Fletcher Reede must tell the truth for the next 24 hours.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.2/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.32/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Metacritic: 70
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Tom Shadyac
Production
Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment
Cast
Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwes, Anne Haney, Amanda Donohoe, Swoosie Kurtz, Jason Bernard, Krista Allen, Jennifer Tilly, Mitchell Ryan, Christopher Mayer, Eric Pierpoint, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Cheri Oteri, SW Fisher, Ben Lemon, Jarrad Paul, Marianne Muellerleile, Stephen James Carver
Curator Review
Verdict
A high-energy 90s studio comedy built around Jim Carrey at full throttle, with a simple premise that turns into a steady stream of physical gags, verbal chaos, and surprisingly warm family sentiment. It’s broad, silly, and very much of its era, but the comic engine still works.
Best for
fans of Jim Carrey’s elastic, manic comedy
viewers who like high-concept family comedies
people in the mood for a feel-good, fast-paced 90s studio movie
audiences who enjoy exaggerated physical humor and quotable scenes
Skip if
you dislike broad slapstick or loud performance comedy
you want subtle character writing over big set-piece jokes
you’re put off by late-90s studio-comedy sentimentality
you prefer darker or more grounded legal dramas
Overview
Liar Liar is one of those clean, high-concept comedies that knows exactly what it is and never apologizes for it. The premise is instantly legible, the stakes are simple, and the movie keeps finding new ways to squeeze embarrassment, chaos, and sincerity out of the same idea. Jim Carrey is the whole engine here, and the film is smart enough to let him run wild without losing the emotional thread.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is the balance between cartoonish performance and a genuinely accessible family story. The legal-world setup gives the movie structure, but the real pleasure is watching every social situation collapse under the weight of forced honesty. It’s a showcase for physical comedy, facial contortions, and rapid-fire escalation, with enough heart to keep it from feeling like pure sketch material.
Bottom line
It’s also a very specific kind of 90s feel-good studio comedy: polished, broad, and designed for maximum crowd response. Some of the humor is dated, and the movie leans hard on its star persona, but if that persona works for you, the film is a blast. It remains one of the most recognizable examples of Carrey’s peak mainstream comic power.
Top Letterboxd reviews
alex · 2606 likes
his “I’M KICKING MY ASS” scene is better than fight club
Kenneth Clark (3★) · 2556 likes
It is so sad that somewhere between the 90s and late 2000’s, Hollywood decided to stop making totally whimsical and absurd feel good movies geared towards adults.
Roy Scheider's BFF ⚢ (4★) · 1978 likes
I miss that era where movies put bloopers at the end
caitlin (3★) · 1603 likes
I hate to be this person but Jim Carrey could **** ** **** **** **** and then ** ** **** I'll say it again I'm not proud but ***** ** ********* ***** ***
James (Schaffrillas) (3.5★) · 1552 likes
Deadass thought he was gonna hang onto the edge of that plane as it took off like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible