Liar Liar is a 1997 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur and starring Jim Carrey, who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy. It tells the story of a lawyer who built his entire career on lying, but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth for a single day, during which he struggles to maintain his career and to reconcile with his ex-wife and son whom he alienated with his pathological lying.
Fletcher Reede is a crooked lawyer and divorced father living in Los Angeles. He loves spending time with his young son Max; they often play a game where Fletcher makes his hand into “the Claw”, with which he tickles Max and pretends to chase him. However, Fletcher has a habit of giving precedence to his career, breaking promises to Max and his ex-wife Audrey, and then lying about the reasons. Fletcher’s compulsive lying has also built him a reputation as a successful defense lawyer at his firm. Ultimately, Fletcher misses his son’s birthday party. Max makes a birthday wish that his father would be unable to tell a lie for an entire day — a wish that immediately becomes true.
Fletcher soon discovers, through a series of embarrassing incidents, that he is unable to lie, mislead, or even withhold a true answer (lie by omission). These incidents are inconvenient, as he is fighting a divorce case which could be a boost to his career. His client is Samantha Cole, a gold-digger. His main witness, Kenneth Falk, whom Samantha has been cheating on her husband Richard Cole with, is eager to commit perjury to win, but Fletcher discovers that he cannot even ask a question if he knows the answer will be a lie; he even objects to himself when he tries to lie to get the desired information. Meanwhile, Audrey is planning to move to Boston with her new fiancé Jerry, and decides that Max will go with them to protect him from the disappointment Fletcher causes him when he breaks his promises.
Fletcher tries desperately to delay the case, even beating himself up, but is unable to lie his way into a continuance. On the verge of losing the case, he discovers that Samantha had lied about her age and therefore had signed the prenuptial agreement as a minor without parental consent, rendering the contract void. This entitles Samantha to 50% of Richard’s marital assets, equal to $11.395 million, allowing Fletcher to win the case truthfully. However, Samantha also insists on contesting custody of their children for an extra $10,000 in monthly child support payments from Richard. A disheartened Fletcher, realizing that he had corrupted Samantha with his own lies, watches as she pulls her crying children out of Richard’s arms. Horrified by his mistake, Fletcher demands that the judge reverse the decision, but his attitude angers the judge and he is arrested for contempt of court. Fletcher calls Audrey to bail him out, but she informs him that their plane leaves for Boston that night; his bail is eventually paid by his secretary, Greta.
POSITIVE LIVING 