When it comes to comedy, not many do it better than Jim Carrey. Dumb and Dumber, The Mask, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, etc are all good examples, but my favorite is Liar Liar. Liar Liar tells the story of a crooked lawyer who lies his way out of everything and never keeps his promises. This lawyer also has a son and ex wife. The story focuses on a wish the son makes at his birthday party, the wish for his dad not to be able to tell lies for one day. As the wish unfolds the dad gets into more and more awkward and painfully funny situations.
The reason I chose this movie because it ties in with Bergson's Laughter. Bergson says that in order for something to be funny it must be inelastic and rigid. One way Liar Liar is inelastic and rigid is by Jim Carrey not being able to tell lies. There is no evading awkward questions or annoying people. Instead whatever is the truth comes tumbling out Carrey's mouth and causes him to get into so much trouble.Another way Liar Liar is similar to Bergson is that, to Bergson, laughter is a corrective force. We laugh at things that don't correct themselves or fail to see the obvious pot hole and fall right into it. "Laughter must be something of thinking, a sort of SOCIAL GESTURE. By the fear which it inspires, it restrains eccentricity keeps constantly awake and in mutual contact certain activities of a secondary order which might retire into their shell and go to sleep…" (Laughter, p.9a) So in this movie the laughter is the corrective force for Jim Carrey's inability to lie as well as the corrective force for his overactive lying. Liar Liar is also hilariously and painfully funny at some points and should well be called Bergson's Laughter on screen. If it isn't picked for the movie, you should take the time out of your schedule to watch this fantastic movie.
When I first saw your suggestion, I was not too sure about it. But after I read your well reasoned argument, I think this is a great choice. I am sure there are many more topics for discussion that we could glean from this film.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Don't forget about Jim Carey's other movies like Ace Ventura and Bruce Almighty.
Your connection of Liar Liar with one of our readings has intrigued me. One thing that makes this movie special is that it is a comedy with a serious message that is mixed with all the chaotic actions of Jim Carrey. Some I know dislike Carrey's movies because some of them, like Ace Ventura, just have an actor screaming and being foolish. I think this could be a good discussion topic for class. The movie is pretty great too.
ReplyDeleteI think you make very valid points. The laughter in this particular movie is supposed to change a bad behavior, lying. It would be like Adam the judge in The Broken Jug being unable to lie. Jim Carrey's character is certainly not a very nice one at first, like Adam was. Unlike Adam, he learns his lesson in the end. I think it would be very interesting to see how the class would dissect this movie.
ReplyDeleteAlso I just really like the movie.
I didn't realized that you also suggested this movie! I saw this trailer somewhere and I thought it was hilarious! I have not watched it but I bet this would be a really good movie! I also suggested to watch it for some other reasons. :)
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