Screenplay of the Week

"LIAR LIAR"

Written 1996
by Tom Shadyac and Mike Binder

http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/liarliar.pdf

To start off the first of many new features here at wikiscreenplay we have the “Screenplay of the Week”. Each week a full movie screenplay will be posted with a brief synopsis of why its important to read and understand.

This week, as the first installment, we will be looking at on of the many comedies during the 1990’s that starred Jim Carrey. Carrey will always hold a special place in my heart thanks to his dominance of my childhood comedy memory; Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Dumb & Dumber. These three films shaped my humor as a kid are still among my favorite comedies. With this said I picked Liar Liar as an example of the type of comedy that will not work anymore in today’s box office.

I hope you do take the time to actually read the full screenplay because this can really give a better impression of the filmmakers abilities to turn the written word into a true experience. The transition from screenplay to the big screen is an amazing and intricate task. By not only seeing the film but reading through the screenplay one can really get a sense for whether the screenplay simply could not fail, whether the screenplay was garbage and saved purely by the actors and directors, or whether both sides failed. This process is a major reason for why I got into reading (and writing) screenplays and I know believe to have a better understanding of who in Hollywood are the true stars.

As for Liar Liar, its almost as formulaic a screenplay as possible. Take the protagonist, develop his/her defining flaw, introduce a situation that plays off this flaw and brings the protagonist down to his lowest point, have protagonist face and overcome the flaw. Happy ending for everyone! This is all we expected from comedies, for the most part, up until around the start of the new millennium. All people needed was to feel good during the movie, laugh a few times every 10 minutes or so, and maybe most importantly have a big name starring.

This is Liar Liar. Read the screenplay and you will quickly come to realize that there is really nothing to it. Dad lies and disappoints his some, loses ability to lie (he is a lawyer so let the awkward moments commence!), play off this for some cheap laughs, and then have Dad redeem himself in the end. So what saved Liar Liar from getting slammed at the box office. Two words: Jim Carrey. He single handedly saves the film by being his prototypical physical comedian. The scenes where he is actually physically struggling not to lie are the films best.

So people got what they wanted in 1996 and were happy. Now look at the newest batch of comedies. The most successful ones were centered on relative no names who could be slotted in to well written screenplays and had true on screen chemistry. Superbad, Saving Sarah Marshal, Juno, 40-Year Old Virgin; all of these films brought people in with stories not big names. Movie goes now need a joke every few seconds to be entertained. Slow periods kill the audience.

Keep this in mind when sending in ideas for the project. Let’s get off on the right foot with a premise that will be able to spawn a great story. The jokes will come, I assure you. There are too many funny people in this world to not get an abundance of one liners and site gags. Learn from the past and adapt our story to the new order of comedy.