‘Liar Liar’ Slams Lawyers, Lawyers --to Much Delight

In “Liar Liar,” Jim Carrey plays a lawyer who is forced to tell the truth as a result of his son’s birthday wish. Carrey falls into all sorts of unexpected trouble but grows much closer to his wife and son. Rated PG-13.

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Just about everybody likes to see lawyers take a hit. Even kids. Even when the lawyer is Jim Carrey, one of their favorite comics.

The attorney played by Carrey in “Liar Liar” is a pretty despicable guy, one whom the scummiest criminals turn to because they know he’ll do anything--including lie, lie, lie--to get them off. Many youngsters who attended a recent screening here thought Carrey’s character was pretty creepy, even when he was making them laugh.

They said liked the flick not just because Carrey delivers the wildly physical humor he’s famous for, but also because it targets lawyers with malicious glee.

“That’s how they are,” Kimberly Elizondo, 12, of Santa Ana, said with a sigh. “They do bad things and fib a lot.” Has she had firsthand experience with lawyers? “No, but I know they are like that,” she replied confidently.

Kimberly and her friend Elena Rodriguez, also 12 and from Santa Ana, explained that they’d seen enough on TV and heard enough about lawyers to decide that they’re all pretty awful.

Carrey “should make fun of them,” said Joey Pinter, 13, of Costa Mesa. “It was funny what he did.”

One especially loud and hectic scene, in which Carrey tries to lie but can’t, turns into a series of slapstick contortions that had Joey, Kimberly and Elena rolling. Indeed, some kids thought the plot wasn’t much more than an excuse for Carrey to do his thing. Listening to them made one wonder if the viewers would have been just as happy to watch Carrey run through his routines in an empty room for 90 minutes.

“I guess it was nice that [Carrey and his family] got back together again, but it was just like the standard ending,” said Mark Burnside, 15, of Irvine. “I didn’t care too much.”

Some kids found it hard to pick a favorite pratfall. But boys howled when Carrey told his bosses what he really thought of them. And some thought it was especially hilarious when he got smacked after honestly telling a woman how much he admired her breasts.

Neither boys nor girls seemed offended by the frequently raunchy situations and crude language. A few adults, however, said parents should beware, especially if they’re thinking of taking young children.

* CHILDREN’S LISTINGS, Page 42