Liar Liar (4 Stars)

There's always a problem with translating films into other languages. I'm not talking about the age old argument of dubbing versus subtitles. There's the same problem with both types of translations. The opening scene in "Liar Liar" is a perfect example. Schoolchildren, presumably first grade, are being asked what their parents do for a living.

Max: My Dad is a liar.
Teacher: A liar? I'm sure you don't mean a liar.
Max: Well, he wears a suit and goes to court and talks to the judge.
Teacher: Oh, I see. You mean he's a lawyer.

I'm sure you can guess the problem already. The whole comedy is based on the similarity of the words liar and lawyer. The DVD subtitles have been accurately translated into German, but guess what? Unless the person watching already understands English it's impossible to figure out what the conversation is about. The German words for liar and lawyer, Lügner and Rechtsanwalt, aren't even vaguely similar.

All Germans born in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) learn English at school, so it can be assumed that even if they need subtitles they can understand the humour. English wasn't a compulsory subject in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), so most Germans over 40 who were born in the East have no knowledge of English.

English is a common language around the world, but I watch films in languages that I don't understand at all, languages like Japanese and Chinese. I'm at the mercy of the translators, and I have to assume that their translation gives me the subtleties I need. I have to hope that they don't let me down completely, like the German translators of "Liar Liar".

Then there's another problem with this particular DVD which is totally unnecessary. The English title of the film refers to the common jibe among American children, "Liar liar, pants on fire". Despite losing this reference, the German film could have been called "Lügner, Lügner", or better still "Lügner! Lügner!" with exclamation marks. The title could have been left untranslated, like most American films released in Germany. Instead of this, the title was translated as "Der Dummschwätzer". That's a slang word which means someone who talks nonsense. What an awful translation! Lawyers don't talk nonsense, they talk very sensibly indeed. They even talk good sense when they tell lies.

After the classroom teacher corrects him, Max just shrugs. For him the words liar and lawyer mean the same. His father, Fletcher Reede, doesn't just lie to the judge. He lies to everyone, including Max. Some of his lies in the past must have been uncovered, because Fletcher is now divorced, and Max lives with his mother and her boyfriend. Max loves his father more than anything in the world, but he wishes he would stop lying. To take one example, Fletcher promised to take Max to see a wrestling event, but then cancelled because he said he had to work late. In actual fact he was having sex in the office with one of his bosses. That's probably not what Max guessed, but he still had an intuition that his father wasn't telling the truth.

On his fifth birthday Max makes a wish that his father should be unable to lie for a whole day. And like in all the best fairy tales, his wish comes true.

This is a catastrophe for Fletcher. He has to present a court case for which lying is essential. His client Samantha Cole, played by the luscious Jennifer Tilly, is getting divorced from her rich husband. The prenuptial agreement states that she will receive nothing if she's unfaithful to him – her husband must have expected it – but he's made a friendly offer of $2 million. That's not enough for Samantha; she wants $11.5 million.

Whatever lies Fletcher might have planned to win the case, he can't do it. Is career is ruined.

Samantha takes the stand wearing an outfit intended to sway the jury. How could twelve upstanding men, pillars of the community, be able to refuse her anything she wants? But she still needs the support of her lawyer.

As I've said in the past, I prefer Jim Carrey's serious roles to his comedy films. Nevertheless, he's one of the few actors whose films I always buy, whether or not I've seen them in the cinema. As far as I'm concerned, he can't do anything wrong. His comedy performances are ridiculously over-the-top, but they work. He's one of the best actors who has ever lived.

Success Rate:  + 4.7

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