Liar Liar/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions
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*** Yeah, the simplest answer is that he has to tell the truth as he knows it. If he's asked about something he doesn't know, then the truthful answer is "I don't know", along with however much rambling elaboration he wants to get into. If he's asked for his opinion, then he has to say his real opinion ("that's just something we tell ugly people to make them feel better!").
*** And as for the woman in the elevator, this troper always interpreted it as Reed opening his mouth to say something flattering and flirtacious but, to his horror, having the curse force him to say what he was really thinking about: primarily, her mammary glands and how, of course no one would be rude to her. Note that this isn't because someone actually wouldn't be rude to her but only because Fletcher himself couldn't imagine it because he could never bring himself to be anything but flattering and flirtacious with an attractive woman.
** Basically, the curse doesn't compel simple, actual facts to come out of his mouth when he speaks, it makes him say what he's ''truthfully'' thinking. There's lots of times where he could have said something technically true, but it wouldn't have been honest to what he was thinking and feeling inside. Again using the lady in the elevator as an example, he probably could have said something noncommittal and technically true like "I imagine they have" (which would have been both truthful: he can certainly imagine other people being nice to her because she has big boobs), but what he was really thinking was "They're being nice because you have big boobs". So that was ''his'' truth, and what he had to say.
* When Carrey's character has to answer his secretaries questions which he doesn't what to, why doesn't he just not answer at all, it was only for him to tell the truth, not answer every question he is asked.
** You answered your own question. The wish was for him "to tell the truth." I.e., if he knows a truth, he has to tell it.
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** Because not answering would have the same effect as answering. The secretary would have very easily concluded that he wasn't answering because he knew she wouldn't like the answer.
** But then why didn't he just answer with a simple "I don't like it."?
*** See above: Fletcher's not just forced to tell the truth, he has to tell his personal truth. "I don't like it" might be technically true, but not what he ''really'' thinks.
** I believe he is forced to say whatever pops into his head at that moment so he can't word something to be technically true. You can see this when he clamps his hand over his mouth when he answers his own question of what's wrong with me, hurls a phone away after admitting he was sleeping with his boss when he culd have just said I was with my boss last night, and at one point wraps his head in his jacket and tries to nod and shake his head as an answer but screams the opposite of what he's indicating.
**** I think a lot of this can be chocked up to Fletcher not understanding exactly what's happening to him at first, and and later the stress of what's going on causes him to have outbursts, which of course have to be the truth.
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** Actually the point of the movie was more about Fletcher learning to be a better person (or at least less of a lying, scheming jerk). Part of that process is repairing his relationship with his son, but his relationship with his ex-wife was just as much in need of repairing.
** At least it puts that a year in the future, making it a little more believable.
** If you pay attention, there's obviously still a lot of feelings there between Fletcher and his ex-wife. Their relationship deteriorated because Fletcher was a workaholic and wasn't honest with her, not because of irreconcilable differences of personality or viewpoint. Once Fletcher sorted out his priorities and learned to be honest, the thing that drove them apart was gone, getting back together actually made sense.
* Fairly minor but as Fletcher is being dragged out of court to be held in comtempt he clearly yells. "I am Jose Canseco! I AM JOSE CANSECO!!!" While absolutely hilarious it would fall under the category of lying. I guess you could write it off as he didn't mean it as a lie, he was just refering to a game of catch he was going to play with Max...but it still bugs me.
** Fletcher says lots of crazy, whacky things when he goes on one of his Truth rants. Remember when he goes off on that one guy the wife had been cheating on? "You dunked her donut! You gave her dog a Snausage! You stuffed her like a Thanksgiving turkey!" None of that was ''literally'' true (he didn't ''actually'' give her dog a Snausage), but he still said it because the metaphorical meaning was true.
*** Also, as you said, he was being dragged out at the time. We don't know what he might or might not have said after the door closed on him, so he could very well have yelled out something clarifying like "MY SON WANTS ME TO PRETEND TO BE JOSE CANSECOOOOOOO!!!" after the scene cut.
** See the "Fletcher's personal truth" explanation. He's not lying because in that moment what he's saying is the truth for him... he doesn't believe he's actually, literally Jose Canseco, but that he's going to "be" Jose Canseco for his son that night, and for him that's the truth.
* Max's fifth birthday is a HUGE to-do, with friends, a clown and music. His sixth birthday is... his two parents and a cake.
** Well, when your birthday doesn't fall on a weekend, you tend to have a little birthday party with just your parents, and then the big bash comes the next Saturday.
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* He DID lie once: When Fletcher's secretary was quitting, and he had just said he could have "gotten him ten", and she continues to pack up her stuff, Fletcher desperately cries out "I didn't understand the question!" There is no application of this statement that could have been true.
** One theory I've read is that he was referring to the secretary's question ("Is that justice?" in relation to her friend being sued). She meant "is that justice for my friend?" He answered as if it was "is that justice for the burglar"? Thus, misunderstanding.
** He might have been able to get away with it because he had a moment of thinking "Oh crap she was asking what I'm supposed to think as a person, not what I really think as a lawyer!"
* My fan theory (to this lie and to the whole film actually): No magic spells, Fletcher was unconsciously unable to lie (with that one exception) due to his guilty conscience catching up with him. When his son told him about the wish, it just solidified the psychological effect, and gave him a point in time which his conscience could let him off. This adds a plausibility to the story that a magic spell would not allow for.
** So you find it more "plausible" that Fletcher was struck with some sort of acute mental illness at exactly 8:15pm one night that made him psychologically incapable of lying, and then inexplicably cured of said mental illness at exactly 8:15pm the next night? Why the need for this overcomplicated explanation when "magic spell" is so much simpler?
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* Fletcher cannot ask a question if he knows the answer will be a lie. When he puts Samantha on the stand and questions her about her birth certificate, he had to have known she was going to lie when he asked her about the information, she'd falsified at least three things on the document. How could he ask the questions if he knew the answers would be lies?
** Because his intent was to reveal the ''truth''. When he was asking her the lies before, the intent was to deceive. At each of her answers about the form, he immediately shoots down her lies.
** Yup. The problem with asking the other questions was that he knew that when the person who answered was going to lie, he would then be expected to silently move on and let the lie stand, which the spell wouldn't let him do.
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