Comedy

I wrote a few weeks back that it’s an odd feeling when you finally see that film that everyone and their brother has been exclaiming about for years. That is the exact feeling I felt after seeing The Big Lebowski. I knew for years that this film would be great, especially after seeing Fargo before. Boy was I right as The Big Lebowski was a huge humor trip.

Jeffrey Lebowski a.k.a. “The Dude” (Jeff Bridges) is your run of the mill slacker. He doesn’t really do much with his life besides ...et constantly stoned with his buddies at the local bowling alley. Donny (Steve Buscemi), Walter (John Goodman), and Jesus (John Turturro) are his buddies. One night Jeff comes home to find a pair of thugs sitting in his home. Turns out these thugs think Jeff is some type of ultra millionaire. They soon threaten his life, demanding he pay the debt he owes. Obviously Jeff is completely lost by this situation. After consulting his buddies, Jeff and his buddies soon find themselves wrapped up in a big kidnapping plot. The rest of the film sees our main characters bumble around in a manner that was consistently entertaining and amusing.

Recently released on HD DVD, this film is the last of the films from the famous British comedy band Monty Python. Originally released in 1983, this is by far Python’s darkest film, filled with violence and dark humor, seemingly tailored to offend everyone. I did not care for the part in the restaurant with the extremely obese man, so there we are.

The film consists of a series of short sketches about various aspects of the “Meaning of Life” or at least an observation of the quirky aspects of life, such as ...he delightful part in which John Cleese plays a sex educator or a very “British” colonel during the 2nd Zulu War near the end of the 19th century. The film actually begins with a short prelude film entitled “The Crimson Permanent Assurance”. What little plot there is seems to involve a group of oppressed accountants rising up against their corporate masters and becoming pirates, using their building as a pirate vessel none the less. It is more amusing in execution than on paper, I especially liked later on when the accountant shouts: “It’s the Crimson Permanent Assurance!!” and then something rather unexpected happens to address the presence of the supporting feature involving itself in the feature presentation.

Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a TV news reporter at Eye Witness Channel 7 in New York who fails to get a job as an anchorman and, after a series of other bad luck incidents, complains to God that He is treating him unfairly and is doing a poor job as supreme deity. God (Morgan Freeman) contacts Bruce and offers him the chance of a lifetime. He offers to give Bruce all the powers he has. Bruce quickly abuses his new powers for personal gain (new car, pleasing his girlfriend), only to be reminded that he also has to take...care of other people's problems. Meanwhile, Bruce endangers his relationship with his girlfriend Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston) through his self-centered behavior. In the end, Bruce realizes that God’s powers are meant for only one being, that being is of course God.

When Bruce Almighty works, it works in the highest gear. The film is funny completely enjoyable. As Bruce continues to receive the worst in life, we can’t help but think of a time in our life. After all, haven’t we all had that series of bad moments were you thought, regardless of religious inklings that something or someone was working against you? Bruce fights and fights to understand this and seemingly can’t believe that God is actually answering his complaints. Simply imagine what would happen if the Almighty endowed us with his power?

Fletcher Reed (Jim Carrey) is your typical lawyer in that he’s successful and seemingly loves his job. He openly lies each and every day to the judge just so his client can win the case. In fact Fletcher has gotten so accustom to lying so much that he doesn’t even realize that his son Max (Justin Reed) has pretty much became aware that his father is a liar (he means to say lawyer). When Fletcher doesn’t show up to Max’s birthday, Max wishes that for 24 hours his father couldn’t tell a lie. Enter the real humorous and...sometimes touching portion of the film as Fletcher slowly realizes that his son is trying to teach him something about his life.

The biggest positive about a film like Liar Liar is that the film has so many numerous sequences where the viewer can’t help but laugh or at least crack a smile. From the ‘scratched my car’ joke to the ‘do you know why I pulled you over’ joke, the laughs are consistent. But the most important thing here is that the laughs are actually funny and not gross out. Liar Liar represents a time when Hollywood brought out films that contained genuine humor that might occur in real-life instead of completely disgusting humor that you don’t laugh at, but rather humor that you cringe at.