After 30 years, The Little Rascals finds renewed success on Netflix, ranking as the 10th most-watched movie in the US. Its resurgence indicates a renewed interest despite its poor reviews and age, competing with classics like Matilda. The film's unique story, memorable characters, and child actors' later careers contribute to its rewatchability and potential climb in rankings.
The poorly-reviewed 1994 movie adaptation of the classic comedy shorts The Little Rascals became a hit on Netflix in the United States 30 years later. Directed by Penelope Spheeris, the film acts as an updated version of Hal Roach's Our Gang series of shorts, many of which were originally broadcast under the name the movie would later use. In the movie, The Little Rascals characters discover a member of their anti-girl club has a secret girlfriend, leading to a series of event all stemming from Spanky (Travis Tedford) and Buckwheat (Ross Elliot Bagley) trying to break them up.
The poorly-reviewed 1994 movie adaptation of the classic comedy shorts The Little Rascals became a hit on Netflix in the United States 30 years later. Directed by Penelope Spheeris, the film acts as an updated version of Hal Roach's Our Gang series of shorts, many of which were originally broadcast under the name the movie would later use. In the movie, The Little Rascals characters discover a member of their anti-girl club has a secret girlfriend, leading to a series of event all stemming from Spanky (Travis Tedford) and Buckwheat (Ross Elliot Bagley) trying to break them up.
- 7/17/2024
- by Nick Bythrow
- ScreenRant
It may be a formulaic knockabout comedy, but beneath the surface of this early Jim Carrey outing lurks a compelling honesty and an important life lesson
Courtrooms and curses: two anchoring Hollywood notions. Audiences love a courtroom drama. And they'll buy in to a curse any curse, from a body swap to a distasteful compulsion or an unwanted power as long as there's an adorable kid involved in its conception or application.
I like to think that when screenwriters Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur first sketched out Liar Liar, they'd just emerged from back-to-back screenings of To Kill a Mockingbird and Big, or maybe Twelve Angry Men and Vice Versa (a film from 1988, should you be unfamiliar with it, in which Fred Savage, with the help of a magical Buddhist skull, curses Judge Reinhold to spend a week as a preteen). Guay and Mazur saw a curse and a courtroom...
Courtrooms and curses: two anchoring Hollywood notions. Audiences love a courtroom drama. And they'll buy in to a curse any curse, from a body swap to a distasteful compulsion or an unwanted power as long as there's an adorable kid involved in its conception or application.
I like to think that when screenwriters Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur first sketched out Liar Liar, they'd just emerged from back-to-back screenings of To Kill a Mockingbird and Big, or maybe Twelve Angry Men and Vice Versa (a film from 1988, should you be unfamiliar with it, in which Fred Savage, with the help of a magical Buddhist skull, curses Judge Reinhold to spend a week as a preteen). Guay and Mazur saw a curse and a courtroom...
- 4/3/2014
- by Tom Lamont
- The Guardian - Film News
Film review: 'Liar Liar'
Jim Carrey has reconnected his comedy wire with "Liar Liar", an electric, warm-spirited merriment that melds Carrey's hyperkinetic talents with a heart-tugging story. Sagely directed by Tom Shadyac, "Liar Liar" should chart higher and higher at the boxoffice for Universal. In truth, "Liar" will be a colossal hit, appealing to kids on spring break as well as every species of Carrey's wide and nutty following.
In "Liar Liar", Carrey plays Fletcher, a trial lawyer so smooth, brazen and utterly unencumbered by notions of fair play that one suspects that O.J. will use the role as a yardstick in selecting his appeals attorney. Outrageously successful in his professional life, Fletcher has drawn a hung jury in his personal life. His ex-wife (Maura Tierney) is on the verge of remarrying while his 5-year-old son, Max (Justin Cooper), whom he adores, has reached an age in which workaholic Dad's absence is noted. Making partner is Fletcher's top priority, and professional white lies are a day-to-day necessity for the attorney.
While white lies are considered largely innocuous in the hard, adult world, to his young son they are tantamount to betrayal. When Fletcher misses Max's birthday because of a heavy workload (banging a horny partner), Max makes a wish: that Daddy will not utter an untruth for 24 hours.
In Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur's slyly subversive scenario, the glad-handing, unctuous lawyer, whose prior mouthings consisted solely of self-serving deceptions, now can only tell the truth.
And, as we all know, a little truth can go a long way, especially in Fletcher's case, as he immediately gets himself into hot water with a candid assessment of his boss' performance in the sack. While dishing out a devilishly delirious series of quicky sillies, having Fletcher speak the truth to assorted panhandlers and barristers, Guay and Mazur have wrapped these instant hilarities around a larger theme, that honesty is the best policy, and, best of all, have tied it to Fletcher's genuine love for his child.
What truly makes "Liar Liar" work, however, is Shadyac's inspired sense of comic proportion. While torquing the hilarities to the max, he never loses sight of the story's important human side. His blend of farce with heart is perfect.
With his protean pyrotechnical prowess coming out both sides of his mouth and form, Carrey has never been better - that is to say funnier, or more controlled. He's reached a higher performance plateau here, playing a real human being we care about rather than a goon figure. Credit to the supporting cast, particularly young Cooper, who wins our affection as the irrepressible Max.
Other players are similarly well-cast, including Amanda Donohoe as the predatory law partner and Anne Haney as Fletcher's no-nonsense secretary.
Tierney conveys warm level-headedness as Fletcher's ex-wife, while Jennifer Tilly ditzes it up perfectly as a modern-day gold digger.
Technical contributions are finer and finer, particularly cinematographer Russell Boyd's homey hues and costume designer Judy L. Ruskin's tangy threads.
LIAR LIAR
Universal Pictures
Imagine Entertainment presents
A Brian Grazer production
A Tom Shadyac film
Director Tom Shadyac
Producer Brian Grazer
Executive producers James D. Brubaker,
Michael Bostick
Screenwriters Paul Guay, Stephen Mazur
Director of photography Russell Boyd
Production designer Linda DeScenna
Editor Don Zimmerman
Costume designer Judy L. Ruskin
Music John Debney
Casting Junie Lowry Johnson, Ron Surma
Color/stereo
Cast:
Fletcher Reede Jim Carrey
Audrey Reede Maura Tierney
Max Reede Justin Cooper
Jerry Cary Elwes
Greta Anne Haney
Samantha Cole Jennifer Tilly
Miranda Amanda Donohoe
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
In "Liar Liar", Carrey plays Fletcher, a trial lawyer so smooth, brazen and utterly unencumbered by notions of fair play that one suspects that O.J. will use the role as a yardstick in selecting his appeals attorney. Outrageously successful in his professional life, Fletcher has drawn a hung jury in his personal life. His ex-wife (Maura Tierney) is on the verge of remarrying while his 5-year-old son, Max (Justin Cooper), whom he adores, has reached an age in which workaholic Dad's absence is noted. Making partner is Fletcher's top priority, and professional white lies are a day-to-day necessity for the attorney.
While white lies are considered largely innocuous in the hard, adult world, to his young son they are tantamount to betrayal. When Fletcher misses Max's birthday because of a heavy workload (banging a horny partner), Max makes a wish: that Daddy will not utter an untruth for 24 hours.
In Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur's slyly subversive scenario, the glad-handing, unctuous lawyer, whose prior mouthings consisted solely of self-serving deceptions, now can only tell the truth.
And, as we all know, a little truth can go a long way, especially in Fletcher's case, as he immediately gets himself into hot water with a candid assessment of his boss' performance in the sack. While dishing out a devilishly delirious series of quicky sillies, having Fletcher speak the truth to assorted panhandlers and barristers, Guay and Mazur have wrapped these instant hilarities around a larger theme, that honesty is the best policy, and, best of all, have tied it to Fletcher's genuine love for his child.
What truly makes "Liar Liar" work, however, is Shadyac's inspired sense of comic proportion. While torquing the hilarities to the max, he never loses sight of the story's important human side. His blend of farce with heart is perfect.
With his protean pyrotechnical prowess coming out both sides of his mouth and form, Carrey has never been better - that is to say funnier, or more controlled. He's reached a higher performance plateau here, playing a real human being we care about rather than a goon figure. Credit to the supporting cast, particularly young Cooper, who wins our affection as the irrepressible Max.
Other players are similarly well-cast, including Amanda Donohoe as the predatory law partner and Anne Haney as Fletcher's no-nonsense secretary.
Tierney conveys warm level-headedness as Fletcher's ex-wife, while Jennifer Tilly ditzes it up perfectly as a modern-day gold digger.
Technical contributions are finer and finer, particularly cinematographer Russell Boyd's homey hues and costume designer Judy L. Ruskin's tangy threads.
LIAR LIAR
Universal Pictures
Imagine Entertainment presents
A Brian Grazer production
A Tom Shadyac film
Director Tom Shadyac
Producer Brian Grazer
Executive producers James D. Brubaker,
Michael Bostick
Screenwriters Paul Guay, Stephen Mazur
Director of photography Russell Boyd
Production designer Linda DeScenna
Editor Don Zimmerman
Costume designer Judy L. Ruskin
Music John Debney
Casting Junie Lowry Johnson, Ron Surma
Color/stereo
Cast:
Fletcher Reede Jim Carrey
Audrey Reede Maura Tierney
Max Reede Justin Cooper
Jerry Cary Elwes
Greta Anne Haney
Samantha Cole Jennifer Tilly
Miranda Amanda Donohoe
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 3/17/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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