Maria Terry, RDN: A birthday wish of Liar Liar

We wished on a birthday cake that we couldn't tell a lie for one whole day! Er, wait. We wished for a perfect first guest on the pod and we got it! Maria Terry, RDN takes us through a personal classic: Liar Liar. 

We put out gender studies backgrounds to use, get into all sorts of clowning, and hope to age better than our nostalgic favorites did. 

Follow Maria Terry, RDN on Instagram: @vitamin_ri

Work with her at Maria Terry Nutrition and Wellness

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Hey you! Come on over. Mom's not home till six, and we're exploring the TV and movies that made you turn down the volume so your parents wouldn't hear. We're going to build our intimacy literacy and dig into all the weird messages we took from pop culture about sex, relationships, and ourselves. Because, let's be honest, this was all the sex ed we got. Welcome everybody. I am so excited today. You know me, I am Veronica Dress, certified sexuality educator and coach, and just sexpert about town. I am joined today, as always, by Blair Somerville, who is a therapist specializing in sexuality and queerness and relationships and all of the juicy stuff that most of the time your mom didn't want you to talk about. And today is a very auspicious day. I am so excited. I am cheesing from ear to ear. And that is because we are joined by a special guest. It is our first guest for the podcast, and I could not have dreamed up a better one. It is Maria Sylvester Terry of Maria Terry Nutrition and Wellness. You might know her from the internet as Vitamin Reed. And she is a New Orleans-based just genius and all-around expert on helping you unlearn what diet culture and all of the bullshit has taught us about our bodies and food and strength and worthiness and replacing it with curiosity and fact and ever-loving community with a giant side of SAS. And I'm just the luckiest to get to know her. And we are the luckiest to get to talk about a very kooky movie today. The movie is Liar Liar. Yes, Jim Carrey's classic from the year 1997. Eight.

unknown 1:53

Seven.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

I'm doing my best today. Blair, do you want to give us a quickie about this before we dive in and we pick our special guest's brain about just all the wonderful things about this film?

SPEAKER_04 2:06

Yes. Yeah, okay. I have our quickie from Wikipedia as usual. And then yeah, I'm excited to hear more from our special guest Maria about her choice. Liar Liar is a 1997, fascinatingly categorized as an American fantasy comedy film. Oh it stars. King of the 90s, Jim Carrey. It came out to generally positive reviews at the time. Interesting. Okay. Pretty profitable when he came out. Fletcher Reed. Good God, I got something in my throat today. Okay, I'm back.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Take it from the top.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

Fletcher Reed Carrie's character is a divorced defense lawyer living in Los Angeles who loves spending time with his young son, Max. However, he has a habit of prioritizing his career, breaking his promises to Max and his ex-wife Audrey, and then lying about the reasons. After Fletcher misses Max's fifth birthday in order to have sex with senior partner Miranda in the office, he later says this was in hopes of landing a promotion, Max makes a birthday wish for Fletcher to be honest for just one day. Fletcher quickly discovers he is unable to lie, mislead, or withhold the truth, which alienates him from Miranda pretty much immediately. And then soon after, also his secretary Greta, he gets his car impounded because he spontaneously confesses to all of his traffic infractions and unpaid parking tickets to a police officer. And he also is unable to bend the truth in court, which is like the main thing for him at his law firm, is that he will just straight up lie in court and doesn't care.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Main thing, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:48

Fletcher's newest client is Samantha Cole, a woman who wants to get around a prenup with her soon-to-be ex-husband, Richard Cole. She wants half of the estate despite being caught cheating, thus violating the prenup. The main witness, Kenneth, with whom Samantha has been cheating, is eager to lie. He's happy to do it when he takes a stand. However, Fletcher finds in court that his anti-lying curse slash blessing now means he also can't solicit perjury from witnesses. Meanwhile, Audrey is considering a move to Boston with her boyfriend of seven months, Jerry. Elways? How do you say his name? He's Welsh or something? I don't know how to pronounce that. I'm sorry, Carrie.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

What feels right in your heart?

SPEAKER_04 4:33

Elways.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Alright, there it is.

SPEAKER_04 4:35

That's in my heart. Dread Pirate Roberts, for those of us who love Princess Bride. I did not recognize him at all in this movie. He proposed to Audrey upon receiving a job offer in Boston. She accepts, hoping to protect Max from future disappointments that Fletcher may cause him. Catching wind of Fletcher's inability to lie, Miranda tries to get him fired by baiting him into insulting Mr. Allen, another senior partner at the firm. But this fails because Mr. Allen and his board think that it's a hilarious lighthearted roast instead of straight-up insults that Fletcher is throwing at them. Fletcher tries to get his court case delayed until he can lie again by staging an assault on himself in the men's room, but he's ultimately unable to lie his way into the unnecessary continuance. He knows he can't dispute the proof of Samantha's adultery, but her complaining accidentally reveals that she has been lying about her age, and he then successfully disputes the validity of her prenup, signed as a minor without parental consent. The judge rules Samantha is indeed entitled to 50% of Richard's marital assets, allowing Fletcher to win the case truthfully. However, Samantha then pivots to demanding full custody of their children in order to get extra child support payments. Fletcher watches as she pulls her crying children out of Richard's arms. Horrified by the outcomes of his actions, he overreacts and demands the decision be reversed. The judge thinks Fletcher's mocking him and holds him in content and he goes contempt and he goes to jail. Fletcher calls Audrey to bail him out. She says, No, I'm going to Boston. I'm getting on a plane tonight. Somehow I've already lined up to sell my house and shit, and I'm packed up to move in one day.

SPEAKER_01 6:23

No, they're just going to look at houses. They're just going on board.

SPEAKER_04 6:27

They're going to look. They're going to Boston. But it's very urgent that they go to look right now. Super urgent. They're going tonight. Greta bails him out. She shows up to get him out of jail after hearing through the uh Secretary Grapevine about the things that went on in court that day. Fletcher rushes to the airport. Audrey in Max's plane has already left the gate. In desperation, he hijacks a mobile stairway to pursue the plane onto the runway. He keeps his promise to see Max before takeoff through a plane window and does get the plane to stop, but he is injured because this is completely crazy for him to do this. On a stretcher, Fletcher vows to Max that he will spend more time with him. And he says that even though I am free to lie now that the 24 hours have passed, it feels clearer to be honest. And I'm never gonna hurt you again. Cut to one year later, Fletcher and Audrey are celebrating Max's sixth birthday. Max makes a birthday wish, the lights go out. Fletcher and Audrey are kissing when the lights come back on. Fletcher asks Max if he wished for them to get back together, but he says he only wished for rollerblades. The claw comes out, the movie ends. It's touching. It's touching. Touching. So, Maria, tell us more about what made you want to pick this movie. You said this is a special fixation of yours.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 7:57

Tell us all about it.

SPEAKER_02 7:59

So there's something about this movie that I, for a long time, didn't think anything of. I just thought this is a very normal movie, like Ace Ventura, like Toy Story, any movie at all in the 90s. That like you just liked it because it was good. And that's about 22 years old. Meet my now husband, and we're just chatting about favorites. And he said, What's your favorite movie? And I didn't bat an eye. I just said, Liar liar. And he looked at me and he goes, What? The movie with Jim Carrey where he can't lie? And I was like, Yeah, it's it's like a hallmark film. Like, what do you mean? Like it's like a it's part of my identity. Like, I have a yearbook photo of me in eighth grade saying it was my favorite movie. Like I owned this as my favorite movie.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

And he caught me. This was no guilty. Yeah, no guilty list.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

Somebody looked at me and it was like, Are you sure you want to keep saying that out loud? Have you seen that movie recently? And I was like, I watch it like every month. Like I watch it pretty often. What are you saying, sir? So I kind of foldered that in the back of my head. And to this day, my husband just teases me mercilessly that that was something I was so open about being my favorite movie. He's like, this isn't in alignment with who you are, with your values, with what you believe in, with what you even believe to be funny. And I think maybe what drew it to me is the camaraderie my siblings and I had. I'm one of five kids. This was one of the movies we had on VHS, and we played it, and we played it, and we played it, and it was so quotable. And as a millennial, movie quotes were a way that you communicated and built camaraderie and like we're funny. It's it was this in real life version of sending memes. And that was so important to us of like being goofy and having the best one-liner. And this movie is full of goofy, extremely inappropriate one-liners. And I thought if I'm going to go public talking about anything, it should be my pearl, my child, liar liar. And I am obsessed with Jim Carrey. I think easily one of my favorite people to have watched in all types of films. Eternal Sunshine is one of my favorite movies. I'm a big Jim Carrey fan. So I think I need to talk about this from the lens of can we believe that double-breasted jacket, the entire movie, the ill-fitting suits, the terrible haircuts. This is my this is honestly this is cathartic for me. So that's why I wanted to talk about it today. I knew that they were going to look at houses when you were talking about the intro because I know the intonation of Audrey's voice, and she goes, Jerry and I are going to look at houses. She says it just like that. She does. And I so it's I didn't even realize until today quite even quite how much this movie is in my body.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Yes, absolutely. I'm ex I am excited about this. And I think it so many of the movies that we unpack here or the TV shows that we rewatch, or like usually one of us has seen something, the other one hasn't. And it is this really unique experience of the emotional connection you have to a piece of media that really did inform who you are in some ways, but also just a really nostalgic connection to it that now as an adult, if you were to watch it for the first time, maybe would be like, What? The the the it doesn't line up in some ways, right? Like to be to follow your partner's point, right? Like this doesn't track with the you I know. And also, can we hold space for like a deep love and nostalgia and comfort connection to something that is imperfect? And I think if we're gonna talk about relationships in general, that needs to be part of the conversation because spoiler, we're all imperfect. We're all our own Jim Carrey in our own way.

SPEAKER_04 11:52

We are Veronica, you had never seen this movie, right? This was your first.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

I think I saw it, but I we're close to the and I had seen it.

SPEAKER_04 12:03

I didn't have a lot of concrete memories of Liar Liar specifically because our go-to Jim Carrey movie was Ace Ventura. We were a big Jim Carrey household, but we were more of an Ace Ventura household. So yeah, I also have been a big Jim Carrey fan from childhood, and it is interesting to re-watch some of these movies as an adult and realize how just you know how they've aged. Uh not always gracefully.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

No, but neither have we always, right? Like, cut to I mean, me at 22, right? Like to think about when this conversation you had with your partner was. Like, I I the got the hope is that we have all changed since we were 22, and we would probably cringe at some of the things you were saying and doing at 22. And there's still a love there, there's still a like tender, oh sweetheart. You sweet, sweet dum-dum. I love you so much. I'm so glad we've grown. Yes you know. Uh okay. So when you rewatched, I'm curious, Maria, when you re-watched today or recently this week for us, what now that you were watching with a lens that was different from just I'm vibing to a classic, what did were there different things that showed up for you that stood out?

SPEAKER_02 13:21

Yes, I really saw it from this angle of like femininity versus masculinity, and how that actually, and perhaps this is why I was so attracted to it, was completely turned on its head. Whereas typically, like let's say there's a relationship and someone cheats. In a movie, it's typically like we would say it's it's very unusual to have this movie where it's like this woman hooks up with seven different people. Like that is absolutely bonkers for a 90s movie. I think that's true. So you have I wrote this sentence. It's an interesting concept that we are identifying this woman as indiscriminate, like we would a man. And we're in that conversation where she pulls when Miranda pulls in Fletcher and says, I need you to own this, I need you to lie, and he hypes up Samantha so much. And he's like, She goes, he goes, a single act of indiscretion, she goes seven. He goes, whatever. And I think you know, she's trying to like own herself, and he's like, No, it's not that serious. You were actually the one who was wronged. And I think that actually is like the man's take, and for and applying at least, you know, like stereotypically so, applying it to her and being like, we're gonna get you out of this. You're the one who was harmed. You were thrown into the arms of another man, and then here's where the kicker kind of it all clicked for me. She leaves, Samantha grabs his ass on the way out, which is a very like in like a corporate big law sort of thing in the 90s, you'd expect the opposite role reversal there. Then Miranda comes on to him and won't take no for an answer. Another moment where you would typically see like a madman, like, you know, coming onto the secretary type of thing. And in that moment, I thought, okay, the next person you see in the next scene is Jerry. And the the juxtaposition I saw was like, oh my gosh, you have these power-hungry women that are being like given like the patriarchal red carpet of like, you're gonna get out of this, there's no consequences for your behavior. And then you see good old hearted health administrator Jerry being like a good man, but because of the juxtaposition, he looks weak. Yes. And I was fascinated by the way my gender studies brain just kind of going after in this way because I thought maybe something I was attracted to in this movie is that the women gave no fucks.

SPEAKER_05 15:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

And they were kind of given this same, almost same treatment of men. Obviously, there's things that are said about Miranda later that, you know, we're right back in the patriarchal, you know, trappings. But I kind of like that part of the movie really stuck out to me of like, huh. I never seen it from the angle of like they're giving her the they're they're giving Samantha Cole the man treatment of how to get out of this case.

SPEAKER_04 16:09

Yeah. Yeah, I see what you mean, especially with that like, well, really, if you think about it, it's your partner's fault for not being attentive or warm enough or receptive to whatever you wanted.

unknown 16:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Which is such a well-practiced line of thinking that I wonder for Fletcher, like it gives an insight into his own psyche in terms of like how he justifies all of these lies to himself or his own behavior to himself. That this is like a no-brainer for him. He's like, Okay, you think this is hard? It's very El Woods, like, what? Like it's hard, yeah. Done. You were forced to do this. Like, this is the treatment that every single shitty man in this building is saying to justify cheating on their wife. And the fact that it is yeah, used with Samantha and that she really is unapologetic, as is his boss when she comes onto him, is uh very different from any 90s movie I have I remember, uh particularly in that it doesn't they are not painted as we're not supposed to love them, but the point of the movie isn't taking them down necessarily either. Which I think typically, if you have that representation of a woman in some sort of 90s movie, the it's too as a device to like this is why we should take them down and they are evil, quote unquote. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 17:32

Yeah. Yeah, I thought that's a really interesting perspective because I I follow what you're saying and I agree with it now that you point it out. But also when I was first watching I guess rewatching the movie and actually thinking about it and not being a kid and just having a grand old time with Jim Carrey's physical comedy, um, I thought it seemed like a really interesting mismatch between how Samantha's adultery is treated, like literally we're in court about it and it's a big deal, versus Fletcher's infidelity gets one sort of throwaway line, like you were having more sex than me throughout our whole marriage. So and we never address it again. Like it's just not that big of a deal.

SPEAKER_02 18:12

That's a great point. And the the showmanship and the theatrics and the dressing up and like all of like the the fault, like the false look of the courtroom in general. Like this would never be a courtroom full of people, this would be handled so differently in real life, but that's a great point that like she's really put on the stand, quite literally, and it's it's everyone's business that this woman has been a quote unquote, you know, an adulterer. Like it's like a very loud and obnoxious statement. Yeah, that's such a great point.

SPEAKER_04 18:43

When they play the audio sex tape of her in court for everyone.

SPEAKER_02 18:51

Which I also just like from a technical standpoint, you know, when you watch a movie that was meant for st and like you're on an HD TV and you can see all like the things that look terrible. I thought this tape recorder is not ever gonna play that that loud.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

Like I first saw it yesterday. I'm like, you would need to hook this up to an amplifier. Yeah, you need a microphone.

SPEAKER_02 19:10

Yes, yes. So that was like a goofy moment for myself. I also am curious your thoughts on like the movie's premise, which I love this concept of like, we don't have a lot of movies of like it's pretty much 90% true, but there's a 10% fantasy, and I loved the description blair of a movie. It is fantasy. But something that I noticed for the first time ever is it's not that he can't tell a lie, it's that his inside thoughts become outside thoughts too. Right. Correct. And I I struggled with that as like a reverse what women want with Mel Gibson, right? Like um, of like he's saying all the things that come to his mind first, which is different from lying or not lying. Like telling the truth is not necessarily saying your inside thoughts out out loud. And I'm kind of wondering how that sat with y'all of just being like, I'm how much of a stretch is it? Like, is the I feel like the wish doesn't align with the outcome sometimes. Agreed.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Yeah, yeah. That was something that I kept thinking, and this was probably my own anxiety showing up in like I I love a Jim Carrey movie, and there is sometimes depending on my mood when I'm watching his movies or movies like this, there's a part of me that's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like I get I get really like anxious about it, especially to like to take the scene that where he goes into the elevator with the woman in his building who has really big boobs and she's new, and she says, Everyone's been really nice in the building so far. And he says, You well, it's because you have you huge jugs, and then it just begins this whole thing of him like pretending to milk like milk her breasts. It's out of control. And it's so unhinged. I was like, you don't have like not lying is not the same as saying your unhinged inside thoughts, sir. Like it's it to me, I'm like, this is an impulse control issue, is what we have landed on exactly. I'm someone with ADHD. I'm like, brother, I see you. I that was my that was the main reprimand I got as a child was Veronica, you have to think before you speak. That was the go-to reprimand I was given. And so I get it. And also, it seems like for this film, that would be less interesting of a Jim Carrey movie. Of course, right? That just would be boring if he was thoughtfully considering how to say something truthful that's not gonna be harmful. Like that's just not yeah, that's just not it. And it now that I'm saying that out loud, it's making me think about oh no, oh no, it's making me it's the fourth of July as. We record this. It's making me think about the seeds of the scene with the roast that happens with all of his bosses. The partners. The partners at the firm. And the parallel to the weird situation that happened as our current president was running for office or continued to, you know, just be himself, that it feels like that scene on Repeat where he says the quiet parts that are so unhinged and so harmful out loud. And the it feels like a lot of other politicians as well as Republicans listen to him and take the response the partners take, which is he's just a real guy. He's just honest. And I think that that it's so hard to not see that parallel now that I have thought of it.

SPEAKER_04 22:57

Yeah. Yeah, I think that it's a choice made in this movie because, like you said, it just it ha it has to be saying whatever thought comes to mind for comedic purposes, because otherwise it's not a particularly funny movie. But I think there is a real piece of like culturally, I I don't know, this like radical honesty stuff, and I'm just saying it like it is, and having this idea that being unfiltered is somehow more honest than taking time to think about what you're gonna say and and sometimes not saying something just because it doesn't need to be said, not because you're lying about it. And I think you can see some of that tension in the movie when he's trying to explain to Max why it's important to try and unwish this wish, why he needs to lie sometimes, which he uses a lot of really just truly awesome misogynistic examples and fat phobic examples that powerful ones come out for him when he's like, This is why it's important to lie sometimes. And also it is not true that it's important to lie, but it is important to have a filter and to not just say everything that pops into your mind, like free associate anything you look at at any given time.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

Yeah, I think about what that message means, like how nuanced that is for a child to hear, and like of course he's never gonna understand it. And the kid's soul, the like what the kid's truly wishing for is accountability and reliability in his father. And I also find it so interesting that like the whole movie setup, like we have empathy for Jerry a little bit. We have empathy, we have empathy for Fletcher and in like this moment, but but Samantha is an absolute, like terrible parent, right? She's like awful. And I think the side by side of like, oh, like it is really important for daddies to lie sometimes. It's like Samantha's been honest the whole time. She's not lying, and like we kind of hate her, not hate her, but like you, you're you're meant and designed to be like, oh, she's a real wench. Yeah, she's an antagonist for sure. Yes, yeah, exactly. Right, right. And I just that kind of like that feels sticky to me of the explanation was really shoddy. Why do you need a spell on you to like come to this conclusion that sometimes my inside thoughts need to filter? Like that he never ever had to tell Audrey that she looked like a cow. That was never a requirement. It was never a requirement for him to be like, Well, that's what I would have told her if I couldn't lie. Like, that's not true. Um, it makes it funny, of course, if you're in 1997 and finding that funny. It also is such a like the nonsensical nature of it watching in 2026, you go, This is such a weird out for this guy.

SPEAKER_01 25:42

Well, I had to. I had to lie, or else I just would have been a prick. But I enjoy when he is when he is under the spell through for this day. There are several moments in which he is asked, like, what's wrong with you? And he's like, I'm a bad dad. Or I am I'm a bad father. Yeah. What does he say when he cuts the off the traffic? Yeah, but he cuts the traffic tickets.

SPEAKER_03 26:09

Yes, oh, I'm an inconsiderate prick.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

Or impatient or something. Yeah. And then also with the guy asking him for money, he's like, I don't like being confronted with the failures of our Western society.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

And I'm cheap. And I am cheap. Yeah. Like these, like some of the inside thoughts that come out are so fucked up. And other ones are like, okay, good. So if you ever went to therapy, maybe you would have landed at some of these in a different less high-stakes sort of way. But it does something that really stood out to me in the setup of this, and perhaps this is because it is a a movie that came out in a similar time and I watched a lot more during the holidays, was the Santa Claus. It was this group dynamic that Audrey and Jerry and Fletcher have with each other, felt very the Santa Claus in that we have a the main character is this hilarious comedian who is divorced from a very understandable and thoughtful and very tired woman who the comedian just spends the whole time making fun of this like nice guy who just seems like a nice normal person but isn't as funny as the main character. And it seems so and it's maybe a little bit Mrs. Delfire, too, that the main character, it's very clear, aside from the infidelity, that it would be impossible to partner with you. You are a man baby.

SPEAKER_04 27:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

Like you were you are not a parent, you are just a playmate to this child. And that's not gonna fly. And so I I am curious about what happens in that interim between he, you know, they they don't go to Boston and now it's a year later and they're kissing and getting back together as a family. Is showing up for Max enough for is that all that needed to happen? Like I said, I'm curious about that.

SPEAKER_04 28:16

Yeah, that's sort of I don't know, it seems like there was an undercurrent in this movie that men to be like a good husband means being a good father. Yes, and women have to be good partners and good mothers to be a good wife.

SPEAKER_02 28:37

Yes. And and like that's Claris Crystal to me in this movie. Claire's crystal. Yeah, I I thought a lot about like, is this really what it would take to allow this person back into this relationship, back into your home? Like, he was a you know, the the infidelity was very painful to Audrey you could see that was something that she was like, I've had to move on from this. You were not a good partner, you were not home, you were not around, we didn't spend time together. It seems like that it's an interesting sacrifice to be like, Well, at least you started showing up for our son, but like, why couldn't you hijack a staircase and come and come after your ex-wife at the time? Like, that seems it it frustrates me in a way that like it was just so easy for her to take him back. Yeah, like she just kind of rolled her eyes. Also, nice guys finished last. Oh my gosh. Jerry, Jerry moves across the country. He breaks they break up, inevitably. They what never see each other again, never talk to each other. Like, you weren't low-key engaged, yeah. But it was a weird together for seven months. I know, I know. And it's just like if you're following the premise of the movie, like it kind of just feels like, okay, as quickly as you got together, you fell apart. And it's because of Fletcher, and it's sort of like he's got his father back, like this sort of like moment, like, oh, we're just gonna like move on from this.

SPEAKER_04 30:01

Well, it doesn't that doesn't affect Max because they repeatedly show that oh my god, I can't believe I just immediately forgot the name Jerry is is a much more consistent figure in Max's life, and they've bonded. Max really likes him, and you're telling me that Max is suddenly gonna be like Jerry who just because Fletcher shows up for a week. Right.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

It's very clear that Jerry is pitched as the placeholder person and just a royal to Fletcher, right? Like from a from a movie standpoint, a storytelling standpoint. But like I'm annoyed at the mom. Yeah, and I know that I'm not supposed to be, but I am because A, you find you get back together with Fletcher so easily because he keeps things interesting, to me, is what it feels like, right? Things are too easy with this other guy. Yes, it seems boring. I agree. It seems boring, and she's bored when he proposes. Don't say yes, you dum-dum. Why are you saying yes to this man when he proposes and you look like you're trying to get out of dinner with your in-laws? This is not when you say yes, and then to realize they're on the plane and he says, I love you for the first time. Yeah. So she not to like, and you know, I want to like challenge that there's a a correct order of operations for relationships on this relationship escalator to go, et cetera, et cetera. But the fact that she was iffy on getting married to him and said yes, and then he says, I love you, and she can't say I love you back, and is willing to uproot her son and move him to another side of the country makes me be like, girl, what are you doing? Like, yes, Fletcher's unhinged, but come if he if Jim Carrey were not doing Pratt Falls in the background of this whole movie, you are not coming out as a star yourself. Like you are acting in really bizarre ways.

SPEAKER_04 31:59

Well, and what is her job? What's going on with her?

SPEAKER_01 32:02

Is she quitting her professor? Yeah, she's a professor. She missed a department meeting because he was late. It's so hard to get jobs in academia.

SPEAKER_04 32:11

You're telling me she's just like, yeah, sure, I'll just move to Boston. I'll quit my job.

unknown 32:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 32:15

Yeah, I think it makes it very clear, and now maybe they never intended this character development to be seen and investigated this way, but it's very clear that she is just as manipulative as Fletcher in some ways. She is utilizing this move potentially as a way to say, well, come and catch us. Come and if you really want to see your son, you're gonna figure this out. And she holds a line and holds a line. Okay, one more chance, one more chance, one more chance. And I I find it, I'm not gonna, I mean, Fletcher is a he is a terrible character in so many ways, right? Yeah, you I when you really zoom out, you see like Audrey, like this seems like you're playing chess with your child, which is that any better than the Samantha Kenneth, you know, like children as as poker chip situation, which Fletcher himself says at the end of that court hearing or end of the case, children are not leverage. Yeah, and that's exactly what Audrey's doing, in my opinion. Is like, well, I guess I'm just gonna like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing with my career. I'm just gonna go follow Jerry, who I can't say I love you too, because I don't actually know if this is what I want. It just feels like a power move in a way of like, well, let's see what Fletcher does if I leave and go across the country. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 33:33

Yeah, it's like go on a trip then. Take a vacay, take a vacay and don't tell him where you're going. Take a break. Right.

SPEAKER_04 33:41

Yeah, yeah. That we'll take a little girls, just take a break.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

Take a little vacation. Don't tell him where you're going and see if he gets annoyed. That is a lower stakes journey for us to take if you're gonna be messy.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

But I think part of the issue is that like these are the ways in which I agree. I I don't think they planned this with any amount of this depth when they're writing the script. They're just writing well, what's fun next for Jim Carrey to react to? Cut to 2026. Um dissecting the inner psyche of Audrey. And I think what's hard is that she, like you said, is maybe feeling some resentment and hurt still, even like, wow, so you'll go through all this for your son and not for me. Yeah. Where was this when when presumably they were having fights about whether or not to stay together? The whole divorce process. And then she's a woman in the 90s who's divorced, she's getting a lot of pressure around being like a quote unquote broken family. And there can be a lot of this like ideal of if I can just make it work with my child's father, it'll be so much simpler for me in my life. Yeah, yeah. And that maybe I think there's always a degree to which people can seem really intentional and manipulative with what they're doing without even being aware. So it is manipulative of her to take Max and be like, Yep, tonight, basically, we're moving away to Boston. If you don't, if you don't show up to this one dinner tonight, we're moving. But I don't know that she is aware that she's being that manipulative about it because she just has so much frustration and exhaustion with this cycle with him and wants it to be over.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

Yeah. Yeah. It makes me think about how, like, I wish we had, obviously, I wish we had better conversation skills as a people. I wish we had more nuance as a people. And if we did, then we would get to have more shows like this and not need to worry about it. You know what I mean? Like it because there are no conversation, or at least in 1997, there are very few conversations happening that were helpful around, like, I mean, this is unfair because right, you have like people doing activism and and gender and sexuality studies and and justice work all along. But from a mainstream view, there weren't tons of spaces where people were getting to think about these dynamics and getting to be like, how do I actually communicate and not have my partner just read my mind? And how do I not just act out as a means of sending a message because it's easier? And if those things were happening, I would I would say just let the movie be the movie. But because those aren't happening, it's really hard to turn my brain off. And I don't know if that's just like a uniquely Veronica social justice warrior or whatever experience. But it is hard to just let it be fun and let it be a stupid movie that doesn't mean more. But because this was this was what was off the shelves at the blockbuster, what what other conversations are happening? And my new pitch for us as a people being able to unpack our bullshit is actually we'll get more fun, stupid Jim Carrey movies as a treat if we learn to do our work. Then you get to watch the dumb shit that's problematic. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:13

Yeah. Yeah. Instead, I think what we got was obviously more of the same, but I I will be very honest to say when I watched this movie when I was, I don't know, eight or nine years old, and then repeatedly over and over and over again for years, it convoluted my not only my understanding of relationship and conversations and parenting, but also the law and the judicial system. Yes, and what it means to be in a law firm. And I think the one thing that remains true to this day, and maybe the three of us all work with attorneys in some capacity in our counseling work, but it the one thing that I do see that is true is wow, trying to become a partner in a law firm really is that girl. Like it really is the thing that is it's so immensely difficult to manage your boundaries and have a life and have a family because it is seen as this like stepping stone. So I did appreciate the corporate ladder element of it, but ultimately I was very confused about what it meant to go to court. I did think growing up I would go to court if I was if I was cheating on my partner and hurting my children. Like these are the yes, yes, like criminal court with a big audience, yes, and it and it also like with all the jokes of it too, right? That it was like so goofy. And how about Greta at the end? Have you been molested yet? Otherwise, I can circle the block. I mean, just so like the casual commentary on the social justice system was something that is just like okay, we don't live in an ideal world. These are the things that I gleaned from this movie growing up. And wow, how how inaccurate.

SPEAKER_01 38:54

Right. And just the and in some ways accurate. Yes, like the acknowledgement of the lack of of like the problems in our world, but also like to build on that, you have the first note I made in watching this was Jim Carrey making a terrible Tina Turner joke.

SPEAKER_02 39:14

Oh my god, yes, they have that. We we have to talk about this.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

Oh no, not the Tina joke, Jim. I know. And just general, and like, okay, you both might know this about me. Listener, you probably are beginning to learn this about me, is that my boomer tendency is when I am watching something and I really get intrigued by an actor, I have to go in their Wikipedia and go into a deep hole and learn everything I can about them. Learn their whole bio. Yeah. And Jim Carrey, I guess his beginnings, I mean, he complicated backstory, but yeah, his original like shtick that he would take across the Canada as well as the US were his impressions. And the list of people he did impressions of, like his most famous impression was of Sammy Davis Jr. Yeah. So there was just a lot of problematic impressions of black people that were in just like the bread and butter of the Jim Carrey oeuvre. And this Tina moment is so unhinged. And then to follow that up maybe a minute later with his boss basic, like non-consensually sexually harassing him in the workplace, harassing him, right? Like harassing him in the workplace and using that as leverage for him to make partner is just, and then you follow it with the cherry on top, with the secretary making a joke of like, have you been sexually assaulted yet? If not, I can circle the block. Is just like, oh my god. Like there's so many things happening here, and you're right, like times have changed, etc. etc.

SPEAKER_02 40:48

And also, who yeah, and also if I were a person as a at my age watching it then, I know that I but it's not like treatment of women have has changed or improved in a way that, like, less that happens less. Like, no, like if I were a professional in the 90s, I would be like, that's messy. We just kind of teased a person for experiencing sexual assault or domestic violence, and now we've tacked it on quite a few times as like as comedic relief. Yes, I think I'd have a problem with that in 1997 as an adult woman. I think I'd say, yeah, that's that's messy. So I would also love the boomer take. I would love to hear my mom hated this movie, hated it, and I kind of want to know more. My mom hated Jim Carrey for quote toilet talk. She, my mom was not a toilet humor girl. She didn't find him funny, she found him obnoxious. She liked him in one movie, and I'll have to refresh my memory of which one that is. Bruce Almighty. I just know the Truman series. Was it the Andy Warhol one? It might have been Truman's Truman series, actually. It was Truman. I enjoyed Truman's show. I loved Truman's show. And I think I, you know, I'm curious if my mom found any of that like kind of just like very off-putting. Like, why are we making light of this? Because she would have been in her 30s or 40s, I guess, at that point. So that's just something I'm thinking about too. Like, the we and I would say in our household, we thought that Tina Turner line was so funny. Put some stank on it. Like, we thought that was so funny. And look like re-watching it is just sort of like, oh god, to be quoting that as like a suburban teenager is like absolutely disturbing.

unknown 42:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

And we don't know what we don't know, etc.

SPEAKER_02 42:44

But I think I'm not judgmental of myself in that way.

SPEAKER_01 42:48

And still, I think that part of the reason I went into a deep Wikipedia hole about Jim Carrey was because I think last night my experience of watching the movie sounds similar to your mother's. Like I was like, I I understand like he's like in terms of like the art form, he is a clown. Like he does like crazy clown work that's really over the top and wild to watch. And at the same time, it felt really soothing to me to see the bloopers because I got to see how Jim Carrey, the actor, broke character and reconnected with his castmates. That was important for me to see.

SPEAKER_02 43:36

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

Granted, we only got to see what they decided to show us, like who's to know what the real thing was. And, you know, I now I will continue to deep dive on Jim Carrey until I get to the bottom of this. Like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Solve Any Crime by Dinner Time. But you see him do doing these, or even like his castmates doing a prank on him. There's a blooper in which they're in the courtroom. And the what actually gets in the movie is that the other attorney that he is what's the word?

SPEAKER_02 44:06

The prosecutor. The prosecutor. Prosecutor.

SPEAKER_01 44:09

It's a civil case, so I don't know that there's really Right. His opponent. Yeah. His his attorney opponent. They get into it and she calls him a bastard and he calls her a hag, is what ends up happening in the movie. But in the it's very clear a lot of those moments were improved. And so in the blooper, she calls him an overactor. Yeah. And he just breaks and starts cackling. And she's like, oh, they put me up to it. And it's like a sweet moment. And they hug. And he's like, now everyone's found me out. And it's very sweet. And I think I, as a human, needed to see that because I was getting very anxious about how obnoxious he was. And I was like, oh fuck. Like it's teetering on a point where I was getting nervous that he's an asshole in real life. And that was really hard for me, which is a thing that I think is maybe niche to my psyche, that I start to get worried for everyone in the room, which I can unpack with my therapist at a little time.

SPEAKER_02 45:06

Given your line of work, that makes sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:09

Yeah, true. But I yeah, because I think these larger than life personalities that do take the world by storm in this way. I mean, he was getting two million dollars for these movies as a starting point for negotiations in the height of his era. Thank you, Wikipedia. And so knowing that, like that power dynamic could be like you get to move with impunity. You get to be, because you're number one on the call sheet, you get to be this unhinged. Like, can he turn it off? Can he just be himself and be like it's uh a Jim Carrie? A grounded human. Can you be a grounded human?

unknown 45:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:47

Which I think I heard that on the set of the man, I always mix up all my fucking Andes. I don't know which Andy he was playing, but he had a serious role as an Andy. Right? Is that right? Which one? Kaufman. Yes. Yes. I I thought I had heard that on the set of that he was being very obnoxiously method in a way that was frustrating to a lot of his cast members.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

I don't know if I'm remembering that correctly, but I do believe that that is his primary form, is method acting. And you can, I mean, here's another power dynamic I saw with that is there is a blooper. My sister and I were watching it together, and we both were like, oh my gosh, we've never seen that before. Where they're huddled around the stand and he is doing one of his goofy little like type of like moments. Yeah. And they are all serious, and they're they're looking at him, and they won't break until he does. Yeah. They are working so hard to stay in their roles. And if you can go back and just watch that blooper, it is very enlightening to see that like they're all just there, they have to be a part of his method. They all have to go along with it for this movie to work, for any of his movies to work, is you've got to go along with however he runs his show because how you respond is the movie. How you respond to his antics keeps the movie going. And when you see them all eventually break, there's like a three-second delay in their break versus his. Like he breaks and then they all their faces melt and they all laugh together. And it it gave me this moment of like, there is a power dynamic in this type of in a quote Jim Carrey film because he carries it with the way he does it. And gosh, I don't know if they were ever paid enough.

SPEAKER_03 47:40

Because they have to act so much harder to hold it together.

SPEAKER_01 47:47

And like his so much of his comedy, like we see in the bloopers, is improv. Like he's just making shit up as he goes, which is so stressful because if you are one of those other people being the straight part that is like, I have to be a serious person for his ridiculousness to really land, that means that you are just like potentially in an activated state the whole damn time. That poor woman in the elevator, one of the bloopers, is him just like leaping at her. Right. And like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 48:18

I thought of that too. Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 48:20

It's like, oh, sweetie, sweetie, sweetie. And there becomes that question of like, well, he's a true artist. Like you can't, you can't tell him not to do that. That's his process. Which for all the Wikipedia ing I did, I saw nothing about his. He got he he never got training. Like he he didn't learn to do any of this. He just started designing it. Right. Which is to say, it makes sense to me that method is the only way he can act because otherwise, like he doesn't have tools to land on that aren't completely psychologically immersing yourself in the character.

SPEAKER_02 48:55

Yeah. And I I wonder if some of that has to do with deal with the Grinch. I mean, one of his breakout films is a it he, I mean, that was a grueling, a grueling experience for him. Costuming took seven hours a day to get him into costumes.

SPEAKER_01 49:10

And he couldn't breathe in the prosthetics.

SPEAKER_02 49:12

No, and he had like I think damage to his eyes or like it burned because he had to put the contacts in.

SPEAKER_01 49:18

Yellow contacts, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:20

And I think perhaps, I mean, you have a com. I mean, this is this pipeline, right? Comic to actor. Like, now I don't know if he went, I don't think he went to acting school or training. Like, so I think comic to actor, and then also these the mask and the Grinch and these like foundational movies for him required him to be in such a serious character. First Almighty, he becomes God. His movies are designed for him in that way, and that's what made Truman Show amazing, right? That's what makes some Eternal Sunshine incredible. And also it's sort of like, gosh, what is it like to be on set with that, right? Agree.

SPEAKER_01 50:03

Yeah. I wonder, like, for our characters in this movie, right? We have this year, like, usually we talk about like a healthier ever after that we would hope for these characters, which in this movie feels ridiculous to even imagine because it's like this is another universe we are living in. We didn't even talk about Max, right? We didn't talk about Max's expectation of like the the adults in his life and how he can trust them or not trust them. And like I don't know, it's hard for my brain not to think about the things that we don't tell young people because we think they can't handle it, that actually is a detriment to them and doesn't give them any agency or autonomy or treat them as humans, right? There's so much of that, especially in the world of like sex ed and just general autonomy for young people. But I wonder because we get to see a year later that ends in her kissing him, which I think it was interesting that it was very much her kissing him. Yes. What do we suspect happened in the meantime that led to what we we kind of see what is supposed to be the health the happier ever after, right? Is them happy, all of them in this house together, romping around, doing the claw. She kisses him. Apparently, he's been there. I don't know what his job is now because he left the law firm theoretically. What happened in the meantime?

SPEAKER_04 51:32

We mentioned maybe starting his own firm with Greta and paying her more. So hopefully that happened. And she's making more money now.

SPEAKER_01 51:41

Hopefully, Greta is getting paid so well.

SPEAKER_04 51:44

That's one thing I'll put in there that I am hoping happened in that year that is helping with his work-life balance, maybe, so that he is more consistent with showing up for his family.

SPEAKER_02 51:59

I do think there are moments in life that completely turn the way you think about yourself on its head. Like I don't think that there's a magic fix or silver bullet or magic wand for every behavior, but I do think certain things happen and you go, wow, I don't ever want to do that again. So let's say that the 24-hour period that he can't lie really was that monumental and really that impactful to him. I do hope not that he now tries to not lie every day, but rather to understand in himself why do I need lies to get through life? Why do I need fabrication to validate what I do or to like get give me the past? What accountability have I been evading? I would love for him to have unpacked that within the year of like, huh, I am running from myself. I am running from responsibility. I don't want to, I have too much responsibility in this firm. It's too much pressure. It's turning me into a not great person. I can't be my best and brightest self here. I would love that. I would so love for him to have not become a more honest person, but to simply become more accountable. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:03

Related. I hope he hired that one ethical lawyer they showed at the very beginning who was like, I'm not gonna lie. Like, I'll do my job, but I'm not gonna make shit up. Yes. Right. Right. Love that guy.

SPEAKER_01 53:17

Yeah. Backbone of this family. Yeah. I hope that he has kept up the level of communication and honesty with Max that we see when he's on the stretcher and is like, oh no, it's eight, it's 8 45. Like the the curse lifted at 8 15. Like that's but saying, like, I want to always be honest with you is was really lovely. And I hope to your point, Maria, I hope that he has figured out that that nuance between honesty and accountability, and maybe you know, ha has worked on some impulse control that would be great. I say that to myself.

SPEAKER_04 53:55

I whisper whisper to my journal. I hope Max continues to investigate his incredible magical powers, apparently.

SPEAKER_02 54:05

Right?

SPEAKER_04 54:06

Yeah, not enough about and wished for. Like is it a special birthday power magic that happens for potentially anybody? Or is Max a wizard?

SPEAKER_01 54:19

Right. I want the I want the the version of the movie that is just Max's Max for a day, and Max has realized he did this magic. Right. And what else what else fun Matilda shit is he getting up to at school that day?

SPEAKER_04 54:33

Okay, so we're pitching, we're pitching a liar liar Matilda cross spin-off.

SPEAKER_05 54:39

Crossover.

SPEAKER_04 54:40

I'm crossover and liar liar American psycho spinoff. I think I would like to see those two characters interact. I can only imagine the rage that Christian Bale's American psycho character would have working with somebody like this fucking guy.

SPEAKER_01 54:59

Thank God, that would be so stressful.

SPEAKER_02 55:01

I also want to see Fletcher Reed in Bruce Almighty. I would like to know what is he praying for, what prayers are answered. I like I want his phone call to God that you know when Bruce starts hearing all everyone's prayers. Like, I want to know what is what is that guy praying for? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 55:23

Let's see over what his history of prayers has been.

SPEAKER_03 55:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 55:29

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 55:31

This is perfect. And I now I want current Jim Carrey to come on our podcast as the transcendental meditation transformed man that he is to tell us what his rewatch felt like. Because I bet that's wild. That's all I want.

SPEAKER_04 55:46

I know that's to get his commentary now on each of his past movies. That'd be so amazing.

SPEAKER_01 55:53

Perfect. That sounds great. Let's call it since we're manifesting that. Oh, maybe is it anybody's birthday? We can make a wish.

SPEAKER_04 55:59

Yeah, who's next? I'm the tone next.

SPEAKER_01 56:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 56:04

I'm next. You're then your new one. Okay. I'll save it up. I'll save it up and I'll really, really believe it. You better mean it. You better mean it.

SPEAKER_02 56:14

And this time, mean it. Yeah. I will.

SPEAKER_01 56:19

Is there any to to take us out, Maria? Is there a favorite quote that would be we would be remiss to leave this podcast metaphorical room without hearing you say your best gym? What is your favorite or most used quote from Liar Liar?

unknown 56:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 56:37

Well man, I think there's too many, but the one that came to my brain first, we didn't talk at all about the front desk was substance. And I like he, you know, he's trying so hard. He's trying so hard in the beginning. She's like, you like my hair? And he's like, ooh, you know, he doesn't know what to say. But then the the line that I find myself laughing at simply because of the way he says it. It's terrible, it's rude, it's not nice. I'm not agreeing with it. But it's when he can he can't lie. And he goes, Whatever takes the focus off your head. And I just lose it because it's just like, oh my gosh, he he begins this diatribe on every single person who comes after him and after her, where he just, you know, goes one after the other. And I just love that whatever takes the focus off your head. Just send it.

SPEAKER_01 57:32

And I hope my happy ever after for her is that she gets out of that job and goes to fashion.

SPEAKER_04 57:37

That would be so good for her.

SPEAKER_02 57:38

Yeah. I I need about 10 different people in that film to get assessed at their local salon for a refresh, a re-max, Audrey. Max and Audrey shouldn't have had the same haircut. That was tragic. No.

SPEAKER_01 57:54

And his was like, he was doing the Jonathan Taylor Thomas, but it was so far down that he was starting to look like the Muppet you can't see their eyes. It was very stressful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 58:04

So we have a lot of hopes and dreams for Liar Liar, part two, three, and four. That's perfect.

SPEAKER_01 58:10

If Shrek can do it, so can Lion Liar.

SPEAKER_04 58:12

If Shrek can, why can't Jim carry? Exactly right. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 58:19

To that end. I am so glad we got to hang. Oh my gosh. I'm glad that I figured out how my landline can do a three-way call. Didn't know we could do that. So glad we could make this yap session happen. Perfect. Next time, what are we talking about next time, Blake?

SPEAKER_04 58:33

I don't know because we're recording out of sequence to also give a little glimpse behind the thing. So I'm forgetting what's happening next. But we are back on our historical period drama romance train.

SPEAKER_01 58:45

And this is its own historical drama because I will say that the American Girl Doll Company just released a Y2K American Girl Doll in their historic sequence. So we are now historical. So is this brings a new meaning to our theme of the classics? Watching a movie from the 1900s. Thank you for bringing a new classic. Exciting. Thank you for bringing a new classic to us, Maria. And is there anything that you want to tell the people about? Where can they find you? What should they know about?

SPEAKER_02 59:16

Oh sure. I tend to not talk about liar liar in my regular daily life. So if you're looking for other conversation, maybe about how to fuel yourself and how to take care of yourself without the punishment of diet culture haunting you in your ears. You can find me at vitamin underscore re on Instagram, join my newsletter. If you'd like some real talk in your inbox weekly, and if you're looking for a dietitian, I've got a team of five, and we're pretty awesome. And we are serving folks with and without insurance. So we'd love to support you on your fueling journey if that's something you need. Beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 59:53

And on that note, see you next time. Goodbye. Thank you so much for joining us today on Mom's Not Home Till Six. Pitch us your healthy ever after. Leave us a rating or review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find more from us by following me, Veronica, on Instagram at the.dressrehearsal, or you can support us on Patreon at the DressRearsal Studio. We'd like to extend our gratitude to the queer and trans communities, past and present, who have made it possible to be the people we are today, and to you for listening. Now be sure to go change that TV channel to something appropriate. Catch you next time.