In the 1997 comedy Liar Liar, Jim Carrey plays Fletcher Reede, an unscrupulous lawyer who never lets the truth stand in the way of an opportunity to advance his own interests. Having been burned by Reede’s deceits time and again, Max—his young son—makes a wish that for just one day his father would not be able to tell a lie. Magically, the wish comes true and Reede is confronted with the hilarious ramifications of total transparency.

In one scene, after Reede has discovered that the cross of honesty has been foisted upon him by his son’s juvenile wish, he attempts to persuade the boy to unwish the spell and free him from his plight. “Sometimes grownups need to lie,” he insists. “Here’s a good example: When your mommy was pregnant with you, she gained a good 40 pounds. There was nothing she wouldn’t eat... But when she’d ask me how she looked, I’d say, ‘Honey, you look great! You’re beautiful. You’re glowing.’ If I’d have told mommy she looked like a cow, it would have hurt her feelings.”

In response to this, the child repeats a platitude we all know well—“My teacher tells me real beauty is on the inside”—to which Reede unthinkingly retorts, “That’s just something ugly people say.”

Whether or not that punchline is true–though, in the context of the film, it must be since Reede can't lie—the joke hinges........

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