%%* {{Adorkable}}: Jerry is this.
* AccidentalAesop: Lying isn’t ''always'' bad per se, but like anything, there’s a time and place for it. Don’t be dishonest, but don’t be BrutallyHonest either.
* AlternateAesopInterpretation: While the movie's message can simply be interpreted as "lying is wrong", it can also be observed as "lying is wrong, but making selfish and inconsiderate choices to begin with can be just as bad". For example, while Max's catalyst for making the wish was that Fletcher lied about being too busy to go to his birthday party, even if Fletcher told the truth about what he was doing that night, there still would have been hurt feelings.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** A common fan-theory is that there is no magic wish at work here, and is actually just Fletcher finally having a mental breakdown after feeling bad about lying for so long.
** Samantha Cole. Was she always a cold-hearted GoldDigger, or was she a much nicer person before [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Fletcher's]] Music/TinaTurner speech pushed her over the edge?
** Max:
*** The movie portrays him as TheWoobie, owing to his parent's divorce. However, to some, he's viewed as a SpoiledBrat who only cares about what he wants. Though it's also worth remembering that Max is only five or six years old.
*** When [[spoiler:Fletcher and Audrey share a kiss]] at the end of the movie, Fletcher almost immediately asks Max if he wished for [[spoiler:his parents to get back together]]. Max denies this, saying he wished for roller blades. Was Max being truthful or not? [[spoiler:While Fletcher had changed for the better since the truth curse was placed upon him, divorced couples rarely get back together and wishing for his parents to reconcile is a common wish among children of divorced parents, especially ones who are Max's age]]. The fact that we hear the same "magical sparkle" sound during this wish that we did during the previous birthday wish seems to indicate that Max was lying about his wish, but there is still room for debate.
** Miranda has several.
*** What exactly were Miranda's initial feelings towards Fletcher? Was she just a mutual co-worker who [[InstantSeduction seduced]] Fletcher into having sex with her as her way of offering a simple team-up with added benefits? Or was she always romantically interested in Fletcher knowing his reputation, and that finally witnessing his lying skills was the moment she realized [[OfficeRomance he's the perfect man for her]] being everything she wants in an AmoralAttorney? The "I've had better" comment that resulted in Miranda becoming a WomanScorned could be taken both ways with this. Did Miranda only end up hating Fletcher because he made fun of her? Or did she feel betrayed that Fletcher chose to say something hurtful after she went all out showing her feelings towards him?
*** Miranda could also be a cold-hearted GoldDigger. She knows Fletcher is on the verge of becoming a high-profile AmoralAttorney if he wins the Cole case, which means that Fletcher is set to get paid good money. As a result, Miranda decides to "[[OfficeRomance team-up]]" with Fletcher in an attempt to get at his dough.
*** One could argue that Miranda shows signs of possibly being a sex addict given how quick she was to seduce Fletcher into sleeping with her, and that the reason she came to [[WomanScorned hate Fletcher so much]] after the "I've had better" comment was because she prided herself as someone who was good in bed. The fact Fletcher got away with truthfully roasting her as a {{Slut}} in front of the law firm committee really makes you wonder if he perhaps knew "[[ReallyGetsAround certain things]]" about Miranda given that they probably worked at the same law firm for years.
*** When Miranda overhears Fletcher talking about how he's unable to tell a lie, does she take advantage of this to get Fletcher to admit what he thinks of his boss and possibly get fired because of what he said after they had sex, because she's just mean, or because the firm needs to win this case and if he gets in trouble, he'll get replaced with a lawyer who can tell lies?
*** Does Miranda really believe that Fletcher is incapable of lying when she overhears him discussing this with Greta, or does she think it's all in his head and trying to get him out of it? Asking him a question about their boss and then putting him in a situation where he'd get in trouble could be her way of getting him to snap out of it, and if it doesn't work, he'd at least be taken off the case and replaced with somebody who is capable of lying.
* BrokenAesop: The moral is supposed to be that Fletcher's constant disregard for the truth was a bad thing that nearly caused him to lose his family and wasn't even necessary, since he still managed to win a massively important case without lying once. However, a number of instances show that Fletcher telling the truth was inconvenient for him but actively hurtful to other people, like a woman who was minding her own business in an elevator when a random guy starts talking about her breasts or the office assistant whose boss makes cruel remarks about her hairstyle and outfit. To its credit, it does at least have a scene where Fletcher explains to his son that there's a substantial difference between a good and bad lie, and a good and bad truth, which is only lost on the boy because of how much he's been repeatedly hurt by his father's lies.
* FanficFuel:
** Fletcher's time taking on cases as an AmoralAttorney is ripe for this, which also plays into him starting a relationship with Miranda rather than getting back with Audrey.
** This also applies to the ending after Fletcher's CharacterDevelopment as to whether he went on to become an honorable lawyer, or he officially quit the lawyer business.
* FanPreferredCouple: One of the most common nitpicks about the film is Jerry [[UnintentionallySympathetic getting screwed over]] in the end, which some would have preferred for him to end up with Audrey.
* FanPreferredCutContent: A majority of the fandom thinks that the DeletedScene where Fletcher defends a mugger in court should have been kept, due to it establishing Fletcher's methods and skills as an AmoralAttorney in a hilarious CrossesTheLineTwice way.
* FountainOfMemes: Considered one of Jim Carrey's best comedies; appropriately, Fletcher Reede is endlessly quotable.
** '''[[NoIndoorVoice STOP BREAKIN' THE LAW, ASSHOLE!]]'''
** The pen is blue!
** I'm kicking my ass, ''DO YOU MIND?''
** I object! Because it's devastating to my case.
* GeniusBonus: There are subtle clues that indicate [[TwentyMinutesIntoThePast the film is set in 1995]], the most notable being when discussing Samantha's age and establishing that she was a minor on her wedding day.
* HarsherInHindsight:
** The bloopers. Creator/JimCarrey moving in on Creator/KristaAllen in the elevator looks quite awkward in the current day after many people were hit with sexual allegations in the later half of TheNewTens.
** The scenes of Samantha groping and sexually assaulting Fletcher that are played for laughs are just as awkward in the wake of the #[=MeToo=] Movement.
** Fletcher hijacking airport equipment in the climax. In the post-9/11 world, Fletcher would've been shot way before he could dramatically stop the plane.
* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: The scenes with Fletcher and his son are rather poignant at times (especially at the end), showing some dramatic depths Carrey hadn't really shown before as an A-lister. The next year, [[Film/TheTrumanShow he'd demonstrate he could range far into the dramatic side.]]
* JustHereForGodzilla: The main reason most people watch this movie is to see Creator/JimCarrey contort himself in screwball antics for 90 minutes.
* MemeticMutation: In 2022, Amber Heard's lawyer accidentally objected to his own question (instead of moving to strike the witness' answer) in Johnny Depp's libel trial. Cue the Internet quoting "I object, Your Honor!"[=/=]"To yourself?" and many more scenes from this movie in response.
** The wild SpitTake [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wVFvtowR6I Reeves does]] is a popular reaction clip.
* OneSceneWonder: The woman in the elevator, played by Krista Allen.
* SpecialEffectsFailure:
** When Fletcher bumps into the wall of the law firm's exit stairwell to avoid Miranda popping out of the elevator, the "wall" ends up slightly sliding to the right.
** When Fletcher is beating himself up in the bathroom, you can tell during the moment that Fletcher's squishing his head with the toilet cover that the toilet is made of rubber.
* UnintentionallySympathetic: Jerry, Audrey's new love interest after she splits up with Fletcher, clearly has fallen head over heels with Audrey, ''tries'' to bond with Max by emulating Fletchers "The Claw" act, and even at the end gives up Audrey because she still clearly has a torch for Fletcher. His only "evil" act is to try and get Audrey and Max to move to the other side of the country with him, which he honestly believes they want to do. The poor guy does his best and still ends up second best.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: At the climax of the movie, Fletcher rushes through airport security, hijacks equipment, and throws his shoes at a plane. If he tried that today, he'd land himself in ''massive'' legal trouble, assuming he didn't get gunned down attempting it.
* TheWoobie: Samantha's children [[spoiler:and their father Richard]] after the trial. [[spoiler:They make it very clear they want to go with him and not her, and she literally drags them away in tears while snarling at him that he hasn't "paid for them yet." She intends to make it so that he no longer has any legal right to see them again.]] Good God...
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