Has Hollywood been writing scripts with Mad Libs?

In this cinematic comedy, a man who usually_____now always ____.

Well we've done...

In this cinematic comedy, a man who usually lies now always tells the truth.

So what about...

In this comedy, a man who usually says "no" now always says "yes."

Fabulous! Someone call Jim Carrey.

And Yes Man was born.

In the film, due out this December, Jim Carrey plays Carl Allen, a man whose life is going nowhere -- the operative word being "no" -- until he signs up for a self-help program based on one simple principle: Say "yes" to everything ... and anything. Imagine the hilarity that must ensue.

Or don't imagine. Just remember the uncannily familiar comedic catastrophe of Fletcher Reede, a fast-talking, habitually fibbing attorney and divorcee who one day discovers that (owed to his son's curse) he can no longer tell a lie, any lie, for an entire day.

Did Hollywood figure we had forgotten about Liar Liar? It has been 11 years.

And perhaps the two plot premises are truly different. Could be I'm inferring connections where there are merely coincidences. Similarities no one else notices ... conspiracies that aren't really there ... Writers Nicholas Stoller (Fun With Dick and Jane) and Jarrad Paul probably never even heard of Liar, Liar.

In Yes Man the main character says a word that's the opposite of a word he normally uses, while in Liar Liar he uses words in a way that's the opposite of how he normally uses them. Hardly the same concept. Hmm ... underneath the noun boxes in the Mad Lib did it say "action" and "opposite action?"

Regardless, Liar Liar performed well. Moviegoers got a hefty helping of chuckles in exchange for box-office cash. If the formula works why not reuse it? And why stop then at lies/truth and no/yes. Hollywood, might I offer a few more potentially winning foils (if they're not already on Carrey's 2009 production schedule).

What if...

A doctor who usually never laughs, now always laughs.
("You have 2 months to live..." "Why am I giggling? I don't know!")

An angry cop who usually frowns, now always grins.
(Even when a felon points a pistol at his pearly whites).

A dog-hating dog catcher who usually talks now always barks.

A rapper who usually raps about b*tches, now always raps about failure to perform in bed.

A double-talking politician who usually sways the public with eloquent speech, now always speaks with a kindergarten vocabulary.
(Your bill is poop. And so are you.)

Anyone else have any genius ideas to add to that list? We should strike while this formulaic iron's hot. And cook up scripts until it's cold and dead, which by Hollywood standards will be eons from now.

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