BIG FAT LIAR (***)
Life is unfair. How SCOOBY-DOO, a movie so lame, so deprived of creativity could triumph at the box-office, is mind-boggling. It was a success of marketing over craftsmanship and style ( though it had neither). If I knew that BIG FAT LIAR would be coming along a few weeks after a 3-D canine special effect, I would have advised to avoid the dog altogether. Alas, I cannot. But it's not too late to recommend this sly piece of entertainment fit both for kids and adults.
The movie depicts the exploits of a feisty and wildly creative young teenager named Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz of MY DOG SKIP). He's the smartest kid in school (he'd have to be to get away with what he does) and fibs when he gets into trouble (as do all intelligent young lads). He does this so excessively, that it would make Geppetto rethink his relationship with Pinocchio. But for all his dishonesty, he makes up for with his imagination, which is flamboyant to say the least.
One day, he forgets to submit a heavily weighted assignment that could cost him his summer. To avoid this, he writes his own metaphorical biography in "Big Fat Liar" for the required school work, and his salvation from summer school. But on his way to submission, he gets into an accident with a big Hollywood producer named Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti). Wolf offers to bring Jason to school to avoid a lawsuit. Jason forgets his paper and Wolf takes it for his own (probably because it reflects his life story as well). "Big Fat Liar" becomes a much anticipated movie but nobody, including Jason's parents, believes Jason's claims of theft other than his girlfriend Kaylee (Amanda Bynes). Together they go to Hollywood to straighten things out, and for Jason to earn back the trust of his loved ones.
I was really surprised by the movie's fun. Its feeling of enjoyment is highly infectious and has a lot going for it. It's a fairly simple enough story that anyone can relate to (all of us have been cheated at one time or another, and would like to humiliate those who have wronged us). It has very likeable characters played by extremely talented leads. Though there is humiliation, it isn't done sexually, or disgustingly (it doesn't need to gross you out to try and make you laugh). It's kind of refreshing to see a movie that doesn't involve farts, bodily fluids, sexual escapades, or boorish sophomoric behavior. And it is surprisingly smart, especially with the in-jokes (Jaleel White and Lee Majors make great cameos and funny stabs at their images).
One of the many things that impressed me about the movie was its spirit. It has a goofy, bouncy type of confidence that you just can't deny. And it is embodied in Frankie Muniz. His character lies with such panache, that its amazing to watch him wiggle out of his predicaments. The film's entertaining ambience also radiates from Amanda Bynes. Her character is not as game as Jason, but when she takes on her assignments, she is just as capable. Seeing her impersonate a ditsy secretary would even make Alicia Silverstone's character in Clueless blush. What's even more surprising about these two young dynamos is how the movie handles their relationship (which is even done more maturely than most romantic comedies). They aren't saccharine towards each other, but it's obvious that they both care about each other.
I did mention humiliation, and boy, does Paul Giamatti's character get a lot of it. If you've seen the film's trailer, you know he gets turned blue and gets mobbed by kids who mistake him for a clown. But you just have to see the film and enjoy how a kid like Jason upstages him. I relished the sequences leading up to the picture's climax, where a lot of Hollywood aspects are made fun of (see if you can spot how they make fun of John Woo's directing style), with Marty Wolf in the center of it all. Mr. Giamatti does an incredible job of making Wolf incredibly obnoxious, and yet likeable enough for us to laugh at him. He goes over the top, but he's never self-conscious about it. And he does the oddest and most hilarious pre-swim ritual dance I have ever seen.
Before you can enjoy this picture, you have to accept it on its own terms. Its premise is obviously oversimplified for its laughs to occur, but it has so much enthusiasm, so much energy, and so much belief in itself, that we get carried away with it. Like JUST VISITING it's silly, but it fully intends to be, only smartly and not haphazardly. BIG FAT LIAR is big fat fun.
Posted by FLIPCRITIC at July 16, 2002 01:56 PM