Big Fat Liar
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| Big Fat Liar | |
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 Big Fat Liar film poster |
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| Directed by | Shawn Levy |
| Produced by | Brian Robbins |
| Written by | Dan Schneider Brian Robbins |
| Starring | Frankie Muniz Paul Giamatti Amanda Bynes |
| Music by | Christophe Beck Douglas Romayne (source music) John Williams (Universal logo only, theatrical version) Jerry Goldsmith (Universal logo only, video version) |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 8 February 2002 (USA) |
| Running time | 88 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$15,000,000 |
Big Fat Liar is a 2002 comedy directed by Shawn Levy and starring Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle), Paul Giamatti and Nickelodeon's Amanda Bynes.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
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The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. |
Jason Shephard (Frankie Muniz), a fourteen-year-old boy residing in the fictional town of Greenbury, Michigan, is known as a stealthy but not-well-organized liar by his friends and family. His English teacher, Ms. Caldwell (Sandra Oh), assigns her class a creative writing essay; having not done it, Jason lies by telling a tale that his father had choked on a Swedish meatball, with the result that Jason was in the hospital's ER during night and therefore unable to complete the assignment. Ms. Caldwell claims that this is a lie. When asked for his father's office telephone number, Jason gives the number of his own cell phone instead. Jason has classmate and best friend Kaylee (Amanda Bynes) act as Jason's father's receptionist, while he, in a raspy voice, re-enacts the Swedish meatball tale. Ms. Caldwell apologizes and tells Jason to take his time with the assignment. The lie comes back to haunt him when his parents are called into school for an after-class meeting to confront Jason's fib. As it turns out, that assignment was worth a third of his semester grade; he, without it, would have to retake the course in summer school. Ms. Caldwell tells Jason that if he can hand her a handwritten essay at the community college by 6:00, she will consider counting it as a valid contribution – if it is original.
Jason writes a story entitled "Big Fat Liar". Having been robbed of his skateboard by a bully, he borrows his sister's bicycle and rides that to the college. En route, he is teased by others for riding a girls' bike. As a result, he has a collision with a limousine. After being confronted by the driver, he asks to be driven to the college. Arrogant Hollywood film producer Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), who was riding in the limo, denies Jason a ride, whereupon Jason tells Marty that his neck feels stiff, making himself eligible to sue for whiplash. Marty therefore allows Jason to enter the limousine. While riding, Jason expresses his dislike for the movies Wolf has produced as well as their common ability to successfully deceive. When the limo reaches the college, Marty Wolf gives Jason some free advice on the subject of lying: "The truth is overrated." Jason exits the limo, thanking the men for the ride.
Upon his entering the community college, he realizes that he does not have the essay. Neither his parents nor Ms. Caldwell believe him when he claims to have written it. Meanwhile, Marty begins to read Jason's essay, which he has stolen, en route to the set of the movie he is shooting; "Whittaker and Fowl", starring Jaleel White as a cop partnered with a chicken in a police uniform. After a day at summer school, Jason and Kaylee go to the movies. To Jason's astonishment, the teaser trailer for a film entitled "Big Fat Liar" plays. When asked by Kaylee if he wants to see it, he replies, "See it? I think I wrote it."
Jason's parents had left town for a few days, leaving their son with sister Jamie, who leaves shortly with her boyfriend. Jason sees an opportunity to prove his story true: therefore he and Kaylee use Jason's allowance money to fly to Los Angeles, where Marty Wolf is working. After being denied entry to Wolf's office by his receptionist, Astrid, Jason and Kaylee call her on the telephone, saying her Saturn car is parked on a dog. Being an avid dog lover, Astrid leaves her post to attend to the dog. Kaylee takes her place while Jason sneaks upstairs to confront the producer. Wolf returns the essay, but (seemingly by mistake, though in fact deliberately) lights it on fire with a match used to light his cigar. Wolf then tries to douse the flames with vodka, only to make matters worse. Wolf then calls Rocco Monroe, head of security, and has Jason ejected from the property.
Jason thereafter makes plans to make Wolf's life miserable, so that he will admit to having stolen "BFL". Some of the attempts include adding blue-colored dye to his swimming pool so his skin is turned blue; replacing his shampoo with orange dye; putting Superglue on his cell phone headset; and rigging the controls on Wolf's Jaguar XKR to perform different functions than specified by the maker, including the activation of horn and windscreen-wipers when not desired. The dissonance caused by this sabotage causes Marty Wolf to be very distracted while driving; as a result, he mistakenly collides with the monster truck driven by an easily angered prizefighter, The Masher, who takes revenge by smashing Marty's car. Several jokes are made at this point in reference to Marty's blue skin: "They told me to pick up a little blue car," says the tow truck man. "They didn't say anything about a little blue man!"
Meanwhile, Marty has an appointment to meet with Marcus Duncan (Russell Hornsby), the President of the studio, to talk about fundings for the shoot for "BFL." Marty misses the meeting, having been tricked by Kaylee into visiting the birthday party of a child whose primary idea of amusement is beating up his entertainers, and tells Monty to supply an alibi. Marty would finally meet Duncan at a party celebrating the release of "Whittaker and Fowl", which proves to be a big failure judging from many of the party guests' comments: "Suddenly, right out of nowhere...BAM!! BAD movie!!" "I'd say boring!" "Worst...film...in the world." Duncan even puts in his two-cents' worth right to Marty's face: "I think that sad excuse for a movie just lost the studio about $30,000,000!" He distrusts Marty to create anything better and tells Marty that all the fundings for "Big Fat Liar" will be withdrawn unless he can convince him otherwise. Marty lies telling him that he (Marty) has been working to make a presentation for "BFL". Marty is given another chance to produce an acceptable film.
Just as Marty is running out of ideas on what to do to make or improve his presentation, Jason and Kaylee arrive. Jason tells Marty and Monty that because he wrote Big Fat Liar, he could at least add some "twists," to it, in exchange for help in telling his father the truth. Marty is so desperate he promises in exchange to tell Jason's father that Jason wrote "Big Fat Liar", Erin Brockovich and Saving Private Ryan, then gives a motivational speech for Duncan and the crowd. Duncan buys the story, and gives permission for the first day of shooting for "BFL", plus a strict warning that if any little mishap should occur, not only is "BFL" off, Wolf's entire career will be over. Marty thanks Jason for helping him, then tells Jason that he is contacting the father, while in fact calling via telephone the officers of security enforcement, who seize Jason and Kaylee.
Jason, furious, decides to call his parents to tell them the whole truth. He intends to give up the attempts at stopping Marty when Monty shows up and offers him a deal; because many of Marty's co-workers and employees (including Monty herself) have been openly insulted, hurt, and abused, they are willing to take revenge on Marty Wolf. They all devise a plan to keep Marty from making the "big shoot." By now, Marty has somehow removed the blue color from his skin and the orange from his hair.
En route to the big shoot the next morning, Marty falls into several traps organized by them; then, upon finally arriving to the studio, chases Jason, who's just taken Marty's toy chimp, Mr. Funnybones, hostage; and eventually, in a climactic rooftop confrontation, admits to stealing Jason's story, thinking he is in confidence with Jason. But it turns out he has been under video surveillance throughout the confession; as a result, he is exposed to and shamed before all those whom he has abused, as well as Jason's parents, who've just flown to Hollywood and studio President Marcus Duncan himself. Duncan is outraged that Marty could stoop so low as to steal a child's English creative writing assignment in order to create a movie and thus fires him, and Jason's parents reestablish their trust in Jason all in one fell swoop. Jason actually thanks Marty for having taught him a big lesson; that Marty was very wrong: "The truth," he tells Marty, in a reverse from Marty's advice much earlier in the film, "is not overrated." The film Big Fat Liar is re-produced and shown at the movies, utilizing the hitherto underappreciated talents and skills of all those whom Marty had abused, and Jason is credited for having written the original story.
Meanwhile, Marty, having entered bankruptcy and been fired from Hollywood finds a new career as "Wolfie the Clown"; an entertainer of young children at birthday parties. Unfortunately, his first assignment as such is at the home of the Masher whom he had previously annoyed. The Masher's son, Darren (AKA "Little Mash"), whose birthday it is, begins to attack his would-be entertainer with his "Nutcracker move".
[edit] Cast
Jason Shephard, the protagonist, is played by Frankie Muniz. The character is initially an habitual liar. Jason is 14 years old (a running gag in the movie is people thinking that he is younger due to his height). When Marty Wolf plagiarizes Jason's creation Big Fat Liar, Jason seeks to take revenge, obtaining his dues as well as earning his father's trust. In this he succeeds. Jason is shown to be unsuccessful as a liar, but to be very imaginative in creation of techniques by which to harass Marty.
Paul Giamatti plays Marty Wolf, a sleazy, crafty, tyrannical, and tempestuous Hollywood producer and a skilled liar. The character is spiteful and inconsiderate; as a result, many of his employees turn against him. At the end of the movie, he is fired after admitting, on camera, to stealing Jason's report for his movie. He ends up being a birthday clown, "Wolfie the Clown".
Amanda Bynes takes the role of Kaylee, the best friend of Jason. She is loyal to him to the extent of laying aside her own scruples, and indeed grows to embrace his cause vehemently. Their friendship appears to be Platonic in character.
Monty Kirkham, Wolf's assistant, is portrayed by Amanda Detmer. The character is frequently abused by her superior, to such an extent that she, when presented with the opportunity to betray him, did so with minimal hesitation and great eagerness.
Donald Faison plays Frank Jackson, a limo driver and former screen actor, whose career in the latter field was compromised and reduced when Marty Wolf, for whom he worked, gave all local film studios the idea that Frank Jackson was a "loser". He is later Jason's accomplice in two efforts to harass Marty Wolf, and he ends up being the main star of Big Fat Liar.[citation needed]
Other parts are:
- Alex Breckenridge — Janie Shepherd
- Rebecca Corry — Astrid Barker
- Jaleel White — Himself
- Sandra Oh — Mrs. Phyllis Caldwell
- Russell Hornsby — Marcus Duncan
- Michael Bryan French — Harry Shepherd
- Christine Tucci — Carol Shepherd
- Lee Majors — Vince
- Sean O'Bryan — Leo
- Amy Hill — Joscelyn Davis
- John Cho — Dustin 'Dusty' Wong
- Taran Killam — Brett
- Jake Minor — Aaron
- Sparkle — Grandma Pearl
- Ted Rooney — Summer School Teacher
- Michelle Griffin — Shandra Duncan
- Shawn Levy — Wolf Party Guest
- Kenan Thompson as a partygoer
- Dustin Diamond as a partygoer
[edit] Production
The film was marketed with the taglines, "The truth is never overrated" and "Two friends are about to cut one Hollywood big shot down to size".
[edit] Reception
The film received mixed reviews, getting a "Rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes of 44%. [1] Some critics praised the film for its energy and wit, others wrote of its dullness and formulaic plot. Nevertheless, the film grossed $47 million at the box office.
[edit] References
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