Big Fat Liar (stylized as big FAT liar) is a 2002 American comedy film, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, Amanda Bynes, Amanda Detmer, and Donald Faison.
Plot
Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz), a boy residing in the fictional town of Greenbury, Michigan, is a profuse but disorganized liar. When his English teacher, Ms. Phyllis Caldwell (Sandra Oh), assigns her class a creative writing essay, Jason does not complete it. His parents are later called into school, where Ms. Caldwell tells Jason that if he can bring her a handwritten essay at the community college by 6:00, she will consider it a valid contribution.
Jason finally writes a story entitled "Big Fat Liar". Now finished, he rides his sister's old bicycle and collides with the limousine of an arrogant Hollywood producer named Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), whereupon Jason blackmails Wolf into giving him a ride to school. When the limousine reaches the college, Jason hastens out of the limo, not realizing that he has dropped his essay behind.
Upon his entering school, Jason realizes that he does not have the essay. Neither his parents nor Ms. Caldwell believe him when he claims to have written it, and he is therefore ordered to undergo summer school. Later, Jason and his friend Kaylee (Amanda Bynes) learn that Marty Wolf has plagiarized Jason's composition by making a film of Big Fat Liar.
When his parents and elder sister leave the town on a holiday, Jason and Kaylee use Jason's savings to fly to Los Angeles in order to confront Wolf, leaving a local bully to attend Kaylee's absent-minded grandmother. At the studio, Jason tricks the receptionist into leaving her post to allow Jason to speak with Wolf. Wolf agrees to return the essay, but suddenly burns it and has Jason removed from his office.
In response, Jason and Kaylee plan to inconvenience Wolf until he admits to having stolen "BFL". Taken to Wolf's house by Frank Jackson, an actor formerly mistreated by Wolf, they add dye to Wolf's pool and shampoo, giving him blue skin and orange hair. Kaylee, impersonating the studio president's secretary, sends Wolf to a child's party, where he is mistaken for a clown and attacked by the children present. Meanwhile, Jason and Kaylee modify the controls to his car, causing various controls to perform the incorrect function and playing the song Blue (Da Ba Dee), resembling his blue skin. Struggling to control his car, he stops just behind a monster truck, but is then rear ended by an old lady, which causes him to crash into the monster truck, therefore causing the trucks driver to destroy his car in anger.
As a result of these pranks, Wolf misses his appointment with Marcus Duncan (Russell Hornsby), president of the studio. Wolf later meets Duncan at a party celebrating the premiere of another film "Whittaker and Fowl", which proves to be a box office failure. Duncan distrusts Wolf to create anything better and tells him that all the funding for "Big Fat Liar" will be withdrawn unless Wolf can convince him otherwise. Duncan also warns him that should any mishap occur during production, the film and Wolf's career will be terminated. Jason agrees to help Wolf in exchange for a confession of the truth to Jason's father. Wolf, guided by Jason, makes a successful presentation, but betrays Jason yet again as he calls his guards and has Jason and Kaylee removed a second time.
Jason is about to accept defeat when Wolf's secretary Monty appears and states that because many of Wolf co-workers and employees (including herself) have been abused by Wolf, they are willing to help Jason and Kaylee take revenge. Together, they all devise a plan by which to do so. By now, Wolf has removed or concealed the blue color of his skin.
En route to the studio, Wolf falls into several traps organized by his former co-workers, such as skydiving out of a helicopter and getting soaked from the Universal Studios Hollywood flash flood backlot prop. Upon arriving at the studio, bedraggled and desperate, he finds that Jason has taken hostage his beloved toy chimpanzee, Mr. Funny-Bones. He pursues Jason until they reach a climactic rooftop confrontation wherein Wolf admits to stealing Jason's story, thinking they are alone. Immediately, it is revealed that he has been filmed throughout the confession with multiple cameras. As a result, he is exposed and shamed before all those whom he has abused, including Marcus Duncan, who is outraged at Wolf for his act of plagiarism. Duncan fires Wolf, while Jason and his parents re-establish their trust. Jason thanks Wolf for having taught him that "The truth" (as he tells Wolf, in a reverse of his own advice) "is not overrated". The film Big Fat Liar is later re-produced and shown at the movies, utilizing the talents and skills of all those whom Wolf had abused. Jason is credited for having written the original story.
The film concludes with the unemployed Wolf finding a job as a clown, in which role he is assigned to entertain the son of the monster truck's driver whom he insulted. Recognizing him, the father orders his son to utilize a newly-learned prizefighting technique as a means of avenging the earlier offense.
Cast
Trivia
- The Disney Channel removed all insignias pertaining to Coca-Cola to avoid lawsuits, as well as censoring the labels on the bottles of liquor in Marty's office (although this may have also been to avoid complaints from viewers).
- Marty Wolf offers to Jason Shepherd that he will tell his (Jason's) father that Jason not only wrote "Big Fat Liar", but also Saving Private Ryan, a movie wherein Paul Giamatti starred.
- Marty Wolf makes reference to child star Jaleel White's character on the 90's sitcom Family Matters.
- Most of the movie was filmed in the Universal Studios Backlot. The crew also sneaked onto the set of The Scorpion King and shot some footage while that film's crew was away.
- Dan Schneider, the screenwriter for this film, also created Nickelodeon shows such as The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and iCarly.
- The film takes a strong reference/allusion to Aesop's fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf in its naming of the protagonist and villain.
- Movie actor Adam Sandler and director Steven Spielberg are mentioned as acquaintances to Marty Wolf. The Disney Channel changed the name "Spielberg" to "Sodaberg", in order to prevent any lawsuits.
- In the studio warehouse, the DeLorean time machine from Back to The Future is seen, along with what appears to be the costume Jim Carrey wore for How the Grinch Stole Christmas , and many animatronics from the Jurassic Park (franchise). Some figurines of E.T. The Extraterrestrial are also seen in the warehouse, causing Kaylee to think about Grandma Pearl.
- In the scene when Marty Wolf is about to be 'crushed' by the monster truck, the famous music from Jaws can be heard.
- The rims on Marty Wolf's car before it got run over are different from the ones it had before it got run over.
Reception
The film received mixed reviews, gaining a "Rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes of 44 percent. [1] Some critics praised the film as energetic and witty; others called it dull and formulaic. Nevertheless, it grossed $47 million at the box office. This film was rated PG for some language.
References
External links
