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Extras:
Spotlight on location, Deleted scenes, Trivia Challenge, Universal Studios
Back Lot, Are you a Big Fat Liar?, Trailer, Two Audio Commentaries
Director:
Shawn Levy
(Big Fat Liar, Fever Pitch (2003), Just in Time, Just Married, TV: Birds of Prey, The Secret World of Alex Mack)
Producers:
Brian Robbins and Michael Tollin
Screenplay:
Dan Schneider
Original Score :
Christophe Beck
Cast :
Jason Shepherd: Frankie Muniz
Marty Wolf: Paul Giamatti
Kaylee: Amanda Bynes
Monty Kirkham: Amanda Detmer
Frank Jackson: Donald Faison
Mrs Caldwell: Sandra Oh
Vince: Lee Majors
As his Dad confirms, being a Big Fat Liar
is Jason Shepherd's (Frankie Muniz) god-given talent.
He tells about as much truth as Eastenders' Dirty Den, once criticised
for being so bent that he failed technical drawing at school because he couldn't
get a ruler that was straight. Hence, when he does actually complete an
important assignment - a story entitled "Big Fat Liar" - no-one believes that
he was run over by a car owned by Hollywood bigwig Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti,
who seems to be the actor you get if Jon Lovitz is otherwise engaged), was
given a lift to school by him, and that he left the story behind in the car.
While at the cinema with his best friend Kaylee (Amanda Bynes), they
see a trailer for Wolf's latest film, made from the aforementioned script
and so to prove to his parents that he's not just 'the boy who cried wolf',
they set off to Los Angeles in order for good to triumph over evil. After
a quick sightseeing tour and limo drive from chauffeur Frank (Donald Faison,
aka Turk from Scrubs), the idea is to stop off at the Universal Studios
Tour and track Wolf down to make him spill the beans about stealing their script,
with a little bit of help from Frank because he was also once wronged by Wolf.
This is the kind of movie that'll work for young teenagers, but having turned
30 I already saw this type of film around fifteen years ago. The use of a
colourful set throughout outdoor scenes and Wolf's office, for example,
are also elements that hark back to the mid-80s. Still, if you weren't around
at the time then all of this will seem new to you and if you have children
aged 10-15 then it's worth a rental but it's not the kind of experience you'd
want to repeat ad infinitum.
Then again, there are equally films-of-the-time I saw from back then, like Can't
Buy Me Love,
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
and
Back to the Future,
which seemed like defining moments because they allowed you to see the freedom
on screen that you could never attain in your own life right then, Perhaps
this will also do the same for some.
While it's a film I can't slam just because it wasn't aimed at my age group,
what I can take objection to is the incredibly shameful free plugs for the
Universal Studios Tour, during one of which Jason enthuses about how 'awesome'
it is.
That said, there's still some funny scenes as Kaylee somehow manages to convince
the school bully to look after her grandmother, making him dress up as her and
then seeing him help her work out Rocky-style. I also spotted Jason and
Kaylee using the ill-fated Cybiko to talk to each other early on. Those units
looked quite interesting, but the basic functions could be carried out on
mobile phones and before Christmas last year they were down from £99.99
to £29.99.
More than just a bad hair day.
Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, the picture looks rather on the
blurry side, but I'll let this slide a little as it seems partly intentional,
as if shot on NTSC as part of a TV series, which is largely where director
Shawn Levy's background lies. The print looks soft in facial close-ups
while landscape shots are reasonably crisp and clear.
The disc contains both a Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtrack, but while
there's no problems with it, it's not exactly the kind of film that benefits
from lots of special effects, so even a well-mastered Dolby Surround soundtrack
would be passable.
The extras begin with:
Spotlight on location:
a 12-minute back-slapping
featurette with comments from the main cast and crew members, mixed in with
clips from the film.
Deleted scenes: These run for 15-minutes in
non-anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen and are worth a look for big fans of the
film.
Trivia Challenge: This is just a 'guess the film' game,
relating to the props in the Universal Studios storeroom, the extra helpfully
pointing out that "all the movies are available on DVD!". Get the few questions
right and see a few more outtakes.
Universal Studios Back Lot: allows you to view clips of the film
which show off selected highlights of the tour, such as 'Flash Flood' and
'Psycho House'.
Are you a Big Fat Liar?:
10 more questions to try to answer the question posed.
Trailer:
2-minutes long and non-anamorphic 1.85:1.
Two Audio Commentaries:
One from director Shawn Levy, the other from star Frankie Muniz.
Is there really that much to say about this film??
Subtitles for the films come in English, there are 18 chapters for the film
and the menus are static and silent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
