User reviews

Broad comedy, minimized violence, recognizable stars - drop the kids off at the matinee and you're in good shape.

If you go along with them, you can play spot the movie connection. Half the movie is set at Universal Studios Los Angeles. Aside from the obvious (character walking past the Norman Bates House, etc.), the producers left dozens of props from other movies lying around. (I already submitted the cars from "Back to the Future" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".) It's almost like the movie is one big plug for the Universal Studios tour.

Speaking of plugs: Note the obvious ones for Coca-Cola and the E.T. re-release.

Parental Guidance note: Please be sure to explain to your kids that a) Hollywood is not a nice place to run away to, and b) they shouldn't expect to get hugs and encouragement after they run away.

Jason Shepherd(Frankie Muniz) is known for always lying to keep himself out of trouble. When he doesn't complete his big english assignment, his teacher says that he has three hours to complete it or he will fail and go to summer school. Jason has a great imagination and he writes a story that's tilted "Big Fat Liar". On the way to hand in his assignment, he gets a ride from a famous hollywood producer Marty Wolf(Paul Giamatti) but unfortunately he forgets his english assignment. in the car, fails and has to go to summer school. He tries to convince his parent and teacher what really happened to his assignment but nobody believes him. A few months after, there is a big blockbuster hit coming out tilted "Big Fat Liar" that's supposedly been written and produced by Marty Wolf. Jason notices that the movie is based on his english paper and that Marty Wolf has stolen his story. Now along with his cute friend Kaylee(Amanda Bynes) Jason will travel to Los Angeles and try to convince everybody what a big fat liar Marty Wolf is. I thought this was a harmless fun little movie. It's nothing special but it has a couple of jokes and it's pretty entertaining. It's more for the younger audience but I still found it to be somewhat enjoyable. I would give Big Fat Liar 6/10

I saw this movie on my flight from Philly to Denver. The screen was three rows in front of me and about 12" x 10". So I really wasn't going to watch it. But I like Malcolm in the Middle, so I thought I'd watch just a few minutes. Next thing I know I'm sucked in, having a great time, and was pleased as how good it was and how fast it seemed to make the time go by. I agree with that the acting is very good for this level of entertainment. Being one of the older baby boomers, I was also pleased to see Lee Majors with a role in the movie, as with a couple of other actors who were famous (Jamiel?) "yesterday" but are out of the spotlight today poking fun at themselves.

It's your basic "kid is wronged, kid gets even (and then some), and everyone enjoys themselves in the process". No heavy thinking, no great analysis needed. Just a good fun way to pass the time.

3.5 out of 5.

`Big Fat Liar' offers a lively contemporary spin on the Boy Who Cried Wolf legend. Jason Shepherd is a 14-year-old inveterate liar who spends most of his time devising elaborate yarns to keep himself out of trouble with his parents and teachers. One day, through an amazing fluke, he meets up with a nefarious movie producer named Marty Wolf who steals Shepherd's story idea – a composition he wrote for his English class entitled `Big Fat Liar' – and proceeds to make a movie out of it. When Jason's parents refuse to believe their son's outlandish tale, the youngster heads out to Hollywood to confront Wolf and make him verify his story. When Wolf refuses to do this, Jason concocts an elaborate scheme to make Wolf's life a living hell until he relents and helps make things right back home.

Kids will love `Big Fat Liar' for the simple reason that it works as pure adolescent fantasy wish-fulfillment on several levels. First, it shows a youngster getting the rare opportunity of turning a major studio backlot into his own personal playground (the film sometimes feels like a 90-minute commercial for Universal Studios' behind-the-scenes tour). Second, it feeds the desire we all have to watch the tables being turned on a certified rascal. And, third, like any good fantasy for children, it puts the kids in a position of power over the adult world. Jason and his pretty cohort, Kaylee, get to call the shots and pull the strings that eventually get the grownups to pay attention and listen to them.

`Big Fat Liar' might actually have been a better film had it resisted the tendency to overdo so much of its comedy. In fact, the best parts of the film occur near the beginning when Jason and his adventures stay connected to the real world. Once he gets to Hollywood, the film loses a bit of its edge. The cleverness and wit of the film's opening stretches give way to overwrought plot mechanics and over-the-top slapstick. The film has a great deal of undeniable energy, but subtlety can be a virtue as well and we miss that sense of sly fun that defines the film's ambiance early on.

Still, `Big Fat Liar' has more to recommend it than the average teen comedy. First of all, it stars the marvelous Frankie Muniz (`Malcolm in the Middle') who has energy and charm to spare in the role of Jason and who literally keeps the film bouncing along even when the comic setups don't always pay off as well as they should. Muniz is one child actor I will miss when he grows too old to still play these parts. Amanda Byrnes is equally likable as Jason's conspiratorial companion, Kaylee. And even though Paul Giamatti seems to be doing a Jim Carrey impersonation through large sections of the film, this fine comic actor hits heights of magnificent manic madness as the put-upon, hissable villain of the piece. The movie also has a fun time ribbing many of the elements of Hollywood culture – from the unemployed `actors' working as chauffeurs to the has-beens looking for that big career turnabout to the insipid material that often serves as the basis for big studio productions (a movie about a cop teamed up with a crime-fighting chicken is the example here).

`Big Fat Liar' provides mixed blessings for the sophisticated adult audience, but youngsters should enjoy it all.

Big Fat Liar is the type of movie I would've liked even more if I was younger and by that I reccomend this movie to the kids and if the parents don't want to go see Collateral Damage or Black Hawk Down or whatever, they might chuckel as well.

Frankie Muniz plays a young teen who is usually lying a lot, and when he really looses a paper for school in a movie producer's (Paul Giamatti's) limo and winds up in summer school, he decides to go with his girlfriend (Amanda Bynes) to Hollywood to confront him. But it isn't as easy as he thought for him to fess up. Giamatti's blue man scenes are some of the funniest scenes he's had in movies since Private Parts. Other scenes vary on the person, however. Grade: B

Saw this at the theatre with my 7 yr old at the time. I thought it was well written, and the acting from a then slightly unknown Franky Muniz, and a slightly unknown Paul Giamatti, helped make this flick enjoyable. If you haven't seen Big Fat Lier, check it out! Great cameos by Lee Majors, highly recommended.

It's hard to hate on a movie that has a blue-dunked Paul Giamatti rocking out to Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf. It's not so hard to hate on the standard Disney kids-against-the-mean-adults Home Alone booby trap nonsense.

Big Fat Liar manages somehow to walk the tightrope between those two extremes quite well, never OD'ing us on anything particularly tiresome. Seeing the trailer for the movie, it seemed to be one long torture fest for Giamatti, who plays the dirtbag slimeball producer trope for all its worth (and overall looks to be having fun with it).

It's strength really comes (shockingly) from its two leads. As Jason, Frankie Muniz combines just enough breezy charisma and ah-shucks appeal to perform his Ferris Bueller gag quite well, but the really impressive stuff comes from Amanda Bynes, who delivers some truly hilarious vocal impressions, usually when on the phone.

This is all really tame stuff, will not change the world or ruin it (or the art of film) in any way. It's a good genre picture and can be enjoyed for just what it is, a trifle...which actually, is not that easy to come by these days.

My daughter and I both enjoyed the movie, as did everyone else in the theater. I'm not sure whether the message was that lying is good or lying is bad. The movie never seemed to make up its mind, but Amanda Bynes is to die for and there's a few good laughs.

I like Big Fat Liar. My reason for watching this in the first place was because Amanda Bynes is in it and after seeing how hilarious she is in The Amanda Show, i had to check out more of her work. After the success of Home Alone, it would appear that the majority of people enjoy seeing children getting their own back against grown up bullies and this movie is the same thing again. It's not as funny as Home Alone but i never expected it to be, my only regret is that we didn't get to see enough of Amanda Bynes. Big Fat Liar contains many pranks pulled by the teenagers seeking their own back against Marty Wolf, it's fast funny and theres lots of cool music in there too including an 80's tune from Duran Duran, great stuff.

Okay, I'll admit that if I didn't have kids, I never would have seen this film and would never see it. But, considering all the rotten kids movies I have seen (such as SPY KIDS 2 or BABE: PIG IN THE CITY), this is a significant improvement. And, it had enough in it that I wasn't totally bored out of my skull or contemplated suicide (something I did repeatedly in the other two movies). Sure, the performances are pretty broad and the plot is kinda silly--but it IS a kids film. And, compared with other films in the genre, this is definitely better than average. Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bines actually appear to have some talent and probably will continue to have careers after puberty--at least on infomercials or doing voice-overs.

So, if you are looking for a film to see with your kids, you certainly could do a lot worse!

There's not much wrong with this one, aside from being entirely unbelievable, but there's also not much that's memorable. It's like a cinematic shrug. No one really cares about this movie.

This Movie is really an entertaining, good clean fun movie, for the kiddies. Kaley(played by Nickelodeon's talented Amanda) is the sidekick to a rambunctious boy who has a hard time telling the truth. He eventually works this into a movie script that gets stolen. I won't bore you with the details. If you have children and want to see an entertaining if not thrilling kids movie, I highly recommend this one.

It's a little goofy, but still amazingly funny as hell. Paul Giamatti is incredible in this movie. Truly funny man. I'm a true fan. This man has many characters and talents. Keep up the great work Mr. Paul Giamatti. The only bad thing about this is having to see Mr. Jaleel White.

I'm an adult, but I see the occasional kids flick I think might be accessible. And I actually enjoyed Big Fat Liar up until the last big scene, which was straight out of the worst of 1970s Disney.

With that exception, the film is modern and doesn't portray kids as miraculously more clever than the adults around them. It surprised me, and was hilarious many times, especially the performance by Paul Giamatti. Frankie Muniz is quite the actor, too. It's like an updated "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", but instead of being a wiseass teaching kids to cut school, there is a more positive (if shallow) moral theme.

Unfortunately, the genre as a whole (wacky kids vs. powerful adults adventure) has its limitations. If you want to see a wonderful one, see Cloak and Dagger (1984) with that child actor from E.T.

Who should see this film:

-- kids, parents you'll get through it

-- adults who see the occasional kids flick, but only on a rainy day

I'll give "Big Fat Liar" a surprisingly high 5 out of 10 because it was genuinely funny, but the ending devolved into yuck.

When a 14 year old boy has an accident with one of Hollywood's biggest producers, he soon finds that the producer has begun to make a movie off of an English paper story he left in his car. When no one believes the kid he takes his best friend and they go to Hollywood to get the producer to admit that the kid created the story and they are willing to do anything to make sure he admits it. Although this is more for kids it is still a fun comedy for all ages. A good acting job by the young actors. ** out of ****.

I probably would have liked this a lot more had I not already seen (and been a big fan of) Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The central characters in both films are charming liars who always seem to get away with things. The main difference is that the (main) target audience for Big Fat Liar is pitched about 3 to 5 years below that of Ferris Bueller.

My kids enjoyed it whilst it was on but it failed the "endlessly repeat the best bits after the film" test.

Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz) is a well-rehearsed liar. He writes a story "Big Fat Liar" for his assignment. Hollywood producer Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti) gives him a ride and finds he left behind his assignment. He is forced to attend summer school while Wolf makes the story into a big Hollywood movie. He sees the movie preview but nobody is willing to believe him. With best friend Kaylee (Amanda Bynes), he goes to Hollywood to confront Wolf. Wolf burns up his original paper. He uses his every lying skill to make life impossible for Wolf.

This may not be for the adults but I think the kids would like this. They would find Muniz's antics fun and Bynes is an adorably appealing sidekick. The two kid stars make this kiddie movie work but don't expect more.

This movie was fun! Especially if your between 8 and 15. Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes make a believable team of 8th graders getting back at an adult who really deserves it. Paul Giamatti makes a great adult who you really want to 'get'. My 13 year old daughter and her friend loved it. Parents: No really bad words or any sex to worry about. Recommend it for the 'right' crowd. AP

I remember seeing this trailer and thinking it might be a passable family flick...This is not a family flick, it's strictly for ONLY children that are under 10 to enjoy. Because this flick is super lame and cheesy, and doesn't have a sense of direction. It seemed like an average 12 year old wrote the script to the whole thing in one sitting. Actually even that 12 year old could probably write a much better script than this. It makes the "Captain Underpants" books more readable as an adult than watching through this childish movie. All the acting in this movie is uber childish even for a kids movie. Maybe I am being a bit too harsh on this suppose to be family flick, but this movie is just childish fantasy (so again it might work for kids under 10). The message is about telling the truth, but the direction and journey to get to telling the truth is a real headache. This is a definition of a cardboard movie. The main reason I was able to get through this flick, is because I was doing my homework while watching this. And guess what? I enjoyed doing the homework more.

2.3/10

When I was child I loved this movie so can't say anything bad about it.

This film is really crap.The story-I don't know does this movie have any story?Especially the idea of young boy to go to Hollywood to persuade H. producer to tell his father that he is not a liar.Are you kidding me?

This movie is 87 minutes wasting of your time.The only thing that I liked about this movie was music.That's one point more.But still

2 out of 10

It is a nice comedy. It has the great features of the childhood, lying or trying to get away from own generated troubles. The casting is great, great acting. And the special effects ? Well, some stunts are really impressive. Watch it! :)

This movie belongs in the genre' of movies where the kids are a little brighter than the adults. In this movie its a couple of 14 year olds that seem to be able to out think most of the rest of the world. The movie is light hearted, and isn't to be taken seriously. I'm sure it is a great escape for most all kids. It is entertaining enough that adults will be able to enjoy the movie also, but probably best watched with some children.