''Big Fat Liar'' is a 2002 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
, directed by
Shawn Levy
Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian film director, film producer, actor, and founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. He has worked across genres and is perhaps best known as the director of the '' Night at the Museum'' film franchise an ...
, adapted by
Dan Schneider
Daniel James Schneider (born January 14, 1966) is an American television producer, screenwriter, and actor. After appearing in mostly supporting roles in a number of 1980s and 1990s films and TV shows, Schneider devoted himself to behind-the-s ...
from a story by Schneider and
Brian Robbins
Brian Levine (born November 22, 1963), known professionally as Brian Robbins, is an American film executive, actor, and filmmaker who is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon. He also serves as C ...
, and starring
Frankie Muniz
Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award ...
,
Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...
,
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress, known for her work in television and film throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Bynes began her career as a child actress, working on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' ( ...
,
Amanda Detmer,
Donald Faison
Donald Adeosun Faison (; born June 22, 1974) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his leading role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC/ NBC comedy-drama '' Scrubs'' (2001–2010), and a supporting role as Murray in both the film '' Cluele ...
,
Lee Majors
Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary; April 23, 1939) is an American actor. Majors portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley in the American television Western series ''The Big Valley'' (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin in the American televisio ...
, and
Russell Hornsby
Russell Hornsby (born May 15, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Edward "Eddie" Sutton on ABC Family's '' Lincoln Heights'', as Luke on the HBO drama ''In Treatment'', as Detective Hank Griffin on the NBC series ''Grimm'', a ...
.
The film is about a 14-year-old compulsive liar, Jason Shepherd (Muniz), whose creative writing assignment "Big Fat Liar" is stolen by an arrogant Hollywood screenwriter and producer, Marty Wolf (Giamatti), who later plans to use it to make the fictional film of the same name. The film is an allusion to the Aesop's Fable, ''
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 210 in the Perry Index. From it is derived the English idiom "to cry wolf", defined as "to give a false alarm" in e''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'' and glossed by the ''Oxford ...
'', with Jason Shepherd being analogous to the shepherd boy in the story and Marty Wolf, analogous to the wolf. It was released in the United States on February 8, 2002.
Plot
Jason Shepherd, a 14-year-old compulsive liar living in Greenbury,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, tries to lie his way out of a creative writing assignment but gets caught by his English teacher, who alerts his parents. He is given three hours to submit his essay and avoid repeating English in summer school. Inspired by his talent for lying, Jason writes a story titled "Big Fat Liar". While riding his sister's old bike to turn in the essay, Jason is run over by the limousine of an arrogant Hollywood screenwriter and producer, Marty Wolf, and he convinces Marty to give him a ride. Marty, also a compulsive liar, is in town shooting his film ''Whitaker and Fowl''. In a rush, Jason accidentally leaves his essay in the limo when it falls out of his backpack. Inspired, Marty keeps the story for himself. Realizing his essay is missing, Jason tries to explain what happened, but he is sent to summer school.
Jason and his best friend, Kaylee, discover Marty has plagiarized Jason's essay into a film when they see a theatrical trailer. They fly to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
while their parents are out of town for the weekend and sneak into Marty's studio office to request that Marty confess to his parents, but he purposefully burns Jason's essay and calls security to remove them. Angered, the two plot to inconvenience him until he confesses. Marty's former limo driver and struggling actor Frank Jackson agrees to help. They sabotage Marty through pranks such as dying his skin blue via his swimming pool and his hair orange via his shampoo. They also superglue his headset to his ear; trick him into going to a child's birthday party, where the children mistake him for the hired clown and attack him; and tamper with his car's controls. Marty's car is also rear-ended by a cranky elderly woman into a monster truck owned by the Masher, a wrestler, who destroys it.
Marty plans to produce ''Big Fat Liar'' with
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, but new president Marcus Duncan, seeing the commercial and critical failure of ''Whitaker and Fowl'', declines to approve the budget, so Jason agrees to help Marty in exchange for his confession to his parents. With Jason's advice, Marty makes a successful presentation and gets the film approved by Universal, but Marty subsequently betrays Jason and calls security to remove him and Kaylee again. Marty's abused assistant, Monty Kirkham, offers to help Jason and Kaylee expose him. They rally Marty's other tormented employees, while Jason calls his parents to tell them the truth about the weekend.
The next morning, Marty heads to the studio to begin filming ''Big Fat Liar'', but his employees delay him through a number of mishaps. As Marty finally arrives, he encounters Jason, who kidnaps his stuffed monkey toy, Mr. Funnybones. Jason flees across the studio, luring Marty to a rooftop where he retrieves his toy and mocks Jason. Marty boastfully admits his actions, unaware the entire conversation is being witnessed by Jason's parents, the media, and Marcus, who immediately fires him. Jason thanks Marty for teaching him an important lesson about the truth. Marty furiously tries to attack him, but Jason leaps off the building and safely lands on a stunt cushion, where he finally regains his parents' trust.
Universal produces ''Big Fat Liar'' after Marty's firing while using the skills of people he had abused. The film becomes a critical success, and Jason receives full credit for his original story. Meanwhile, Marty declares bankruptcy and begins a new job as a birthday clown. At a party, the Masher orders the birthday boy, his son Darren, to kick Marty in his crotch.
Cast
Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also th ...
,
Dustin Diamond
Dustin Neil Diamond (January 7, 1977 – February 1, 2021) was an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Samuel "Screech" Powers throughout the ''Saved by the Bell'' franchise.
Early life and family
Diamond was born in ...
and the film's director
Shawn Levy
Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian film director, film producer, actor, and founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. He has worked across genres and is perhaps best known as the director of the '' Night at the Museum'' film franchise an ...
appear as guests at the after party of the premiere of Wolf's action comedy ''Whitaker and Fowl'', which they criticize.
Jaleel White also appears uncredited as himself, starring as Officer Fowl in ''Whitaker and Fowl''. White is annoyed that Wolf often calls him "
Urkel".
Production
Filming
''Big Fat Liar'' was filmed March 28 to June 2001.
The film was filmed at
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusemen ...
, the
Flash Flood set, and
Los Angeles International Airport, as well as in
Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''.
It may refer to:
Places Australia
* Glendale, New South Wales
** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre
*Glendale, Queensland, ...
,
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...
,
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
...
, and
Whittier, California
Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States ...
.
The exotic Intermec 6651
Handheld PC
A handheld personal computer (PC) is a miniature computer typically built around a clamshell form factor and is significantly smaller than any standard laptop computer, but based on the same principles. It is sometimes referred to as a ''palmto ...
appears as the computer used by Lester Golub to help Jason by releasing a stream of water into Marty's path.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was released by
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
in 2002.
Release
The film was released in cinemas on February 8, 2002 by
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
and was released on VHS and DVD on September 24, 2002 by
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
. The DVD release contains an unlockable cheat code for ''
Spyro 2: Season of Flame'' that turns
Spyro the Dragon
''Spyro the Dragon'' is a platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation on September 9, 1998. The first game in the '' Spyro'' series, it stars the title character, a young purple ...
blue, as seen in one of Jason's pranks on Marty. It was released on Blu-ray on March 4, 2014.
Reception
Box office
The film grossed $48.4 million in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and $4.6 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $53 million, against a budget of $15 million.
The film grossed $11.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing in second at the box office behind ''
Collateral Damage
Collateral damage is any death, injury, or other damage inflicted that is an incidental result of an activity. Originally coined by military operations, it is now also used in non-military contexts.
Since the development of precision guided ...
'' ($15.1 million).
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 45% based on 94 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The site's critical consensus read, "Though there's nothing that offensive about ''Big Fat Liar'', it is filled with Hollywood cliches and cartoonish slapstick, making it strictly for kids."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
assigned the film a weighted average score 36 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Some critics called the film energetic and witty, but others called it dull and formulaic.
Ebert and Roeper
''At the Movies'' (originally ''Siskel & Ebert & the Movies'', and later ''At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper'') is an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share the ...
gave it "Two Thumbs Up". In his review for the
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
Ebert gave it 3 out of 4, and called it "A surprisingly entertaining movie
..ideal for younger kids, and not painful for their parents." Michael O'Sullivan of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' called the film "an innocent comedic revenge fantasy that somehow manages to be sweet and wickedly satisfying at the same time."
Accolades
Sequel
In August 2016, it was announced that a standalone sequel had begun principal photography. ''Bigger Fatter Liar'' starred
Ricky Garcia as Kevin Shepherd,
Jodelle Ferland
Jodelle Micah Ferland (born October 9, 1994) is a Canadian actress. She debuted as a child actress at the age of four in the television film ''Mermaid'' (2000) for which she won a Young Artist Award and received a Daytime Emmy Award nominatio ...
as Becca, and
Barry Bostwick
Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in the musical comedy horror film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom ''Spin City'' (199 ...
as Larry Wolf. The plot though unrelated to the first film, was similar in many ways to ''Big Fat Liar''. Released directly to DVD in April 2017, the film was met with critical and commercial failure. It was later released on Blu-ray in July 2018.
Potential future
In March 2022,
Shawn Levy
Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian film director, film producer, actor, and founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. He has worked across genres and is perhaps best known as the director of the '' Night at the Museum'' film franchise an ...
revealed that he has always wanted to make a direct-sequel to ''Big Fat Liar'', stating that the plot would include a Marty Wolf revenge story. The filmmaker referenced the revitalized
''Real Steel'' franchise in the form of the upcoming
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
, as hope for a future ''Big Fat Liar'' sequel to be made.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Fat Liar
2000s adventure comedy films
2000s screwball comedy films
2000s teen comedy films
2002 films
American adventure comedy films
American screwball comedy films
American teen comedy films
American spy comedy films
2000s English-language films
Films about filmmaking
Films about lying
Films about pranks
Films about theft
American films about revenge
Films directed by Shawn Levy
Films scored by Christophe Beck
Films set in Los Angeles
Films set in Michigan
Films set in studio lots
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films with screenplays by Dan Schneider
Universal Pictures films
2002 comedy films
2000s American films