Big Fat Liar

Plot synopsis:
Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz), a 14-year old living in the fictional town of Greenbury, Michigan, is an incorrigible liar and a con artist. When his English teacher, Ms. Phyllis Caldwell (Sandra Oh), assigns her class a creative writing assignment, Jason does not complete it. His parents are later called into school, where Ms. Caldwell tells Jason that if he can't bring her a handwritten story to the community college by 6 p.m., she will not consider it a valid contribution. After remembering that his father told him that "making up stories appears to be his God-given talent", Jason finally writes a story entitled Big Fat Liar, based on his experiences of how he lies all the time. Now finished, Jason rides his older sister's old bicycle and accidentally collides with the limousine of an arrogant Hollywood producer Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), whereupon Jason blackmails Wolf into giving him a ride to school. During his ride, Wolf reveals to Jason that he is also a liar and con man, but a more professional one than Jason, however. When the limousine reaches the college, Jason hastens out of the limo, not realizing that he has left his story behind. Wolf initially attempts to give it back to Jason, but when he sees that it is excellent, he decides to keep it for himself.Upon entering school, Jason realizes that he does not have the story. Neither his parents nor Ms. Caldwell believe him when Jason claims to have written it, and he is therefore ordered to undergo summer school. Later, Jason and his best friend Kaylee (Amanda Bynes) found out that Wolf has plagiarized his composition by making his film Big Fat Liar. When Jason's parents and sister leave town for a summer holiday, Jason and Kaylee use their savings to fly to Los Angeles to confront Wolf, leaving local bully Bret Callaway (Taran Killam) to attend to Kaylee's absent-minded grandmother after Jason bribes him by promising to do his summer school homework for him. After arriving in Los Angeles, Jason and Kaylee trick limo driver Frank Jackson (Donald Faison) into giving them a ride to the studio, where Jason tricks receptionist Astrid Barker (Rebecca Corry) into leaving her post to allow him to speak with Wolf about his situation. Wolf agrees to return the story, but intentionally burns it and has Jason and Kaylee removed from his office.Angered, Jason and Kaylee plan to inconvenience Wolf until he admits to having stolen Big Fat Liar. Frank eventually discovers their true identities and plans, but eventually joins them, as Frank explains that he was an actor formerly mistreated by Wolf. After gathering intel about how he treats his workers, Frank takes Jason and Kaylee to Wolf's mansion, where they add blue and orange dye to Wolf's swimming pool and shampoo, giving him blue skin and orange hair. Kaylee, impersonating the Universal Studios' president's secretary, sends Wolf to a child's birthday party to get vengeance for veteran stunt coordinator Vince (Lee Majors), an elderly employee of his whom he criticized and who had wanted to take his granddaughter to the same party. There, Wolf is mistaken for a clown and a group of children attack him. Meanwhile, Jason and Kaylee modify the controls to Wolf's blue Jaguar XKR convertible, causing various controls to perform the incorrect function and playing the song "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65, resembling his blue skin. Struggling to control his convertible, Wolf stops just behind a monster truck, but is later rear ended by a vengeful old lady, whom he had insulted earlier, which causes him to crash into it, therefore causing its driver, The Masher (Brian Turk), to destroy Wolf's convertible in anger.As a result of these pranks, Wolf misses his appointment with his boss Marcus Duncan (Russell Hornsby), president of Universal Studios. Wolf and Duncan met at a party to celebrate 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. Jason agrees to help Wolf in exchange for a confession of the truth to his father. Wolf, guided by Jason, makes a successful presentation which convinces Duncan to green-light Big Fat Liar and warning him should any little mishap occur, funding for the film will be withdrawn and his career will be over. However, Wolf betrays Jason again and calls his security guards to remove Jason and Kaylee from his office for the second time, but this time, after their true identities, schemes, and hiding place have been and revealed. Jason and Kaylee are told by Rocko, the head of security, that they will be forced out of Hollywood, the incidents they caused covered up, and may be sent back to their hometown in disgrace.Jason is about to throw in the towel and prepares to be forever humiliated and disbelieved in his hometown when Wolf's personal secretary, Monty Kirkham (Amanda Detmer), appears after dismissing Rocko, who was keeping an eye on him and Kaylee, and states that because many of Wolf's co-workers and employees have been abused by him, they are able to help Jason and Kaylee to take revenge against Wolf. Together, Jason, Kaylee, and the studio crew members devise their plan by which to do so. By now, Wolf has either removed or concealed the color of his skin and hair. En route to the studio, Wolf falls into several traps organized by his co-workers including skydiving out of a helicopter piloted by Vince and getting soaked from the Universal Studios Hollywood flash flood backlot prop. Upon arriving at the studio, bedraggled and desperate, Wolf finds out that Jason has taken his beloved toy chimpanzee, Mr. Funny-Bones, hostage. Wolf pursues Jason until they reach a climactic rooftop confrontation, where Wolf admits to having stolen Jason's story, thinking they are alone, and swearing that Wolf will never tell the truth because it's 'overrated'. Immediately, it is revealed that Wolf has been filmed throughout the confession with multiple cameras. As a result, Wolf is exposed and shamed before all those whom he has abused, including Duncan, who is outraged at him for his act of plagiarism, and from a kid no less. Without hesistation, Duncan fires Wolf for his actions, and Jason thanks Wolf for having taught him that "the truth is not overrated". Enraged, Wolf chases Jason, but Jason runs off the side of the building and eventually lands on an inflated crash pad. Afterwards, Jason and his parents re-establish their trust.The epilogue.In the epilogue, Big Fat Liar is later reproduced and shown in movie theatres across North America, utilizing the talents and skills of all those whom Wolf had abused. During the closing credits, Jason is credited for having written the original story, and Ms. Caldwell is impressed and very proud of him. Meanwhile, Wolf declares bankruptcy and starts his new job as a clown, which role he is assigned to entertain the son of the Masher, whom he insulted earlier. Recognizing him, the Masher orders his son: "Yo, Little Mash, show him your nutcracker!", a newly-learned prizefighting technique as a means of avenging the earlier offense. He delivers a flying kick to Wolf's scrotum, and Wolf's eyes dilate and rotate.

Tags: revenge, prank

Review:
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 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.
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.
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.
(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..
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.
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.
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.
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!.
Big Fat Liar is about Jason Shepard (Frankie Muniz), an 8th grader who is highly known by his parents and classmates to be a liar about things.
When Jason goes to turn it in to his teacher, he realizes the paper is gone, and he tells his parents and teacher what happened- how he got hit by a limo transporting Marty Wolff--- but his parents don't believe him.
Marty then steals Jason's story and puts "Big Fat Liar" into production.
This movie had some fun scenes and moments, and many laughs (mostly from the hilarious Amanda Bynes), and keeps you entertained to the very end.
2. How old do you have to be to completely lose sight of the fact that movies for kids (you know, the kind starring Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes) are not the same as the movies that you might like?
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..
He is forced to attend summer school while Wolf makes the story into a big Hollywood movie.
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.
The laughs are definitely aimed at kids to older teenagers and would deem too harmless for even the most easy-going of adult viewers, but the film has no too little energy and innocent charms that entertained the not-too-critical side of me.Here's your first clue that the film is a teenage TV-show extended to movie length: The lead star is MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE's Frankie Munez stars.
Inevitably, it falls in the hands of self-centered, money-mongering Hollywood producer (reminds you of anyone?) Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), who finds it his next big must-see.
Now Jason, who has no one who believes in him but his best friend Kaylee (current-Nickelodeon graduated Amanda Bynes), they set off to the big-streets of Tinseltown to get back his script, and at the same time give good ol' Marty a little jolt, a little pay-back.The gags are frequently physical humor, which means discard all your thoughts for some biting sense of humor or sarcasm.
A 14-year old boy Jason Shepherd wrote an English paper called "Big Fat Liar".
So Marty Wolf took it and he turned Jason's English paper into a movie!
At the end, Jason's story, Big Fat Liar was a movie.
It tells a good story in a lighthearted way without trying to dazzle the audience with over-the-top special effects, like lots of films these days are.
(The film producer had given him a ride, and he accidentally left the essay in his car.) Naturally, no one believes the kid when he claims that the idea was his, and he sneaks off to Hollywood with his best friend in tow to try to set the record straight.
When Jason (Frankie Muniz - "MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE") and Kaylee (Amanda Bynes - "ALL THAT") played those tricks on Marty (Paul Giamatti - DOCTOR DOLITTLE), I really smiled and felt good.
When I first saw him, I couldn't be certain, but, when I asked my mother if it was him, she said, "Of course!" Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say, "Like I said earlier, there is a moral to this story, and that moral is, always tell the truth." Now, in conclusion, if you are a fan of Frankie Muniz, Amanda Bynes, or Paul Giamatti, I highly recommend this absolutely hilarious movie with a moral to it..
Big Fat Liar is a great watch for kids of all ages, even adults.
I had a great time watching this movie and recommend this to kids of 10 years and under.
Lo and behold, he commits himself and writes it only to have it end up in the hands of a big time Hollywood Producer (Giamatti) who is also a big fat liar in his own nefarious two-timing ways and plans to turn the essay into a film.
Such films are The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, the two Agent Cody Banks films, and many others that strike a nostalgia chord with me solely because they came out right around the time I was immersing myself in film.Shawn Levy's Big Fat Liar is a film I watched as a young child in pieces.
In fact, it's kind of spirited and lively, to the point where I find myself replaying sequences in my head, ones I didn't laugh at before, and now silently giggle at their geniality and the silliness they employ.One particular scene comes later in the film, where Paul Giamatti's character has already been manipulated unconditionally by Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes to the point where he is ready to call the day quits entirely.
The scene is so goofy and unexpected that the only rational response is to laugh and embrace the current situation.I'll catch you up; Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz) is a fourteen year old boy, known by his family and teacher as a pathological liar who enjoys dreaming up ways to get himself out of trouble.
One day, he doesn't write his English paper on time, so is given a time extension, which he utilizes efficiently to write a semi-autobiographical story called "Big Fat Liar." He races to school on his sister's bright pink bike (the bullies stole his skateboard), and crashes into the limousine of Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), a cocky, wealthy movie producer.
His transcend into lunacy and madness, especially in the third act, is wonderful and is played off effectively thanks to great comic-timing and spirit on his part.Big Fat Liar is not a film I'd recommend to adults.
When he is knocked off a bike by movie producer Marty Wolf, he accidentally gets his essay mixed in with Marty's papers, leaving Jason's story, 'Big Fat Liar' behind.
Now Jason, along with his best friend, Kaylee set off to retrieve his paper back and earn his dad's trust back.A movie like this is really going to have one main target audience.
Putting aside the fact that this is nothing more than an updated version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," Let's start with a run-down of the cast;Frankie Muniz: Would have nothing to do with Disney, if he hadn't played himself on an episode of "Lizzie McGuire." This time, he plays Jason Shepherd, a habitual lying kid who's schoolwork gets stolen by a rotten-to-the-core movie producer.Amanda Bynes: Clearly grew out of her old variety show in more ways than one, and has proved herself to be a teen-aged Jenny McCarthy.
Frankie Muniz is pretty good, but the thing is, he acts the same in every single movie, though smart-alecky suits him better in Big Fat Liar than in the Cody Banks flick.
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) proves that he was not lying and goes to Los Angeles to Get his paper back from Marty Wolf( Paul Giamatti).
i thnk this movie is charming and funny at the same time with great performances by Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti,Amanda Detmer and ecspecially Amanda bynes who is uttelry charming without trying.i like that its not like most kids films with fart and burp jokes.
It's just the whole set-up of producer Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti) stealing Jason Shephard's (Frankie Muniz) paper and turning into Big Fat Liar.
It was actually a pretty dull movie, where nothing really fun happens.Jason Shepherd, a 14 year old kid who often gets into trouble, and always finds a way out.
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 dayI'll give "Big Fat Liar" a surprisingly high 5 out of 10 because it was genuinely funny, but the ending devolved into yuck..
Jason, who wants to prove to his father that this occurrence is not a lie, travels with his girlfriend, Kaylee (Amanda Bynes) to Hollywood to have Marty call his father and confess the truth."Big Fat Liar" is aimed at kids, but I doubt even they would like it.
The film tries for a wink-wink, nudge-nudge approach at spoofing Hollywood, but it's all been done before, so none of it is fresh or funny.What annoyed me the most was Marty Wolf makes Jason's "Big Fat Liar" story seem like a great motion picture experience.
Even though this movie is meant for an younger audience, i expected better, with actors like Paul Giamatti its hard to believe that it can get this bad.
There's a decent story being told, the two central actors give good performances and there is actually a good mix of child friendly/adult jokes.The nice relationship between Muniz and Bynes keeps the movie afloat, but it is nice to see Paul Giamanti having fun with his role too.I can't say that this is the best family film that has ever been made, but if you're looking for something that has charm and a unique story being told then this is a good film to watch..
Shawn Levy's "Big Fat Liar" is just a funny movie.
Anyone watching it will have to agree that it would be fun to get to do what Jason (Frankie Muniz) and Kaylee (Amanda Bynes) do.
I have no doubt that Paul Giamatti enjoyed getting to play the slimy producer who becomes the target of the kids' pranks.However, some other things caught my eye all now that I've seen the movie over a decade after its release.
From blue dye in the swimming pool to sabotage on the movie set, Jason MUST have Wolf call his parents and tell him how he got the film idea.
Big Fat Liar is a good movie for the children but may not have enough life in it to please the adults.
This is not a laugh-out-loud riot, but there are some mild chuckles to be had.Shawn Levy's film is a take on the legend of "Boy Who Cries Wolf." After a 14-year old kid has his essay stolen from him by a Hollywood producer and turned into a movie and no one believes him, he goes all out to prove that his essay was indeed stolen.The acting is okay.
Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes sometimes seem to be a little over-the-top, but at least they are not terrible.Overall, this is an average film that kids will love.
I also personally found a lot (probably most) of the story a bit boringSince I was an adolescent by the time the 2000s began, I haven't seen too many other kids' movies like this one that have come out sometime in recent years.
But the problem is Jason leaves his homework in the car, the other way of saying this is Marty Wolf(Giamatti) steals it.After a few months Jason goes to a movie and sees a trailer that takes him aback.
When Wolf refuses it, Jason takes action and ruins his life.This is the short story of the Big Fat Liar.
Unfortunately, I am not a big fat liar to say that this is a good movie.
The scene where Jason (Muniz) and female lead Amanda Bynes try on clothes and props in the movie studio may make you laugh, but it proves to be the film's most poignant and memorable scene.
Amanda Bynes is great as the puppy-love buddy of Frankie Muniz and Paul Giamatti is excellent as the villain..
Amanda Bynes is great as the puppy-love buddy of Frankie Muniz and Paul Giamatti is excellent as the villain..
My nine-year-old noticed the following canine references sprinkled throughout the movie:  Frankie Muniz plays Jason Shepherd (like German Shepherd), and Paul Giamatti's chracter is Marty "the wolfman" Wolf.
"Big Fat Liar" tells of a 14 year old boy (Muniz) who bumps into a film producer (who happens to be in his hometown making a movie) who gets his hands on the boy's homework assignment, a story of the title name, and turns it into a movie which the boy sees previewed.
The boy and his friend (Bynes) then set out for Hollywood where they raise all kinds of hell in an attempt to wrest creative credit for the film from the evil producer (Giamatti).A simple "David vs Goliath" flick with obvious forces of good and evil in opposition, "BFL" is a fun comedy romp with great casting, an excellent score, lots of zany antics, and direction which is reminiscent of early John Hughes and Chris Columbus kid films.
One day he is pressured to write an English essay, but it winds up in the hands of sleazy film-maker Marty Wolf ( Paul Giamatti ) who plans to turn Jason's story into a Hollywood blockbuster.
Jasons paper is actually turned into a big screen movie that we all love.
The film tells a story about a 14-year-old pathological liar, Jason Shepherd (Muniz), whose creative writing assignment is stolen by an arrogant Hollywood producer, Marty Wolf (Giamatti), who later plans to use it to make the fictional film of the same name.
At least.the boy works big fat liar movie.
Big fat liar is a pretty funny movie.
He stole Jason Shepherd's essay on Big Fat Liar, and makes it in to a movie.
The always-appealing Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle) proves that even at the tender age of 15 he can carry the starring role in a major film.It helps that his co-star, Amanda Bynes, is equally appealing.There is a good story here: lying will not get you what you want and if you lie enough people will no longer believe you: `The Boy Who Cried Wolf' for this century.This is not a spoiler because anyone that has seen any of the previews or television commercials about this film will know the story...Jason Shepherd (Frankie), in an effort to make up a school assignment, writes a fable about a `Big Fat Liar.'  Then the nefarious and fairly slimy Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti) steals the story to save his rapidly sinking career as a film producer.
Big Fat Liar was a very cheesy but good comedy film.
It was about a 14 year old kid Jason Sheperd,who as he is riding to school bumps into a limo which coincidentally happens to be the one where the famous(but not really famous)movie producer,Marty Wolf.
Later Jason finds out that Marty stole and read Martys paper titled "Big Fat Liar",and makes it into the summers biggest must-see movie.