BIG FAT LIAR

After seeing the brutally dramatic MONSTER'S BALL, I decided I needed to lighten things up substantially.
So for that reason, and because I have no life and had nothing better to do, I went and saw Big Fat Liar.
Believe it or not, I'm glad I did.

Big Fat Liar is a lot of fun. No, it's not believable at all, and yes, it's extremely predictable, but I laughed quite a bit. I guess this movie ranks as a kids / family film, but I think the humor is actually very funny, and at times it kinda skewers Hollywood, which I always kind of enjoy. Interestingly, it was written by Dan Schneider and Brian Robbins, both of whom were on the TV show Head Of The Class, and both of whom have done other work with Nickelodeon.

Frankie Muniz, who gets a lot of acclaim for his title role on TV's Malcom In The Middle, stars as Jason Shepard, a kid who lies his way through everything. He's pretty good here, and though I haven't seen much of his show, I can see where all the praise comes from. He's a natural.
Starring as his good friend is Amanda Bynes. All I'm going to say about her is that she's also best known for TV, with her own self titled show on Nickelodeon. She's very talented and I can definitely see her becoming a leading lady when she's older. At least I definitely want to see her become a leading lady when she's older because in a few years she will very likely be a knock-out.
Oh my God, I said that, didn't I?
I'm going straight to hell, aint I?
Another Amanda, Amanda Detmer, is in this movie, and she too is a looker. And I can say that this time because she's not a minor! Woo-Hoo!
Oh, but she's very talented as well. Really.

Stealing the show is the great Paul Giamatti, a really great and versatile actor, here playing one of the most hateful pricks to ever grace the silver screen in the form of a greedy big time movie producer named Marty Wolf. Giamatti plays this role with such vigor that you literally enjoy hating him, and every second he's on screen is a lot of fun.

Speaking of versatility, the role of Jason's teacher is played by Sandra Oh which I only mention because like I said, this is kind of a family film, and the only other movie I know her from is Dancing At The Blue Iguana, a film about the sad lives of five strippers in an L.A. club.
Well, it's good to be well rounded…

Big Fat Liar also has something else I like in movies, cameos, though the ones here are a little more obscure than most. It's a lot of fun, and I definitely recommend it.

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