Big Fat Liar (2002)

Director:

Shawn Levy

Writers (WGA):

Dan Schneider (story) &
Brian Robbins (story) ...

Release Date:

8 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

The truth is never overrated

Plot:

After a young boy's school essay erroneously finds its way into the hands of a Hollywood producer who turns the idea into a hit film, the boy travels to Los Angeles to claim his credit.

Plot Keywords:

Story | Essay | Liar | Producer | Paper

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Frankie Muniz	...	Jason Shepherd
Paul Giamatti	...	Marty Wolf
Amanda Bynes	...	Kaylee
Amanda Detmer	...	Monty Kirkham
Donald Faison	...	Frank Jackson
Sandra Oh	...	Mrs. Phyllis Caldwell
Russell Hornsby	...	Marcus Duncan
Michael Bryan French	...	Harry Shepherd
Christine Tucci	...	Carol Shepherd
Lee Majors	...	Vince
Sean O'Bryan	...	Leo
Amy Hill	...	Joscelyn Davis
John Cho	...	Dustin 'Dusty' Wong
Matthew Frauman	...	Lester Golub
Don Yesso	...	Rocco Malone

Also Known As:

Lügen haben kurze Beine (Germany)
Lost and Found (USA) (working title)
Pay or Play (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:G | South Korea:All | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-7 | Germany:6 | Norway:11 | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #38481) | Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The blue dye was tattoo ink that was sprayed in several layers on his body occasionally throughout the day to keep it topped up. According to Paul Giamatti (Marty Wolf), it was fairly easy to apply, but was a bit more difficult to get off, particularly his feet, for some reason. They stayed blue for several months.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jason crashes into the limo you can clearly see the damaged bicycle. After Marty agrees to give Jason a lift and he goes to get into the limo, the bicycle is gone.

Quotes:

Kaylee: What's with the Cokes?
Jason Sheperd: The machine! It's rigged! They're free! Haha, they're free!

Movie Connections:

References Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966)

Soundtrack:

Party Time

Very nice kids movie; adults can play spot the connection.

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.