Big Fat Liar [DVD] [2002]

Impressive teen actor Frankie Muniz and veteran Paul Giamatti (who are both perfectly cast in their respective roles) lock horns in classic slapstick style. Unlike the "Home Alone" movies, however, the continuous battle of pranks doesn't get old as the movie rolls along. Giamatti shines as the classic evil Hollywood type, bringing back memories of his magnificent part as Pig Vomit in "Howard Stern: Private Parts." I hate to typecast him, but he plays the role to a perfection.

Amanda Byrnes fills in nicely as the token female 'friend' of Muniz, giving the viewers a taste of gentle teen angst.

Parents, if you have kids between the ages of 10-17, then you'll have a blast watching this movie with them, airplane or no airplane.

The story is very famlish, never the less, clever. Jason Shepard (TV's Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz) is a liar, straight off the bat. He lies constainly about everything, espeacialy with the whole homework excuse "My dog ate it" or "My dad is in the hospital (sniff)". But this time, his assignment was stolen...for real. While trying to get to class, he is acidentally run over (don't worry, parents. The scene is put on a cartoonish note) by a big-shot movie producer, Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), who has been known to be a huge jerk to people. Marty offers Jason a ride to school. While the trip, Jason tell Marty about his paper homework due, title "Big Fat Liar", a story about a compulsive liar, who gets bigger each time he lies. While being dropped off, Jason forgets his paper and Marty takes it. A few months later, Jason and his best friend, Kaylee (Nickelodeon's Amanda Byrnes) go to the movies and see a trailer for a movie called "Big Fat Liar", which immediately makes Jason furious. While Jason's parents are gone on vacation fo the summer, Jason and Kaylee take a trip to Los Angeles to find Wolf and get down to business. Along the way, they befriend a actor-turned-limo driver, named Frank (Donald Adeosun Faison) and Marty's partner at the studio, Monty Kirkham (Amanda Detmer). While Jason and Kaylee find shelter at Universal Studio's Prop shop, Jason Persues in finding Marty and getting either revenge or an appology. During a rude encounter with Marty, Jason decides Vengence...all the way. He and Kaylee form together all the people Wolf has been mean to and plot a payback to ge Marty out of Business,for good.

One thing I liked about this movie was how it took place at Universal Studios Hollywood 75% of the time, aside from the obious (Monty, in one scene, is walking and talking on her cell phone in front of the Bates Motel House) there is the scene in the prop shop, were the kids shack up, where pieces of recent Universal films, such as "The Grinch", are left laying around, along with the DeLorean from "Back to the Future" shown everywhere and the constant showing of the Universal Backlot Tour trams driving by (I love how in one scene, Jason and Kaylee leap off a tram to see something: keep in mind that you could never do that in real life!). BIG FAT LIAR is a great family film, but better for kids. And it's the thing Universal fans, like me, been waiting for.