Telling Lies in America (1997)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Guy Ferland

Writer (WGA):

Joe Eszterhas (written by)

Release Date:

15 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Dress sharp. Drive fast. Look cool. Laugh last.

Plot:

Karchy (Brad Renfro) is a boy in school who has moved from Hungary to America in the 1960's. He is struggling...

Plot Keywords:

Male Bonding | Masturbation Reference | Disc Jockey | Coming Of Age | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kevin Bacon	...	Billy Magic
Brad Renfro	...	Karchy 'Chucky' Jonas
Maximilian Schell	...	Dr. Istvan Jonas
Calista Flockhart	...	Diney Majeski
Paul Dooley	...	Father Norton
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Kevin Boyle
Luke Wilson	...	Henry
Damen Fletcher	...	Amos 'Blood Smith'
Jerry Swindall	...	Andy 'Croak' Stas
K.K. Dodds	...	Justine
James Kisicki	...	Cecil Simms
J.J. Horna	...	The Blind Kid
Ben Saypol	...	Timmy Morelli
Tony Devon	...	Danny Hogan
Rohn Thomas	...	Sgt. Disapri

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 (video premiere) | Hong Kong:IIA | Spain:T | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Company:

Banner Entertainment

Trivia:

This was one of the first seven films to be foreclosed by the Screen Actors Guild for non-payment of wages and residuals to SAG members. On 13 July 2004, rights to the film were sold at auction.

Quotes:

Karchy Jonas: [sing while combing his hair] Hey, hey, what do you say... Karchy Jonas is coming your way...
Karchy Jonas: ...How are you darlin'?

Soundtrack:

Little Bitty Pretty One

The "Rodney Dangerfield" of "Coming of Age" Movies

Why this little gem didn't get major studio distribution is a real mystery. One terrific performance (Kevin Bacon)four very good ones (Maxmillian Schell, Calista Flockhart, Paul Dooley)and a solid, if not totally convincing one from Brad Renfro (where's the TRACE of an accent?) coupled with a right on script by Joe Eszterhas (rarely has the era been so well captured) makes for a surprisingly entertaining and accessible movie. No where does the movie cop out. The ending is convincing and slightly bittersweet. The dilemmas faced by the underpaid, exploited disc jockeys (in fact, most members of the musical profession) of the era is thoroughly examined. This is a great movie. Can you believe I got it as a bonus with my DVD MPEG Decoder card?

Hey, see it for the CARS if nothing else?