This is one of the rarest kinds of films: a family-oriented non-Disney film that is actually funny without hitting below the belt.
Comment
02/12/02
Big Fat Liar (2002)
43
%
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Reviews Counted:88
Fresh:38
Rotten:50
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: Though there's nothing that offensive about Big Fat Liar, it is filled with Hollywood cliches and cartoonish slapstick, making it strictly for kids.
Runtime: 88 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: An eighth grader named Jason (Frankie Muniz from MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE) presents elaborate excuses for never completing his class assignments. Finally his teacher catches him in one of his worst... [More]
Starring: Frankie Muniz, Amanda Bynes, Paul Giamatti, Isaiah Washington
Director: Shawn Levy
Reviews for Big Fat Liar
Written, directed and acted in a style that recalls the worst live-action, Saturday-morning TV comedies of the 1970s.
02/11/02
A good, solid family film. Youngsters should find it hilarious and adults should be suitably amused.
02/11/02
[A]n utterly charming and hilarious film that reminded me of the best of the Disney comedies from the 60s.
02/11/02
Home Alone goes Hollywood, a funny premise until the kids start pulling off stunts not even Steven Spielberg would know how to do. Besides, real movie producers aren't this nice.
02/11/02
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02/11/02
A movie smallfry ages 6 to 10 think is terrific, and at the same time a movie that won't cause the accompanying parents to become homicidal.
02/10/02
No earth-shattering accomplishment, but an unusually smart movie that the whole family can go to without a single person getting bored or talked down to.
02/09/02
An infinitely wittier version of the Home Alone formula.
02/09/02
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02/09/02
Top CriticStrives for mediocrity and unfortunately succeeds in reaching that less-than-lofty goal.
02/08/02
A pretty decent kid-pleasing, tolerable-to-adults lark of a movie.
02/08/02
Manages to be sweet and wickedly satisfying at the same time.
02/08/02
So much better than this sort of thing usually is that it counts as a big fat surprise.
02/08/02
Unless you're part of the Nickelodeon Nation, the cold, hard truth is you're better off dropping your 'tween at the multiplex and spending that hour and a half doing something more worthwhile.
02/08/02
Not remotely realistic, but nevertheless moderately satisfying.
02/08/02
A children's movie that's almost worth seeing even when not accompanied by a child.
02/08/02
Never pushes its pranks far enough to reach laugh-out-loud success and never gives its actors enough comedic support.
02/08/02
Acceptable but forgettable entertainment, stunted by its paint-by-numbers plotting and minimal production values.
02/08/02
Pulls off the difficult trick of synching up a clever preteen comedy to a clever grown-up comedy.
02/08/02
Latest News for Big Fat Liar
January 31, 2006:
Levy's "Museum" Hires a Few New Staff Members
Zap2it.com reports that British funnyman Ricky Gervais has signed on to appear in Shawn Levy's big-budget, high-concept adventure comedy "Night at the Museum." And to... More...
October 07, 2005:
Sommers Out, Levy In on "Museum"
Since Stephen ("The Mummy") Sommers will be helming the "When Worlds Collide" remake for Paramount, Fox needed someone to step in on their... More...
January 07, 2002:
Muniz, the young star of TV's Malcolm in the Middle, is stuck in the middle again, this time as a student whose class paper has been stolen by a Hollywood producer. 
More...
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