Telling Lies in America (1997)

Karchy (Brad Renfro) is a boy in school who has moved from Hungary to America in the 1960's. He is struggling in school and trying to adjust to America's culture. He then hears about a ... See full summary »

Director:

Guy Ferland

Writer:

Joe Eszterhas

Stars:

Kevin Bacon, Brad Renfro, Maximilian Schell

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Karchy (Brad Renfro) is a boy in school who has moved from Hungary to America in the 1960's. He is struggling in school and trying to adjust to America's culture. He then hears about a radio DJ Billy Magic (Kevin Bacon) who holds a contest for a Student Hall of Fame every week. When Karchy finally wins after several weeks, he spends more time with Billy Magic...a man with money, girls, and glam. Karchy thinks that by spending time with Magic, he can become "cool". He then starts telling lies, to make himself seem greater than he really is. But when his lies begin hurting the people he cares about, he realizes that it isn't worth telling lies if it affects your friends. Afterwards, he learns to accept himself for the person he is, and gives up lying. And as for Billy Magic, it turns out that he pays his price for all the lies that he has told as well....

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Plot Keywords:

radio dj | money | hall of fame | radio | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex related situations

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Magic Man

Filming Locations:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$11,470 (USA) (17 October 1997)

Gross:

$252,318 (USA) (14 November 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Banner Entertainment, Ben Myron Productions, Kuzui Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Candy lobbied to play the role of Billy Magic. But Candy's agent convinced him not to pursue the part.

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Goofs

About two-thirds through the movie, when Karchy picks his girlfriend up at the store after (her) work, they walk down a handicap wheelchair ramp which didn't exist in the 1960's.

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Quotes

Diney Majeski: Why you got to show off so much?
Karchy Jonas: Cause I ain't got that much to show.

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Soundtracks

"Lonely Teardrops"
Performed by Jackie Wilson
Written by Berry Gordy (as Berry Gordy, Jr.), Tyran Carlo, Gwendolyn Gordy
Courtesy of Brunswick Records

User Reviews

Pants on Fire

In the early 1960s, Cleveland, Ohio immigrant teenager Brad Renfro (as Karchy Jonas) struggles with adolescence and assimilation. Mr. Renfro is working on eradicating the remnants of his Hungarian accent (his "th" sound). Meanwhile, slick disc jockey Kevin Bacon (as Billy Magic) arrives in town (one step ahead of the law), to spin "sweaty collar and dirty fingernail music" on the local rock 'n' roll radio station. Mr. Bacon is a payola player, who needs an underage kid to handle money illegal exchanges. When Renfro cheats on a radio contest, Bacon offers him big bucks to serve as "unwitting accomplice"...

Bacon swaggers through his role with perfection. And, Renfro is incredible, in a very difficult role; capturing the vulnerability of youth, as he struggles to both adopt and resist Bacon's seductive persona. Calista Flockhart (as Diney Majeski) is very effective, as Renfro's "older woman" love interest. Their performances should have received some award consideration. Maximilian Schell (as Istvan Jonas) would have been more believable as Renfro's grandfather, to support the obviously wider than envisioned cultural gap between the characters. A few of the scenes are silly, but many more work, due to director Guy Ferland and his convincing cast.

"I make things up sometimes," Renfro reveals. Don't we all. "Telling Lies in America" certainly breaks no new ground - but, it revisits cinematic themes in great style. The film builds to a fine conclusion, and the music is terrific.

******** Telling Lies in America (8/2/97) Guy Ferland ~ Brad Renfro, Kevin Bacon, Calista Flockhart, Maximilian Schell