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:

Just don't get caught.

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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

Billy Magic: I woke up in the morning, went to take a piss, looked down, and all I saw was teeth marks.

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Soundtracks

"Love You So"
Performed by Ron Holden
Written by Ron Holden
Courtesy of Donna Records
By Arrangement with Original Sound Entertainment

User Reviews

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?