Lies and Alibis (2006)

A man who runs an alibi service for adulterous husbands gets into a jam with a new client. In trying to remedy the situation, he must rely on an alluring woman who gets his heart racing.

Directors:

Matt Checkowski, Kurt Mattila

Writer:

Noah Hawley

Stars:

Jerry O'Connell, Jon Polito, Deborah Kara Unger

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jerry O'Connell	...	Businessman
Jon Polito	...	Jimmy the Photographer
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Dorothy
Steve Coogan	...	Ray Elliott
Ken Kerman	...	Vic
Aimee Garcia	...	Operator #1
Yasmine Delawari	...	Operator #2
Mary Pat Gleason	...	Operator #3
Rebecca Romijn	...	Lola
Henry Rollins	...	Putty
Sergio Bruna	...	Waiter - Italian Restaurant
Selma Blair	...	Adelle
Jim Cody Williams	...	BoBo
Sam Elliott	...	The Mormon
James Brolin	...	Robert Hatch

Storyline

The crook Ray Elliott, whose former partner Jack is under a five million dollar contract, believes in statistics and runs a risk assessment and managing business; actually a front for a company that provides alibis to adulterous people that cheat their mates. He does not accept giving alibis for crimes and he has just hired the alluring Lola to be his assistant. When Wendell Hatch, the reckless son of his wealthy client Robert Hatch, accidentally kills his masochist date Heather in a kinky S&M game, Ray breaks his rules to protect his own name and hire some guys to clean the bedroom and vanish the body. Sooner Ray has many problems to resolve: the police are on his tail trying to find a clue about the disappearance of Heather; her jealous Mexican-American boyfriend wishes revenge against the murderer; Wendell is upset, because Ray told his father about the crime; Robert is angry and hires the hitman "The Mormon" to kill Ray, but the killer spares him to chase Jack. When the jealous ...

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Plot Keywords:

blonde | voyeurism | voyeur | sex game | female removes her clothes | 

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Taglines:

You Cheat. We Lie.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original title of the film is called The Alibi.

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Goofs

When Ray clandestinely takes a photograph of Detective Bryce with his cell phone when she is leaving on the elevator, the resulting photograph does not match the position she was standing. The photograph has her facing slightly to her left, when her actual position was facing slightly to her right.

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Quotes

The Mormon: Are you married?
Ray Elliott: No. No. I guess I just haven't met the right women.

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Connections

References The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

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Soundtracks

Stinging Sitars XO
Written by Anjali Bhatia
Performed by Anjali
Courtesy of Wiiija Records, Ltd.

User Reviews

This is how I imagine Frank Tashlin does neo-noir

THE ALIBI is a smooth, elegant, neo-noir expertly shot by guys who did pre-cog scenes in MINORITY REPORT. It is very reminiscent of Frank Tashlin's work. Tashlin was the Warner Bros. cartoonist who ended up doing vehicles for Jerry Lewis and Doris Day. While his cartoons were strongly influenced by live action cinema, his live action features had a distinctive cartoonish element.

Te same can be said for THE ALIBI which works as a very tightly knit yarn and feels as precise as a special effects sequence. This precision makes the film flow smoothly and the directors deliver Hollywood entertainment at its best.

The cast is top-notch and the attached talent is the major asset of this production.

The only major shortcoming of this feature is the complete absence of emotions and character depth. The only character fully developed is the main character and it is a shame because other characters are too flat so the story fails to emotionally resonate. The screenplay feels like the first draft and it seems that it was just a couple rewrites away from being fully developed.

This is why THE ALIBI is just a well made programmer while it seems that deep inside it possessed a much bigger potential.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Netherlands USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 January 2006 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Lies and Alibis

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$138,704

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alibi, Endgame Entertainment, Summit Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1