Bigger Fatter Liar

I apologize in advance- this review is a bit on the scathing side. But deservedly so, as studios need to realize that if sequels/remakes/reboots are going to be greenlit, they need to be at least remotely worthwhile.

When I first saw this on Netflix, I was both shocked and excited; I had not heard about a remake of Big Fat Liar being in the works, but BFL was one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid, so I was hopeful about a fresh take on the story. This movie also had quite a bit of storytelling potential as far as explaining why the main character lied so much and why his friend put up with his nonsense for so long.

And then I saw no trace of Dan Schneider in the writing/producing credits. That was a hard pill to swallow, as he was the reason the original was so much fun, but still, I went into it cautiously optimistic. After all, I enjoyed Ricky Garcia and Jodelle Ferland in other things...

Twenty minutes in, I knew. I kept telling myself it could get better, so I stuck it out 'til the end, but it just didn't.

I'll start with the writing. It's awful. There were inconsistencies as glaring as the name of the video game in question; it switched between Bigger Fatter Liar and Big Fat Liar, so after watching the movie, I'm still not sure what the actual name is. Not to mention, I could swear Wolf's first name is Larry in the movie, but on IMDb he's listed as Alan. What? The biggest issue with the writing, however, is that it lacks everything that made Big Fat Liar special: quirkiness, charm, and most of all, LIFE. The remake was devoid of all of it. It didn't help that Wolf went from turning into a brightly colored clown to a black- and-white mime. Ironically fitting, however, as the new Wolf actor utterly paled in comparison to the brilliance of Paul Giamatti.

That brings me to the acting. Again, lifeless. The actors in the original oozed charisma and personality, whereas it is the complete opposite here.

Ricky Garcia- He's great as the lovable Naldo in Best Friends Whenever, but he clearly struggled with this role. I think Naldo is just easier to play, being the cartoonish Disney Channel sidekick that he is.

Jodelle Ferland- She was the one person who turned in a decent performance most of the time, but she is no Amanda Bynes and was held back by a lack of good material to work with.

Barry Bostwick- I'm not familiar with his past work, but from his credits I can tell that he's a respectable actor, so it's clear to me that he was more held back than anyone else. His performance was nothing special, but again, his material was nothing special.

Basically, this movie was written and directed by a guy who does Hallmark movies, and it showed.

Simply put, it just didn't work.

Don't waste time on this remake and go watch Big Fat Liar(2002) if you haven't already. You'll thank me later.

This film simply reuse the script from the original "Big Fat Liar" with only minor changes. Problem is they use much less talented actors and the writer/actor Ron Oliver must have gone crazy since he peaked his career in the 1980:s. This is simply a lousy attempt to earn a few dollars by using the name of an old popular film. I ought to claim compensation from the production company for totally ruining 1½ hours of my life.

I grew up on the 2002 original film, and rewatched that one time and time again. That movie had a solid script, great zingers, and the jokes/pranks that the kids played were more practical.

This is almost a carbon copy of the 2002 film, and poorly designed with a lot of slapstick and phony heart. The filmmakers try a modern twist - instead of Shepard's essay being plagiarized, it's a video game schematic.

While the main duo isn't horrible at acting, the actor who portrayed Wolf didn't make for a convincing villain. After 40 minutes it was clear that nothing would come together. I was starting to feel bad for Wolf. Yeah he stole the kid's idea, but drugging his smoothie and energy drinks isn't really fair game.

The original film still holds up and this isn't a true sequel. It's regurgitated nonsense.

An adaptation of the original that was less effective and far less enjoyable.

I think the original movie must have been too successful for the writers/producers/directors/stakeholders because they literally took the script of the first and using copy and replace inserted the words "video game app" instead of "movie". Then they examined the jokes and removed all lead up and background but left the punch lines. They even added a couple of nods to the original which fall completely flat because this movie IS the original if the original were made badly. I'm not exaggerating. Watch it. Lament the bitter taste it leaves in your mouth as it attempts to rewrite your fond memories of Big Fat Liar with it's blatant and very poorly done plagiarism of the original.