Big Fat Liar

Plot

Jason Shepherd, a 14-year-old compulsive liar in Greenbury, Michigan, fails to write a creative writing assignment and is given three hours to submit an essay or face summer school. He writes a story titled "Big Fat Liar" based on his lying. While riding his sister's bike to turn it in, he is struck by a limousine driven by Hollywood producer Marty Wolf.

Jason blackmails Marty into giving him a ride, but accidentally leaves his essay in the limo. Marty keeps the story for himself. Jason is sent to summer school after failing to convince anyone of the truth. Later, Jason and his friend Kaylee see a teaser trailer for Big Fat Liar at the movies.

They fly to Los Angeles and sneak into Marty's office, demanding a confession. Marty refuses, burns the essay, and has them removed. The teens plot to inconvenience Marty until he confesses, with help from Marty's former limo driver Frank Jackson.

Production

Screenwriter John Hamburg provided rewrites during production, but final writing credits went to Dan Schneider and Brian Robbins. Filming took place from March to June 2001 at Universal Studios Hollywood, Los Angeles International Airport, and locations in Glendale, Monrovia, Pasadena, and Whittier, California. The soundtrack was released by Mercury Records in 2002.

Reception

Big Fat Liar took in $48.4 million domestically and $4.6 million overseas, for a global haul of $53 million on a $15 million budget. Its opening weekend brought in $11.6 million, landing it in second place at the box office. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film sits at a 45% approval rating from 93 reviews, with an average score of 5 out of 10. Metacritic gives it a 36 out of 100, signaling generally unfavorable reviews, though CinemaScore audiences gave it an A−.

Critical opinions were split: some praised it as energetic and witty, while others dismissed it as dull and formulaic. Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper gave it two thumbs up, with Ebert calling it surprisingly entertaining and ideal for kids. Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post described it as a sweet and wickedly satisfying comedic revenge fantasy.

Sequel

In August 2016, a standalone sequel titled Bigger Fatter Liar began principal photography. It starred Ricky Garcia, Jodelle Ferland, Fiona Vroom, Kevin O'Grady, Karen Holness, and Barry Bostwick. The plot was similar to Big Fat Liar but unrelated.

Released directly to DVD in April 2017, the film was met with critical and commercial failure. A Blu-ray release followed in July 2018. In March 2022, Shawn Levy expressed interest in a direct sequel involving a Marty Wolf revenge story.

Did You Know?

• Kenan Thompson, Dustin Diamond, and director Shawn Levy appear as guests at the after party of the premiere of Wolf's action comedy Whitaker and Fowl.
• Jaleel White appears uncredited as himself portraying Officer Fowl in Whitaker and Fowl.
• The DVD release contains an unlockable cheat code for Spyro 2: Season of Flame that turns Spyro the Dragon blue.