Scott LeBrun "Telling Lies in America" is an extremely appealing, and convincing, tale from veteran screenwriter Joe Eszterhas that one has to assume is at least somewhat autobiographical. It tells the tale of Karchy Jonas (Brad Renfro), a Hungarian teenager who's moved with his doctor father Istvan (Maximilian Schell) to Cleveland. Taking place in 1961, before Beatlemania had become a cultural phenomenon in North America, it shows us the seedier aspects of the music and radio businesses as Karchy is taken under the wing of an ultra slick, charismatic DJ named Billy Magic, played to the hilt by a wonderful Kevin Bacon.This is a very fine coming of age story in which a naive youth learns some hard realities about the world. Sometimes, people may seem to be your friend, but they'll really be just using you. This is also an interesting look at the immigrant experience in the U.S. of A. at a particular point in time. And, as guided by director Guy Ferland ("The Babysitter" '95), it does reasonably recreate the sights and sounds of Cleveland, when rock and soul music were really taking off. The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of golden oldies, and is supplemented by a plaintive if rather manipulative score by Nicholas Pike.Bacon and Renfro are both excellent in the pivotal roles. Schell, Calista Flockhart as Karchy's co-worker (with whom he tries to build a romantic relationship), Paul Dooley as a priest at Karchy's school, Damen Fletcher as aspiring music star Amos, Jerry Swindall as Karchy's friend Croak, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a bullying classmate, all offer very effective support. Luke Wilson doesn't have a particularly interesting role, as he plays Karchy's humorless employer."Telling Lies in America" may earn its emotions a little more honestly if it didn't lean so heavily on that music score, but overall it's still potent and engaging.Eight out of 10.

bkoganbing You know in another time and in another age in Hollywood the story told in Telling Lies In America about the Fifties and the age of payola might have had Brad Renfro's character be a populist hero if it were Frank Capra doing it. Billy Wilder or Preston Sturges might have made Kevin Bacon's character one of their acid studies in cynicism. As it is Telling Lies In America is a good film with an accurate depiction of the times it's set in. But it falls way short of a classic.Brad Renfro plays a 17 year old high school student, a refugee from the Hungarian Rebellion with his father Maximilian Schell who would desperately like to fit in. The father who was a doctor in Hungary now working some menial job while waiting his citizenship spends a ton of money to get Renfro into some private Catholic school.Still with all the handicaps of an immigrant, Renfro who's now deep in America's rock and roll culture hits on a plan to gain instant popularity. Some radio station with disc jockey Kevin Bacon is running a popularity contest, the high school hall of fame. If someone has friends write in postcards suggesting a person they get into this high school hall of fame. So what does Renfro do, but forge a bunch of postcards and he gets his entrée with Kevin Bacon who offers him a job as an assistant, basically a glorified go-for.Of course it's all one big scam because Kevin Bacon is hip deep in the world of payola where he accepts all kinds of favors in sealed envelopes from agents to play their artist's records on his show. What he needed was a kid naive enough not to question what's going on around him and just be grateful for the relatively large amounts of money he's earning with Bacon as opposed to Renfro's previous job in a poultry market.It was the Fifties and I well remember a lot of rock and roll disc jockeys losing their careers over this, the most famous being Alan Freed. Kevin Bacon who has made a good career in villainous character parts is one cynical creep in this film. Two generations before, Kirk Douglas would have gone to town on this role.Maximilian Schell should also be praised as the wise father who because of the generation gap has different ideas about the American dream than Renfro. But there's no mistaking the bond these two have for each other. Telling Lies In America has a lot of good elements and it's an interesting story. But it's short of a master director to make it a classic.

Bob-45 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?

bethe_k Yes, I live in Northeast Ohio, but that's not the only reason I truly enjoyed this movie. The daughter of an acquaintance, 'Giggly Girl' Angelique Osborne, had a tiny part and I originally watched to see her. Now every time Bravo plays this movie on IFC Fridays, the phone comes off the hook, the popcorn is popped and I get good and comfy. The sentiment portrayed here, although it's roughly 15 years before my time, pulls me right in. The struggles of wanting to feel important (or at least to fit in), where to draw the lines of loyalty and figuring out what makes any of us happy are timeless. It never occurs to me that I'm watching Kevin Bacon or Brad Renfro. They become their characters. (Kevin Bacon proves he has a range most people don't realize and Brad Renfro, although beautiful to look at, also has that un-namable quality that makes you feel you're watching a future legend. Let's pray he finds his way safely.) Just as you never think about the set or the camera during a genuinely good movie, all the components of Telling Lies in America flow beautifully.After reading some of the other reviews here, it seems some people can't be entertained with a good story and good acting. Some movies don't have to resort to the typical Hollywood recipe in order to leave a positive imprint in your mind. Too bad you have such a short attention span.