Telling Lies in America was written by noted smut auteur Joe
Eszterhas. But this is no Showgirls. It’s a nice, small
coming-of-age movie based loosely on Eszterhas’ own
experiences as a Hungarian immigrant teen making his way in
Cleveland in the early Sixties.
Telling Lies stars Brad Renfro as Karchy Jonas, whose principled
father (played by Maximillian Schell) sends him to a rich-boy
private school, where he is ostracized. To achieve the American
Dream, Karchy develops a knack for lying. He ends nearly
everything he says with “lots of times” – as in,
ever driven? had sex? lots of times. This skill leads him to a
job with Billy Magic (Kevin Bacon), a radio deejay who drives a
flashy car, wears snazzy clothes, and dates lots of women. Billy
and Karchy make a perfect match. Billy introduces Karchy to an
exciting lifestyle, and Karchy acts as a go-between for
Billy’s record-company payoffs. It’s only toward the
end that Karchy realizes that he’s in way over his head.
While the movie is a bit too long and Karchy’s relationship
with an older woman (Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal) seems off,
Telling Lies in America is a fine film. Renfro and Bacon both do good work. And, rare in an Eszterhas film, there is no nudity.
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