Big Fat Liar

Jason (Muniz) is one smart-arse 14-year-old with a talent for inventing stories to avoid trouble. But he's cried wolf too often for his parents to keep faith with him. They will not believe, for instance, that Jason's school essay has fallen into the hands of Hollywood producer Marty Wolf and been greenlighted for a blockbuster. Determined to prove them wrong, the lad runs off to LA with best friend Kaylee (Bynes), and sets about trapping Wolf. This works well enough as a kids' caper and a spoof of Hollywood manners, with Giamatti relishing the abject behaviour of the sleazy Wolf, who thinks 'the truth's overrated'. But the over-reliance on Kaylee's looks and the deployment of the 'guy and gal on the road' scenario - with its suggestion of romance - register somewhat uneasily, given the age of the film's target audience.