Ray Elliot (Steve Coogan) runs an agency that provides alibis for cheating spouses. Mr. Hatch (James Brolin) asks Ray to
personally set up his son, Wendell (James Marsden), as a client. Ray ends up coverings up the death of the girl that Wendell
accidentally kills during a weekend tryst. It leaves him open to blackmailed by a Mormon hit man (Sam Elliott) with three
wives (one being Selma Blair) thinking he can use Ray's agency to provide alibis for the hit man. Quickly Ray must think up
a plan with his new hire, Lola (Rebecca Romijn) to stay ahead of everyone including a hit man who wants Ray's former business
partner dead and a police detective (Debi Mazar) who is investigating the disappearance of the girl that Wendell killed.
LIES & ALIBIS is a disposable and forgettable film. The last half hour is fun, but the rest of the film feels like
a skeleton with no muscle underneath to define it. LIES & ALIBIS has a great cast of actors, but a little character development
and a couple of subplots dealing with Ray's agency could have helped. I wanted to believe in the unsaid romance developing
between ray and Lola, but Steven and Rebecca don't have a enough material to make it feel alive. The movie is just a little
too plot heavy and a few more minutes with the above suggestions could have made LIES & ALIBIS a cult gem.
VIDEO: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)/ 1.33:1 (Full Frame)
You can choose between the widescreen version of a Pan and Scan one. Please skip the full Frame one.
AUDIO: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, French
Dialogue is OK, but I wasn't enthralled by the sound mix.
PREVIEWS: THE COVENANT, SHOTTAS, HARD LUCK, DREAMLACK, AN EVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH 2, SNATCH. Too bad they couldn't include
the trailer for LIES & ALIBIS which is better than the movie. SPHE used to include the trailer of the movie on the same
disc, but sadly they don't anymore. It could have made up for no extras like an audio commentary, deleted scenes, or a featurette.
FINAL ANALYSIS: LIES & ALIBIS has lots of great actors, but it is only worth a rental due to having a heavy plot with
not enough character development.
this review is (c)12-13-2006 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission (except for excerpts and a link
to the review). Look for additional content at http://enterlinemedia.livejournal.com and send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
