Why Would I Lie?

Why Would I Lie?
Directed by Larry Peerce
Produced by Pancho Kohner
Shelly Abend
Stuart Wallach
Rich Irvine
James L. Stewart
Written by Peter Stone
Hollis Hodges (novel)
Starring Treat Williams
Lisa Eichhorn
Gabriel Swann
Susan Heldfond
Anne Byrne Hoffman
Valerie Curtin
Jocelyn Brando
Nicolas Coster
Music by Charles Fox
Cinematography Gerald Hirschfeld
Edited by John C. Howard
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
  • August 10, 1980 (1980-08-10)
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1,175,855

Why Would I Lie? is a 1980 American comedy/drama film about a compulsive liar named Cletus (Treat Williams). The film, which was directed by Larry Peerce and shot in Spokane, Washington, is based on the novel The Fabricator by Hollis Hodges.

Plot

Cletus, a compulsive liar, is employed as a social worker. He tries to find a home for a young boy named Jorge and, in so doing, falls in love with Jorge's social worker.

Cast

Reception

Janet Maslin of the New York Times was not impressed: "It takes about three-quarters of an hour to figure out where Why Would I Lie? is going, and by that time it's clear the movie won't get there. ...First seen on his psychiatrist's couch, where he sports an antique coal miner's helmet, Cletus appears to be a cute, troubled guy in the Morgan! mold. It never becomes clear quite what he is, though. And before the audience even has time to get used to him, he has become involved in a convoluted plot that probably worked better on the page than it does on the screen. ...As directed by Larry Peerce, Why Would I Lie? isn't often funny, especially since Cletus's tall tales generally have a macabre ring. ...Mr. Williams can be charming, but he has none of the whimsical nature that might make Cletus's exploits believable."[1]

Awards

References

  1. Janet Maslin, "'Why Would I Lie': A Comedy" Oct. 10, 1980 http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9803E6D71238F933A25753C1A966948260

External links


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