If you've seen any of the "E-True Hollywood Stories" or Court TV specials on child acting stars, you're aware of the startling epidemic afflicting stars who just couldn't stay cute.
As I watched the latest kiddy-comedy film, "Big Fat Liar," I couldn't help but wonder, were the cameos by former comic relief sitcom kids Urkel and Screech a mere passing the torch of childhood stardom, or did they foreshadow the inevitable collapse of Frankie Muniz?
Dustin Diamond - also known as Screech - attempted to shake his "Saved By the Bell" character by returning as Screech in "Saved By the Bell: The College Years" and later diving into the challenging role of Screech with the twist of being Mr. Belding's assistant in "Saved By the Bell: The New Class."
Muniz - known mainly from "Malcolm in the Middle" - stars with Nickelodeon talent Amanda Bynes in "Liar." Muniz plays Jason Shepherd, a kid who writes a story for a creative writing assignment that's stolen by villainous Marty Wolf, an evil Hollywood producer, played by Paul Giamatti. Bynes plays Kaylee, Shepherd's best friend and partner in crime - spitting out more voices than Hank Azaria. The two friends take off, pranking their way through Hollywood. With the moral of "truth isn't overrated," Muniz's character desperately tries to win back his father's trust by proving that he did in fact do his English assignment.
Further, I couldn't help noticing the film's corporate sponsorship. When leaving the theater I had a mysterious thirst for Coca-Cola and Starbucks products. It's doubtful that Universal Pictures decided to include these logos for realism. They're not just in the background, there's a whole scene devoted to Muniz being Coked-up - literally. Sitting in a pile of empty Coke cans, Muniz's acting shines as he mimics the jittering of a crack baby who recently spent time with the cast of "Saturday Night Live."
Art should not have the stamp of corporate sponsorship. Yes, I just referred to "Big Fat Liar" as art, but I'm trying to make a point. "Big Fat Liar" is not the only movie in the theaters resorting to this, thus falling in line with Sean Penn in "I am Sam" as he goes from working at Starbucks to Pizza Hut with a disturbing amount of shots at Penn aligning products on a shelf.
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The lines between referencing movies and completely ripping them off are blurred in "Big Fat Liar." I doubt most of the target audience of this film will get the trite "Psycho" shower scene reference or - God forbid - they'll think of Gus Van Sant's remake with Vince Vaughn's interpretation of Norman 'Master' Bates. At least that was a reference.
With "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" bits and the ending of "Pee-Wee Herman's Big Adventure," the movie lacked freshness. To close on a fair note, some jokes really killed with the younger audience, especially those that mentioned the word "dookie," or included the quipping of an elderly woman's incompetence.
