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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
The Missing Link Between The Aviator and All The President's Men, April 28, 2007
There is a core belief system in people like me that is greatly offended by industries that are supposed to noble and artistic, such as publishing, that turn into soulless money making machines. These are industries, we believe, where quality and passion should trump schlock such as "The Secret." So when I sat down to watch "The Hoax", a film in which an aspiring author takes the capitalistic publishing world for a ride, I was firmly in the corner of the deceitful one. For it is a beautiful thing to watch as Clifford Irving (Richard Gere, fugitive from the law) recognizes these people for what they really are (stuffed suits whose sole purpose is to sniff around manuscripts looking for commercialism), and then use their lust for cash against them. Obviously he is not out there making a point or taking a stand, he is there to cash in and get famous, but no matter. Greed begets greed, so if McGraw/Hill needs somebody to blame for the creation of Irving then they need look no further than the mirror.
Director Lasse Hallstrom finally turns out a winner here after leaving two sloppy messes all over the 2005 Oscar season ("Unfinished Life" and "Casanova"). Far breezier than his usual stiff exercises, "The Hoax" tells one of those amazing stories that we only believe because we know that it actually happened. Feeling mad with anger after having his fictional work rejected Irving comes up with the perfect concept for a best seller, a wholly different kind of fiction. He will make up interviews between himself and famous recluse Howard Hughes, and then sell it as a sort of autobiography. McGraw/Hill, eye on the box office, bites and the game is on. Irving pulled off some truly amazing stunts that led me to believe that him pulling this ruse off for so long was nothing short of a miracle. He is dishonest to the core, but the ways in which he fools the world are simply artful. But as time ticks by Irving learns that cheating on his wife is one thing, faking his way into a fortune another, and impeaching the President a whole different Solar System. Since the Hollywood Code says so Irving is brought down in the end, and yes I know that is how it really happened, just to say that films about real life renegades who get away with murder are few and far between. Money got the best of him and no matter how you cut it depositing Hughes' checks into a Swiss bank account was not a smooth move.
The acting is also quite impressive here, especially from the two main stars. Gere plays Irving as Gere only minus Father Time, and still manages to navigate his way through this challenging role. Alfred Molina is also very believable as his sidekick who loyally helps him through his stickiest moments despite remaining a doormat throughout. In the end I had no ill will towards Irving. If he wants to make his fame and fortune on the back of Howard Hughes why would I care? Hughes had more than enough of both and didn't seem too enamored with either. Furthermore, late in the film when another character decides to launch her career off of Irving's back, and subsequently sink his ship, I didn't feel bad for him either. [..]
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73 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
Ramifications of a Hoax, October 18, 2007
Clifford Irving (Fake, Trial, Final Argument, The Spring) became a sort of national hero when he contrived to publish 'The Autobiography of Howard Hughes', a 400 page phony but well researched book that, while it was never published, did cause enough of a stir among the New York publishing cognoscenti and those surrounding the then President Richard Nixon that it now is recognized as a HOAX of writing that triggered the final discovery of the Watergate Scandal and the subsequent dethroning of Nixon. Those facts alone make this sometimes rather tepid film interesting enough to sit through. Screenwriter William Wheeler has adapted Irving's book into a study of the 1970s and Lasse Hallström gives it just the right balance between soft crime and strange comedy to keep it afloat.
Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) is down on his literary luck, searching for the right kind of story that will set is publisher Andrea Tate (Hope Davis) on fire. Irving wife Edith (Marcia Gay Harden) is an active painter and doesn't give Irving the support he gets from his pal Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina), but on the messy floor of Edith's studio is a rag magazine with a cover picture of the mysterious Howard Hughes and bingo! up comes the idea for an 'autobiography' of the wizard as confided to Irving and researched by Suskind. That is really the plot then, how these two men squirm around lies and good luck to forge papers and gain the favor of the publishers. Of course it all caves in, but in the publicity about the book Nixon's secrets are revealed and the rest is history.
Gere, Molina, Harden, Davis, Stanley Tucci, Julie Delphy and Eli Wallach add immeasurably to the success of the film. No, it is not a heavy story, but the scandalous years of the 1970s are treated realistically and provide a lot of memories, both good and bad, about how we all changed in that post Vietnam time. Worth watching for that! Grady Harp, October 07
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4 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Hmm..., August 18, 2007
I didn't enjoy "The Hoax".
It's odd that I didn't enjoy it - it's got an excellent pedigree (a great director, a mostly tried-and-trusted cast roster and a really fascinating true story as its raison d'etre), but for me, it just doesn't come together at any time to make a whole and likeable movie.
Down-on-his-luck writer Clifford Irving (Gere), sick of his work not being published, decides to invent a biography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, and, in the wave of publicity and anticipation surrounding the book's publication, involves his friends and loved ones in a web of lies that could ultimately destroy them all.
Alfred Molina and Marcia Gay Harden are, in this reviewer's opinion, hopelessly underused in films, so it's great to see these two highly talented actors turn in very sensitive and watchable performances - in particular, Gay Harden's turn as Irving's long-suffering partner is outstanding - but in the central role, Richard Gere's performance cannot match his support. He comes across as sort-of desperate, kinda hopeless, maybe-a-little-bit unfaithful, somewhat untrustworthy - Gere seems to be torn between playing Irving as a basicaly decent guy backed into a corner by debt and temptation, or as a Machiavellian no-talent hack with an eye for manipulation. Neither chord is really struck, however, and it's in this confusion of personality that Gere's Irving fails to work as the central column around which this otherwise fine drama is built. There's a lack of resolution about the character of Clifford Irving that leaves the viewer feeling, at best, confused, and at worst, irritated. By the movie's end, we wonder if Irving really is hallucinating, has he finally succumbed to his own deceptions, or whether we care enough about him to really want to know.
Hallström's direction is assured and confident, and there are several scenes (Irving's fire escape shenanigans or his "abduction" towards the movie's end) where Hallström's talent behind a camera shines - the visuals, at least, keep us satisfied for these sections - and overall, this is, from a technical point of view, a good movie. The screenplay is above average, too - it's a tight, polished script that doesn't feel like it's rushing us through a complex and tense storyline. Sadly, neither of these elements can overcome the overall sense of banality that hangs about "The Hoax".
It's a shame - William Wheeler's fine script, a terribly interesting story, some great direction by Lasse Hallström and two excellent supporting performances (Molina's Sancho Panza to Gere's Don Quixote is excellent, believable and sympathetic) - spoiled by a very flat central performance from Gere. And in a movie of this length, where 90% of the action features Gere's character front-and-centre, these 115 minutes very quickly start to feel like two hours too many. Given a different choice of actor for the role of Irving, with every other element of the movie kept the same, "The Hoax" could have been a fantastic bit of cinema. As is, it's not even particularly memorable.
Not recommended.
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