Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Before Noah Hawley became the master of prestige TV, bringing Fargo and Legion to life on FX and working on Bones for many seasons before that, he wrote the screenplay for the 2006 film Lies & Alibis. Currently streaming on Prime Video, is it worth checking out if you’re a fan of Hawley’s work? In short, yes.
Now, please take this moment to manage your expectations. After he’s dazzled us with his storytelling and character relationships in recent TV adventures, it will be hard for Lies & Alibis to truly deliver on the same level. But what is evident in this film is the beginning of a brilliant career. The comedy is about a man that runs an alibi service to cover the asses of people that are uncovering their asses in the company of people that are not their spouses. Of course, this type of business is just ripe for something to go wrong, and it inevitably does. Steve Coogan stars (full disclosure: I’ll watch pretty much anything he’s in) as Ray Elliot, and is supported by a cast that includes Rebecca Romijn, proving she should be doing way more acting these days, James Marsden at perhaps his wackiest, and Henry Rollins, James Brolin, and Sam Elliot rounding out the dudes in the film. There are also fun moments from Jerry O’Connell, Selma Blair, Debi Mazar, Jaime King, and John Leguizamo, so the cast is nothing to sneeze at.
True to form, Hawley has planted easter eggs all throughout the movie: details you think you can throw away you must cling to tightly. It’s a clever film that is filled with just the right amount of action, comedy, sexiness and sneakiness, all of Hawley’s trademarks at this point in his career. If you’ve never heard of Lies & Alibis before now, well, you’re not alone and there’s a reason for that. If you want a fun little escape, this is a great route to take, but if you’re looking for something to recommend to everyone on all your social media platforms, this might not quite be that movie. It’s a stronger first screenplay than most can brag, for sure, and shows all the signs of a talented filmmaker to come. In other words, Hawley was capable, but just not quite there yet. But if you’re missing Legion something mighty and can’t comprehend that we don’t know if/when more Fargo could be on the way, let Lies & Alibis serve as decent distraction.
