The Good Lie Review

The marketing of the Good Lie creeps me out.  A story of the Lost Boys of Sudan has Reese Witherspoon's air brushed photo on the cover.  The trailer above is a great example of this, it has 90% of her dialog from the entire movie.  That makes up most of the trailer, it is a minor part of the movie.

If you get past the Hollywood wrapper you get understated look at strangers in a strange land that has sublime moments of just how strange America is.  This isn't a polished movie, the plot threads don't come together perfectly, and we don't see the resolution of everyone's story.  But a polished RomCom approach wouldn't have fit this story, though from the trailer you know someone really wanted it to be a RomCom.

The heart and soul of The Good Lie are the Lost Boys played by actual Lost Boys.  Their authenticity  overcomes the Hollywood trapping that want to undermine this movie.  Despite my deep reservations about so much of the movie, the honesty and charm of the three main characters won me over.  I really enjoyed the The Good Lie.

The Good Lie could have been, maybe should have been a darker more complex movie, but then I doubt the story would have found the audience it has.  The Lost Boys of Sudan is a story that deserves an audience and The Good Lie is a safe feel good introduction.

Full disclosure: I was given a copy of the Blue Ray/DVD combo to review.  I was also given a copy to give away.  The Good Lie comes out on Blue Ray/DVD Today [Dec 23]

- Peace