The Hoax (2007)

Right up there with Hitler's Diary as one of the biggest

frauds of the 20th century. The biggest would be the one we don't know about. Richard Gere does a pretty good job as Clifford Irving. He's a writer over his head in debt & desperate to write a best-seller. He hatches a scheme to write Howard Hughes biography, as told to him via conversations & phone calls. Why the reclusive billionaire would talk only through him is not exactly clear. Only his lawyer & best friend Richard Sussman played by Al Molina, knows & helps. He totally cons McGraw-Hill into publishing. They are dubious at first. But his research is complete & impeccable. He is so smooth & they are so greedy. They are portrayed as a bunch of stupid empty suits without an original thought. Of course, Irving was confident that Hughes would not appear to contradict him. By this time Hughes was a raging paranoid & not capable of rational thought. But he did have loyal minions. That also is part of this story. He almost succeeds. At the critical moment his best friend & ex-wife lose their nerve & crack. Irving does end up writing a best seller. But not one he thought he'd write. May 14, 2008

Con man extraordinaire

The Hoax, starring Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, and Marcia Gay Harden, is an interesting look at hubris and the art of a con.

Clifford Irving (Gere) is a writer. Problem is, he's having a tough time getting his books published. Bills are mounting, Clifford's pride is wounded, and he keeps getting the brush-off from his contact at McGraw-Hill. Desperate for a book idea that will sell, Clifford comes up with what he thinks is a brilliant plan - he'll tell his agent that he's received authorization to write the definitive autobiography of Howard Hughes from the reclusive billionaire himself. Hughes doesn't go out, right? He doesn't talk to anyone. He doesn't make personal phone calls, and a recent legal settlment means the eccentric man won't set foot in a courtroom to prosecute. No one will really know if the autobiography is truly authorized or not.

Clifford sells his idea to McGraw-Hill with little more than a few forged letters. Then, he begins concocting the hoax of a lifetime. He works with his trusted researcher, Dick Suskind (Molina), and his wife Edith (Harden) to produce a reasonable account of Hughes' life. He fakes letters from Hughes, aborted visits to the publishing house, the whole nine yards. When the book is complete, the publisher is thrilled with the result, and even interviewers who have actually spoken to Hughes himself agree that the manuscript is genuine.

Copies of the book are printed and are on the verge of being distributed. But when the billionaire decides to make a rare public statement, Clifford's carefully constructed hoax folds like a house of cards.

Perofrmances in this film were great. All three of the primary characters have wonderful moments. As Clifford takes on Hughes' persona, Gere does some great work as a writer who finds himself in his subject. Molina's tragic realization of a man who discovers he has been unfaithful is touching, and Harden's "chance to be clean" speech has some of the best lines written for a lover's quarrel that I've seen on film.

And the ultimate con? This movie, and the book is it derived from, are based on the true story of Clifford Irving's actual con of McGraw-Hill and the American public. Looks like Irving found a story that would sell after all . . . May 11, 2008

What's the REAL story?

I'd say only Clifford Irving knows for sure, but as you will be able to see from this film, Irving began to believe his own lies after awhile.

Fed up with the publishing business and fearing his career is over after his successful story of a Picasso forger in "Fake", Clifford Irving (Gere) concocts a grandiose scheme to scam McGraw Hill. He'll write Howard Hughes' biography. The bazillionaire is one of the most famous men in the world, he's a noted recluse, and there's no way Hughes can sue him. If he appears in any US Court, he'll be caught up in another lawsuit that will cost him 137M.

So, Irving his researcher buddy, Richard Suskind (Molina) off his current project. The problem with lying is, when you get a credulous bunch of editors hanging on your every word, you start telling lies. That's when Suskind tells the tale of Howard Hughes giving him an organic prune.

"The Hoax" is based on a true event. Irving actually served 17 months' time in jail for fraud.

The film's interesting and well-acted. What amazes me is how possible the story was with a little research and how well Irving (Gere) seemed to integrate Hughes personna into his own to perpetrate the fraud.

The soundtrack is especially good, featuring songs of the timeframe. Really takes you back to the day.

According to the Clifford Irving website (which I cannot link here due to Amazon restrictions) the hoax book entitled "Howard Hughes: My Story," by Clifford
Irving is available in a quality paperback
edition by John Blake Publishers.


May 8, 2008

When you start believing your own lies!

Lasse Hallstrom has put together a slick and tension producing romp in "The Hoax", fueled by a great Carter Burwell soundtrack that catches the pulse pounding of the film. Based on the actual events of Clifford Irving's attempt at fooling the publishing world into thinking that HE has the exclusive interview with the world's most eccentric recluse, billionaire Howard Hughes, Hallstrom spirals Richard Gere as Irving and an extremely comic and refreshingly fattened Alfred Molina as co-auther Dick Susskind, into a second to second, make-it-up-as-you-go, belly-tightener. Watching Gere actually "becoming" Hughes and then believing his own lies is classic fodder for any psychiatrist. The film never has a moment of down time, and leaves you pretty exhausted by the end. The editing keeps the pace of the screenplay, and is smart and tight in telling this story. Hallstrom ties in the world events (Nixon, Viet Nam, TWA scandal etc which sometimes confuses the main objective). "The Hoax" is a great look at con men at their best when they actually start to believe their own con! Now that's commitment AND delusional grandeur! April 29, 2008

for $6 (including postage), it's okay ...

... but not for the price of a movie ticket ($12 in Manhattan!), nor the full price sought for the DVD.

Compared to other excellent "little film" dramas (ZODIAC, THE LOOKOUT, BREAKING AND ENTERING, RENDITION, SHATTERED GLASS, VALLEY OF ELAH) and just about any exposee series on cable, HOAX is rightly infatuated with its subject matter but fails to invest the viewing experience with a necessary energetic sharpness.

According to the commentaries, perhaps they had too good a time on the set making the movie. Maybe a clue comes from the fact that its director also directed the ABBA movie! April 10, 2008

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