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		List Price: $19.99		Label: Miramax Salesrank: 16582 Released: October 16, 2007
		Our Price: $0.96
		Used Price: $0.77
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 16-OCT-2007
Media Type: DVD

Description of The Hoax:
The Hoax is a happy surprise. Surprise because, for once, having a film's release date bumped back half a year didn't mean it's a dog. Happy because Lasse Hallström's dancing-on-eggshells comedy about a notorious literary scandal of the 1970s is bounteously entertaining, with more solid laughs and certainly slyer wit than, say, the latest Will Ferrell romp.

The subject is the world-shaking con an unsuccessful writer named Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) ran on some supposedly sharp cookies in the highest echelons of Manhattan publishing. Irving persuaded McGraw-Hill and Life magazine that ultra-reclusive tycoon Howard Hughes had selected him to transcribe his memoirs. It's pure balderdash, a desperate improvisation by a glib-talker who's perennially one jump ahead of the repo men. But the epic audacity of Irving's scam, the quicksilver way he weaves imaginary and accidental real-life details into beguiling patterns, and the legendary self-isolation of his supposed subject all conspire to keep the fiction afloat ... for a while.

This story isn't new to cinema, though few reviewers seem aware of that. In 1973 Orson Welles told it as part of F for Fake, a kaleidoscopic meditation on art, forgery, and the slipperiness of media, in which the real-life Irving was a semi-witting participant. But there's no need to beat up on The Hoax for being inferior to that postmodern masterpiece. Hallström and a deft cast do a killer job on the skyscraper corporate world where there are always more people in the room than there are useful purposes for them to serve (see especially Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, and Zjelko Ivanek); Marcia Gay Harden summons up a daft Viking serenity as spouse Edith Irving, a.k.a. "Helga R. Hughes"; and Alfred Molina rates a supporting Oscar nod for his balletic suspension between bemusement and panic attack as Dick Suskind, Irving's researcher accomplice and conscience-in-default. As for the con artist in chief, Richard Gere dials back the narcissism of previous performances to limn a schmuck just suave enough to seduce even himself. --Richard T. Jameson

The Hoax Reviews:
"Oh, what a tangled web..."
2008-09-22 - In the early 1970's, a struggling novelist by the name of Clifford Irving came up with a humdinger of a way to sell his next book: he duped his publishers and the world-at-large into believing that Howard Hughes had personally authorized him to pen the reclusive billionaire`s much sought-after autobiography. Through elaborate trickery and some shrewd undercover work, Irving managed to bamboozle a whole cadre of literary agents and publishers into thinking that both he and the story he was telling were on the up-and-up. In fact, the only people who knew what was really going on were his wife, his mistress and his best friend and fellow author, Richard Suskind, who was roped into helping Irving pull off his mind-boggling ruse.

"The Hoax" joins such recent films as "Catch Me If You Can" and "Color Me Kubrick" in its portrayal of a true-life figure who weaves an ever more tangled web of lies and deceit to achieve fame, fortune or, at the very least, a little boost for his own deflated ego. For there's something about the human psyche that allows us to believe we can get away with fooling all of the people all of the time and not get caught in the end. Isn't that the thinking that goes into virtually every crime that's committed - this sense that we can game the system and the mindless dolts who operate within it without ourselves becoming exposed in the process? Yet, paradoxically, there is also the adrenalin-rush created by the suspicion ever lurking in the recesses of our minds that we won't be able to pull it off in the end. Much of the fun of "The Hoax" lies in watching as these two concomitant emotions do battle on the field of Irving's conscience - his intoxication with himself growing the longer he is able to pull off his scam without getting caught, and his flights of panic becoming ever more pronounced as the scheme begins to gradually unravel around him.

As Irving, Richard Gere, who has rarely been better on screen, captures this manic energy to a tee, his sense of personal conquest reflected in the barest twinkle in his eyes. Writer William Wheeler and director Lasse Hallstrom keep the tone light and fast-paced for the most part so as to avoid turning the material into a heavy-handed ethical statement about the cost of dishonesty and lying, though the last half hour cuts deep as a cautionary tale for all would-be frauds and phonies out there who might be planning a similar stunt. The movie is particularly hilarious in the scenes involving Suskind, the friend who can't resist the lure of untold riches but who clearly lacks the nerves of iron one requires for a life of crime. Alfred Molina, with his nervous tics, deer-in-the-headlights expression and beads of sweat constantly pouring down his forehead, is a joy to behold in every scene he's in. Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci and Eli Wallach in a delightful cameo appearance round out the excellent cast.

By the end of the movie, the filmmakers have done a pretty effective job blurring the lines between what really happened and what would appear to be the elaborate paranoid delusions of a man who has lied so much that he can no longer differentiate fact from fantasy. In the final analysis, then, "The Hoax" is a morality tale about the perils of dishonesty and deception, as evidenced by the fact that Clifford's book and its influence on Nixon helped to usher in the Watergate era (the little-known connection between the billionaire and the president is just one of the many stunning revelations to be found in this film). It's a legacy that Irving and, by extension, the rest of us have had to live with for close to forty years now.

Great movie on a Hoax of epic proportions
2008-09-21 - This movie really held my attention. Richard Gere was perfect. I was astonished that Clifford Irving seemingly didn't really care that he was creating lies on top of lies. Well, yeah he cared enough to continue the deception so that he, his wife Edith (Marcia Gay Harden) and his cohort Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina) were always one step ahead of being uncovered (almost). His obsession with "The Hoax" was so powerful, he began to believe he was actually meeting Howard Hughes.

Particularly entertaining were the scenes when Irving took on the persona of Howard Hughes ( by listening to tape recordings of him) in attempts to actually "feel" the inner sanctum of the Hughes psyche. Also the perceived reality (dreams) that he was kidnapped by the CIA to answer to Hughes about the whole deception.

I really enjoyed this movie and felt there were no flat spots in it; due in part, to Irving's constant juggling of lies between the publishers and everyone else suspicious of his and Suskind's dealings. And the persistent paranoia of Dick Suskind (in which Irving blew off, most of the time) that ended up permeating the mind of Irving himself, in the end.

Right up there with Hitler's Diary as one of the biggest
2008-05-14 - 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.

Con man extraordinaire
2008-05-11 - 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 . . .

What's the REAL story?
2008-05-08 - 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.