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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Monogamy, infidelity, and murder all make for a great little caper film. , 19 Dec 2006
With a great script and a pacing that just flies along, the slick and stylish Lies & Alibis is a smart and likeable semi-noir film that owes much of its success to the great ensemble cast. In a totally unique premise, Britain's Steve Coogan stars as Ray Elliot who operates a firm that ostensibly deals in risk management, but in actual fact, offers airtight alibis for clients cheating on their spouses.
As the story begins, Ray is interviewing the perceptive Lola (the stunning Rebecca Romijn) for a new position as his assistant. Meanwhile, James Brolin, playing an indefatigably philandering tycoon, Ray's best client, has just asked Ray to cover for his spoiled, petulant son, Wendell (James Marsden), who's planning a hot fling with Heather (Jaime King) in Santa Barbara before he settles down to marriage.
Heather, however, is so deep into kinky sex that Wendell inadvertently ends up strangling her, which puts Ray into a spot of trouble, as his company doesn't provide alibis for serious crime. The entrance of the monumental Sam Elliott as a pro killer known as "The Mormon" complicates matters all the more, as does the appearance of Heather's boyfriend played by John Leguizamo who is intent on revenge once he finds out that Wendell killed her.
While trying to figure out how to clear his name, Ray also has to fend off one of the Morman's unfaithful wives (Selma Blair), the assassin's key henchman (Henry Rollins) and a police detective (Debi Mazar), among others. It all gets very complicated and convoluted, especially in the final act when all the parties descend on a swank Westside Hotel, intent to double-cross each other.
Of course, there's the obligatory blackmail and murderous threats, but Ray seems to take it all in his stride as he pits each character against one another using the talents of hotel receptionist (Deborah Kara Unger) in a finale comes across like an edge of your seat thriller. The cast is uniformly fine, with Coogan giving a great performance as the enigmatic Ray and really holding his own. He's a cynical and hard-bitten man but he also holds a flicker of hope that just maybe he will find true love, perhaps even with Lola.
Lies and Alibis has obviously been made on a limited budget, but this doesn't seem to hamper co-directors Matt Checkowski & Kurt Mattila who seem to be able to make the most of the Los Angeles locales - one scene is even filmed here in Silver Lake - and they keep the action moving briskly along, and also show some real flair during the final third when about eighteen different plotlines must come together for the grand finale where Ray, once and for all, proves that he's the better man. Mike Leonard December 06.
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