As Good As It Gets

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The acting in this movie is really good.

In 'The Alibi' Steve Coogan plays a 'reformed' con man who now runs a 'legitimate' business providing alibis for people when they're cheating on their partners. However, he comes unstuck when an assignment goes wrong and he's forced to cover up for a murder.Therefore he's forced into many dangerous liaisons with gangsters, street hoods and cops if he's to get out of this (a) alive and (b) stay out of jail.The film has all the makings of a cheeky guy Ritchie Lock Stock affair, but doesn't quite pull it off - not to say it doesn't have a go.I love Steve Coogan just as much as the next Partridge fan, however, in The Alibi, Coogan has to play a suave, quick-thinking tough guy - a far cry from a DJ from Norwich. This is where it stumbles a bit. The Alibi isn't funny enough to be a comedy, dramatic enough to be a drama or action-packed enough to be an action flick. It sort of borrows from all genres and hopes the end result will be okay.And it is... okay. It's not the greatest film of its kind, but it's definitely not the worst. All the pieces fit together at the end and if you can see Steve Coogan out of a knitted jumper and slugging it out with street punks in a dingy back-street American bar, then you're half way to finding some enjoyment in it.

A fun movie with several strange twists. Essentially, "Ray Elliott" (Steve Coogan) owns a small company which helps people set up alibis in order to continue extramarital affairs. For example, if a person who is having an affair is supposed to be in a business meeting, then all calls will be rerouted to one of Ray Elliotts assistants who will field the call and cover for the client. Naturally, this is all done for a hefty price. Unfortunately, things go wrong when a new client accidentally kills his mistress. Not only is Ray Elliott left to try to clean up the mess but he soon finds that he has a contract out on his head as well. Likewise, his former partner also has a contract out on his head and people are swarming all over the place looking for him too. At any rate, Steve Coogan performed in an outstanding manner. Likewise, Rebecca Romijn looked awesome as Ray Elliott's new employee "Lola". And while this film has some mature themes it really doesn't go overboard or push the envelope. In short, this is a good comedy which most people will probably get a kick out of.

So states the risk management owner of a service that creates 'cover lies' for adulterous affairs. And up to a point that statement makes Ray Elliott (Steve Coogan) seem like an honest if distorted service provider, covering the tracks with high technology so that cheating husbands can have affairs without the danger of their wives' discovery.Smartly written by Noah Hawley and directed with style by Matt Checkowski and Kurt Mattila, LIES & ALIBIS delivers a new twist to suspense films laced with comedy yet filled with tension, murder, and all manner of underground derring-do. Ray Elliott is a smooth talker who manages to discreetly provide protection for business men who cheat on their wives using photographers to set up situations, falsifying credit cards and names and hotel room reservations, staging gifts for suspicious wives to stave off their concerns, etc. All proceeds well until Ray's primary client Robert Hatch (James Brolin) hires Ray to cover his son Wendell's (James Marsden) Santa Barbara bed and breakfast, pre-wedding escapade with a S&M girlfriend of one Hannibal (John Leguizamo) - a spree that carries out a bit too far in that the girl is dead by Wendell's inadvertent orders during the 'game'. Sam takes on the voluptuous Lola (Rebecca Romijn) as his new assistant and discovers she is as brainy as she is beautiful. He employs her to help his cover of the murder (Ray had switched IDs with Wendell in a planned alibi cover for the fling), breaking his own rules, and Lola ends up saving the day through a manner of crosses and double crosses that fling off the screen so fast that it takes powerful concentration to keep the story progress straight - just the way coordinated crime behaves! The manner in which this spree takes place involves a large cast including Jon Polito, Deborah Kara Unger, Selma Blair, Sam Elliott and a fine crew of bit players. Steve Coogan and Rebecca Romijn make the whole caper tick like a time bomb, giving the film elegance and just the right balance of noir and romance. The rapid-fire cinematography is by Enrique Chediak and the always dependable Alexandre Desplat provides the musical score (with a heavy nod to Offenbach's Barcarolle from 'Tales of Hoffman'). For an evening of fast-paced intrigue, romance, tension, and creative writing and acting, LIES & ALIBIS is a sure bet. Grady Harp

I watched it on recently arrived DVD last evening. Didn't see that it played in Hungarian movie theatres at all. And I think that it is perfectly clear why it not gone in theatres. Plot is pretty good, what is not often case in last 10-20 or more years. Realization: cast: Steve Coogan maybe can act well, but his look is simple not what will pull masses in theatres, to say it nice. James Brolin was never extra actor, and here is simple pathetic. Pace: it is very hard to follow what happening - they talk too fast, scenes are too short and much people is involved in all. It stays especially for last 20 minutes - the 'hotel jeopardy' . 10-15 minutes more could solve it. It had potential to bee real good comedy/thriller. I would give it 7 because of cute Rebecca Romijn, but hmmm. , why so little role for Deborah K. Unger? - 6/10 .