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The Hoax

Play trailer Poster for The Hoax R Released Apr 13, 2007 1h 55m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
85% Tomatometer 151 Reviews 58% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In the early 1970s, author Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), with accomplice Richard Suskind (Alfred Molina), attempts to pull off one of the greatest media scams of the century. He writes a fake biography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, claiming that Hughes authorized it, and sells the book to publishing giant McGraw-Hill.
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The Hoax

The Hoax

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Critics Consensus

The Hoax is an enormously appealing film, thanks to the uniformly excellent performances and Lasse Hallström's zippy direction.

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Critics Reviews

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Jack Mathews New York Daily News It's hard to get a fix on what Hallstrom had in mind. Rated: 2.5/4 Dec 4, 2007 Full Review Claudia Puig USA Today Highly entertaining. Rated: 3.5/4 Sep 1, 2007 Full Review Lou Lumenick New York Post I've never been a fan of Richard Gere, but he gives the performance of his career as Clifford Irving. Rated: 3/4 Aug 22, 2007 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Features Richard Gere and Alfred Molina in their best performances in years. Rated: 7/10 Nov 24, 2020 Full Review Micheal Compton Bowling Green Daily News The Hoax gets off to a sluggish start, but director Lasse Hallström does a good job of keeping the film interesting enough that the audience feels rewarded by the time it's over. Rated: B Nov 21, 2019 Full Review Debbie Lynn Elias Behind The Lens From characters to costuming to consummate storytelling, set design and to pitch perfect soundtrack by Craig Burwell, The Hoax is the real deal. Nov 13, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Divertente ed incredibile storia vera che cerca di raccontare nel modo più completo e dinamico possibile un tentativo di truffa assurdo quanto audace. Richard Gere e Alfred Molina formano una coppia diversa e completa, due grandi attori che interpretano splendidamente i due protagonisti. La sceneggiatura è piena di eventi ed attenta ai dettagli, racconta in maniera fredda ed imparziale gli eventi, costruendo i personaggi in modo tale da permettere allo spettatore di non schierarsi da nessun lato; si osservano gli scatti d'ira immotivati e le bugie raccontate da Gere che sembra avere un vetro a separarlo da ogni altro essere umano. Più commedia che dramma epico, piacevole ma non indimenticabile. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review AquaQuick66 A The Hoax is an underrated little gem of a film that I highly recommend to everyone! A- Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/27/22 Full Review steve d It is hard to pull for the character but Richard Gere is great. The weird truth to the story make it really interesting. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member A little long, edged on boring in places but also really clever and genuinely funny. Good movie Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member I wasn't too enthusiastic about the Host. This film presents the anatomy of an audacious con artist and illustrates how the sin eventually catches up with the sinner. Due to an uneven tone, various unresolved plot threads, and a sense that a few too many liberties are being taken with the facts of the case, The Hoax falls a notch below those other films. It is neither as entertaining nor as involving, and the main character isn't as complex or sympathetic. The tone and pacing of The Hoax are uneven. Although the story is not uninteresting, experiencing it via this movie is like going on a car ride across a bumpy road. The Hoax rushes through parts of the story then slows down to focus on minutia. The most interesting bits of the movie involve the way in which writing about Hughes becomes an obsessive act for Irving. Gradually, even though he has never met the billionaire, he begins to imagine that he understands him. An alright diversion at best. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member The Hoax is nothing like you'd expect. Sort of like the very definition of the title. Hey! There's your first clue. They are getting things right. The Hoax Lasse Hallstrom, the director, is an optimistic fellow. He has to be. Or so he projects himself as. Armed with a bizarre true story and even ridiculously funny script. The film easily has ten moments, steps in each act of the film that drops your jaw in the air. Now, that is a good script. But I think what Lasse does here is something much smarter and efficient. You'd think that after a while, the shock therapy would grow weary. But where there were supposed to be "mehs" there is perpetually an awe. And his first way in, is through the pace. It moves with a ferocious speed, even at times neglecting characters and their priorities. Lucky for them, they have a great cast and equally great performances in their side, especially Alfred Molina as the "co-author". There is another major improvement in the film and it is how meticulous it is. You'd think that a film like such, of such genre, that displays time passing by rapidly will rely upon montage sequences and a train of various scenarios whooshing in front of us. And instead we get proper hand picked set pieces driving carelessly in this safe street. Which makes me think about the genre, now. "The comedy" genre of the film is actually a major contributor in the dramatic elements. We get the essence of sketchy scenes. Now, where we draw lines in comic films are completely different then where we would draw in dramatic ones. Lasse pushes back and forth between these genres to make the most absurd plot swallow with delight in our face and the most mundane requirement feel like responsibility. That is what it all comes to, responsibility. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Hoax

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the early 1970s, author Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), with accomplice Richard Suskind (Alfred Molina), attempts to pull off one of the greatest media scams of the century. He writes a fake biography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, claiming that Hughes authorized it, and sells the book to publishing giant McGraw-Hill.
Director
Lasse Hallström
Producer
Mark Gordon, Betsy Beers, Bob Yari, Leslie Holleran, Joshua D. Maurer
Screenwriter
William Wheeler
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Stratus Films
Rating
R (Language)
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 13, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 12, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.1M
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
SDDS, DTS
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