Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

A Little White Lie

R Released Mar 3, 2023 1h 40m Comedy TRAILER for List
34% Tomatometer 38 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Shriver (Michael Shannon), a down-on-his-luck handyman who has never read a book in his life, is mistaken for a famous writer that has been in hiding for over 20 years. With nothing to lose, he accepts an invitation to attend a college literary festival and finds himself surrounded by adoring fans and an English professor (Kate Hudson) who captures his heart. Shriver must do whatever it takes for his shot at love in this fish-out-of-water comedy.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

A Little White Lie

Critics Reviews

View All (38) Critics Reviews
Tim Cogshell FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) I kept thinking to myself "This is a stupid movie -- but it got me." Mar 15, 2023 Full Review Tomris Laffly RogerEbert.com The film's biggest con doesn't come from [its] imposter protagonist so much as the messy script and direction. Rated: 1/4 Mar 3, 2023 Full Review Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times When we talk about small, finely crafted, dialogue-driven gems with interesting characters and little or no CGI, it’s easy to say, “They don’t make ’em like that anymore,” but the good news is that’s not really accurate. Rated: 3/4 Mar 3, 2023 Full Review Anna McKibbin Paste Magazine The supporting cast lend the story heft where they can, but the scale of A Little White Lie is too small to contain the wild, wandering tangents of the plot. Rated: 4.0/10 Jun 2, 2023 Full Review Erik Childress Movie Madness Podcast This oddity keeps Michael Shannon in a daze while everything around him utterly fails to find satire in the literary world and instead substitutes both obvious and idiotic twists to find eventual clarity. Rated: 1/4 May 22, 2023 Full Review Frank Swietek One Guy's Opinion A flawed but curiously winning comedy-drama of mistaken identity...a small, wistful dramedy that invites chuckles rather than the big belly-laughs of so many raunchy campus farces. And it’s all the better for it. Rated: B Apr 4, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (71) audience reviews
Ace R I liked this film because it constantly had you wondering who the real Shriver was, is, or even exists! LOL I recommend seeing this movie. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/18/24 Full Review Bahad j In my opinion, the movie uses very good camera and audio visual equipment and the crew members and the filmmakers have played their roles very well. I really liked it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/06/24 Full Review Vander A Preposterously and pathetically horrible movie. What is the talented Michael Shannon doing in such a movie with a cast of would-be's and has-beens. It is painful to watch. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 05/03/24 Full Review Hank P The plot is a little simplistic and contrived, something like you'd find on Hallmark or Lifetime, but the acting and story telling, especially by Shannon made this a charming and very enjoyable investment in my evening. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/24 Full Review Victor O I saw this in Peyton List's filmography and well I was happy seeing trailers show off her body in a bikini. Though I had to admit, the story by itself sounded interesting, though why on earth was it being billed on video on demand was the question. Michael Shannon, M. Emmett Walsh, Don Johnson, and Kate Hudson, looked nice and too polished to be an indie, so I had to take a look. A school university is down on its luck as its faculty are looking to cut the fat, and none more prevalent than the fine arts book fair, but one of the teachers books a reclusive author to promote the fair. The invitation goes to an otherwise ordinary man mistaken for the author, not meaning to deceive anyone but just explain himself, the man is invited to be involved in everything from lectures and promotions to the keynote speaker. Things go from strange to ridiculous but all of it leads to an incredible conclusion. I saw this for Peyton List in a bikini and was more than happy with what I got. But all things considered, this was a nice story. Saban Films? Explains the polish but I figured this be good for a TV airing not a video on demand. There is some decent acting out of Michael Shannon, and all the attention he is getting this year is his return as Zod in The Flash. A decent watching. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/19/23 Full Review Ken H Way underrated movie - this is an excellent, introspective and unique story. I'm not sure what critics are looking for, but this was a really cute story, and possibly the only one I have ever seen that tackles imposter syndrome. Definitely the only one that tackles it from the inside out.... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
A Little White Lie

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Fool's Paradise 18% 38% Fool's Paradise TRAILER for Fool's Paradise Funny Pages 82% 51% Funny Pages TRAILER for Funny Pages The Out-Laws 21% 35% The Out-Laws The Beanie Bubble 47% 55% The Beanie Bubble TRAILER for The Beanie Bubble My Happy Ending 38% 42% My Happy Ending TRAILER for My Happy Ending Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Shriver (Michael Shannon), a down-on-his-luck handyman who has never read a book in his life, is mistaken for a famous writer that has been in hiding for over 20 years. With nothing to lose, he accepts an invitation to attend a college literary festival and finds himself surrounded by adoring fans and an English professor (Kate Hudson) who captures his heart. Shriver must do whatever it takes for his shot at love in this fish-out-of-water comedy.
Director
Michael Maren
Producer
Michael Reiser, Byron Wetzel, Lucas Jarach, Josh Kesselman, Jina Panebianco, Robert Ogden Barnum
Screenwriter
Michael Maren
Distributor
Saban Films
Production Co
CaliWood Pictures, Thruline Entertainment, Big Fan Films
Rating
R (Language)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 3, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 3, 2023
Runtime
1h 40m
Most Popular at Home Now