Why Would I Lie?

Cletus Hayworth (Treat Williams) is a compulsive liar. As a social worker, he has to find a foster home for Jeorge (Gabriel Macht). He discovers that the boy had been taken away from his real mother under questionable circumstances. He goes searching for the birth mother.

This isn't actually funny. I think it's supposed to be funny. I wonder if a comedian could make Cletus' lying something funny. Treat Williams is not a comedian. More than anything, he's playing it as a mental illness. He's a dramatic actor and this becomes a darker character study. It struggles to get there and it can't get the comedy. It's stuck. On a side note, it is odd to see Gabriel Macht as a kid. He's unrecognizable. He actually has the only funny moment. This could have worked if Cletus and the kid become the constant pair on a road trip.

From the first time I saw the movie on HBO I had to find out about this new actor on the scene,Treat Williams. Reading every video guide for the past 10 years and nowhere was this movie listed. Mr. Williams did a wonderful job with the story and made you almost believe that lying wasn't such a bad thing after all. A great romance movie for a rainy afternoon but just our luck it isn't available. Too bad VHS and DVD movies weren't sold back in 1980. A bundle could have been made from Treat fans alone and just think of the royalties. Is there some reason this movie wasn't released to network television after it's run on HBO? Not even as a rental and I recall asking the guy at Blockbuster to check for all Treat Williams movies and this one was never listed as one of his credits.

This is a really well done movie that advances gradually toward a really "edge of your seat" ending. One reason why the ending is so exciting is that the characters have been carefully developed so that you care about them at the end. Add to that the superb performances of a thoughtful Lisa Eichhorn, a character who is maturing played by Treat Williams, and a wonderful child portrayal, and you have a movie that should sell on DVD. I've enjoyed watching Lisa Eichhorn every time I see her in a film. She doesn't give away her character in the first scene of the movie, but holds back some of it, making you watch closely to discover the type of person underneath the character's cautious facade. Most really good "romantic comedies" require characters that develop gradually. Otherwise they'd just be a comedy made of nothing but slapstick. I'd buy a copy of this movie if it was available!

Treat Williams plays a guy who gets hit in the head with a rock during a protest and develops this urge to make things more interesting in life. When anyone thinks his story is a bit too unusual, he says "Why would I lie about a thing like that?" As I remember, a girl (Lisa Eichorn) and her son enter his life and his lies are believed and cause confusion and problems for others. After almost losing those who have become important in his life, he finally learns his lesson.

I had this movie on tape and loaned it to someone and, of course, never got it back. No big deal for most movies, but this one never made it to re-runs, commercial tape, or DVD. Why, I don't know. I remember it as better than many, if not most, in this genre.

You can go to Turner Classics com and vote to have

Why would i lie put on air or DVD. i have been trying to find the movie for years. I saw it back when it first came out on HBO. I became instant Treat Williams fan. I hope someone out there has a copy and is willing to make copies for us.

Or will sell it on ebay. I hope you will all go and vote for it at Turner Classic. i would love to tell you what i liked about the movie. But all i can remember is that i liked it and treat Williams was really good. if i ever get to see it again , i will be happy to give a better comment on it. Thanks