MovieChat Forums > Lying to Be Perfect (2010) Discussion > hard-to-believe plot [spoilers]

hard-to-believe plot [spoilers]

posted 14 years ago by lakealice
10 replies | jump to latest

It was an ok movie, but I thought the premise was ridiculous--advice columns are nearly always written under pseudonyms: Ann Landers, Abigail Van Beuren, Miss Manners---these aren't the writers' real names, and the photos in the columns don't look like them in real life. The public knows this and doesn't consider it to be"lying". What was the big deal that she was really Belinda Apple? I doubt that anyone would have been shocked, and that she could go to jail for it. It's not at all the same thing as plagiarism, as the movie implied.

I do understand that the whole thing started because the editor wanted an advice columnist who could make public appearances and be the "faCE" of the magazine, but once she saw how popular the column was, she would have let the real writer make the appearances--the public wouldn't have cared, IMO.

[–] EllenRipley47 14 years ago

I doubt that anyone would have been shocked, and that she could go to jail for it.

The reason why she could've gone to jail was if she didn't go on book tours and promote the book while she was contractually obligated to do so.

... but once she saw how popular the column was, she would have let the real writer make the appearances--the public wouldn't have cared, IMO.

Absolutely, but the whole problem was that Nola didn't trust herself and she let her boss push her in the background. She just thought of herself as a fat girl who doesn't deserve anything and isn't good enough. Her character arc was about learning to stand up for herself and get out of the shadows. Which she did by the end of the movie.

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[–] kdf31 14 years ago

Regarding the plot/storyline, did anyone think it was incredible that Nola's face was airbrushed onto Belinda's body, and Nola was never confronted on this? The lifesize cardboard cut out of Belinda at the magazine was a big tip off.

This was completely absurd.

[–] MystMoonstruck 14 years ago

She supposedly couldn't assert herself or stand up for herself, yet she punched the blonde woman! There is no way that was acceptable behavior for her if she was so withdrawn and insecure. That's why this movie truly disappointed me. I know it was pretty much fluff, but it should have had a more believable character transition. The more I read about this, the more I'm happy that we decided to switch to another channel, fortunately getting to watch a Hollywood classic.

I'm an Adam Kaufman fan, so I'll likely try it again someday. This time, I'll have extremely low expectations. Maybe it will surprise me by the end.

~~MystMoonstruck~~

[–] kdf31 14 years ago

That's why this movie truly disappointed me.
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The scene that upset me was when she was eating the pastry at the office meeting. You see her with powder and sugar on her face. The scene really bothered me; regardless of any person's body type or size to suggest a person would be so sloppy at work was insulting.

I hated that scene very much.

(The punch scene just seemed out of place...Like the charcter burning her dinner and punching the girl out...what was the point? It didn't seem to advance the scene or storyline and made Nola look unstable and not funny)

[–] MystMoonstruck 14 years ago

I must have missed the part about the pastry! That IS insulting! That reminds me of Camryn Manheim when she was added to that lawyer series. She said that, in an opening scene, they gave her coffee and a pastry to carry. When she began the scene, she handed off these items to someone else! Also, they had a big jar of candy on the character's desk; she opened a drawer and put the jar there, explaining that no plus-size woman would have candy out in the open but would stash it in a drawer. (Actually, having worked in offices, I know that just about everyone stashes treats in a desk instead of leaving them out where others can grab them.)

So, I can see they really made a mess of this, going for cheap shots and situations that would never happen. It's like the difference between the first "Bridget Jones" movie and the horrible second one, where they out and out made fun of Bridget and put her in ridiculous, demeaning situations. (Yes, there was her bunny outfit in the first, but that oops actually was more flattering to her.)

The more I read about this movie, the more disappointed I am.

~~MystMoonstruck~~

[–] xlisamariex 14 years ago

It was extremely frustrating that her hair was a complete mess and her clothes fit poorly at work. A plus-sized woman will wear clothes to fit her body type (especially at work) and actually take time to make themselves look presentable. The way Nola was portrayed in the beginning of the movie was a woman that was a total mess and didn't care how she dressed or looked. It was disappointing that some curls and a few lost dress sizes all of a sudden made her beautiful.

[–] kdf31 14 years ago

It was extremely frustrating that her hair was a complete mess and her clothes fit poorly at work
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Right. Exactly. This is what I didn't understand about this film from the very first scene. Why was her hair uncombed/unbrushed and why did she look so frumpy? Any women at any size can take pride in their appearance. But her hair looked unwashed and unkempt the whole time. And people don't have business meetings and have powder on their faces like that. as a professional, she would not present herself like that.

The fake message that they were trying to say was Love yourself at any size. But the reality was that Nola's life ONLY came together when she dropped all the weight. Such a contradiction for sure.

I hated this film. It was not only dull but very insulting to women on so many levels. I don't get why people liked this film.

[–] MeiLing_1982 13 years ago

Don't be so sure that a plus-sized woman would always go out of their way to look good. I've been there. When you are you can have the tendency to make excuses for not going to the extreme to look good! Hell, you're fat already! Trying to find clothes that both fit AND look good is pretty impossible! If you don't feel great in your clothes and/or body, are you really going to put the effort into makeup? Not likely! Frump easily follows, especially when you're married to a man who turned you into his mother!

Yes, ultimately, I let him! After losing 175 lbs. of that dead weight, the next 50 or so (off of me) came a lot easier.

People hold onto weight and a frumpy look for a lot of reasons. One of which is that looking good actually takes a lot of work!

[–] Helenlaurence 8 years ago

Because that was the whole point about her character- although she was a beautiful, intelligent, talented woman- she didn't care about herself and had low self esteem.
I felt the weight issue was just a by product of that- which is perhaps where the film makers went wrong. Making being overweight part of the self-neglect.
Maybe she should have stayed the same size, but just exercised more, got her done and so on

[–] Helenlaurence 8 years ago

*got her hair done