Movie of the Week: An Honest Liar

Alexa:  I had actually never heard of “The Amazing Randi” before watching “An Honest Liar,” but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the film at all. Whether you’re an avid magic fan or just like interesting character stories, there is something for you here. You don’t have to know anything about James Randi or his craft to become invested in his story. He’s a pretty fascinating guy, and the filmmakers lean on his engaging persona and rely on him to convey his own story. We get a little bit of interesting background about his childhood and early career, but much of the movie is dedicated to his crusade against so-called psychics, mystics, faith healers and the like. His whole thesis is that magicians are “honest liars” - they tell you they’re tricking you for your own entertainment. But others pretend they really have supernatural gifts to make money and take advantage of people who need to believe in something, including people who are sick or have lost loved ones. Randi unapologetically seeks to expose these frauds using his own expertise, and it’s a noble cause. Particularly in the age of “fake news” and “alternative facts,” asking the right questions and seeking the truth is so important. But the movie also raises some interesting morality questions about some of Randi’s methods. Is deception for the greater good okay, such as using deception to expose the truth or protect loved ones? Where is that line that divides “good” deception and “bad” deception? I agree with Jason that one of the most compelling parts of the film is the deception surrounding Randi’s own personal life - both his having to hide his relationship with his partner from an intolerant society and his partner’s adopting a false identity to avoid persecution in his home country. James Randi’s life is defined by deception in one way or another, and it’s a fascinating life that “An Honest Liar” captures beautifully.

Joel: It can be tricky to make a documentary that serves as a biography for a particular person, especially if that person is still alive and a part of the process of making the documentary. It can be tricky to find the right balance of of what exactly to say of focus on when trying to sum up a person’s life work in the span of two hours. Often times we’ll get a movie that has plenty of information about a person’s childhood and formative years, but it will come at the cost of an in depth look at what they did later in life. The opposite can be true as well. There are documentaries that are meant to be biographical and look at a person’s entire life, but focus so much on the one thing that makes them notible, it turns into a movie about that thing instead of one about the person.

An Honest Liar manages to strike a near perfect balance. It’s something that doesn’t get mentioned much, but I really wanted to take some time to express how well the movie handled introducing “The Amazing Randi” to its audience. It’s an introduction that works if you’ve never heard of him before, or if you’re a devout follower of famous stage magicians. The story works as a very good biography of “The Amazing Randi,” his career, and his personal life. This part of the movie never feels rushed or crammed, but the movie is still able to focus on Randi’s battle with the physics, faith-healers, and other “liars” that he feels are using the power of trickery for evil. This makes up the bulk of the movie, but the time to introduce you to the characters is key, and it elevates the movie, helping to get the audience invested in the stories being told. Because we’re allowed to discover the characters in this way, these are not just neat stories about the times that Randi busted a scam wide open. Instead, this crusade that Randi is on feels personal. The emotion is there and you get caught up and invested in each project that he takes on.

The movie also has a very high respect for magic which is appreciated given the main topic of the documentary. While Randi’s issue with these people is about them using trickery and stage magic to fool people, it’s important that Randi still holds the art of trickery in a very high regard. There are several moments where Randi, or another magician will discuss a trick but the movie frames it in such a way that the viewers are able to follow the story, understand what’s going on, but the secret behind the trick isn’t revealed. Like Randi himself, An Honest Liar is able to condemn those who would use stage magic to cheat others, but still keep the integrity of the art of magic in tact.

Chris: Watching Randi, it became obvious he was a big influence on the careers of Penn and Teller, especially in their seemingly unstoppable mission to uncover deception. As Randi discussed, being a magician means have a deep relationship with deception which ended up affecting Randi’s life in three different ways. First of all is the deception for the purpose of entertainment which was of Randi’s own doing, it’s a noble form of deception as it is meant to put smiles on the audience’s faces. Second was the deception for the purpose of personal wealth, which Randi became obsessed with hunting down and exposing in an attempt to educate the public. And finally, there was the deception for the purpose of personal preservation for Jose. The final deception was the noblest because Jose never did it with malicious intent and ultimately provided a private life that completed both his life and that of Randi’s. This was an incredible story that deserved to be told as the world needs more people like Randy that are willing to use their gifts for the benefit of the general public.

Jason: I have heard the name “The Amazing Randi” since I was little but I never really knew too much about him. Recently, I saw an article on Reddit about him and someone mentioned in the comments that there was a documentary on Netflix about his life. Naturally, I had to check it out. I have been a fan of sleight of hand and illusion magic my whole life. I was the kid who got the big box of tricks in elementary school and used things from it for show-and-tell. When I started this doc, I was expecting anecdotes about Randi’s adventures debunking mystics and spiritualists. And I got some of that. What I wasn’t expecting was the deeply personal story about his relationship with his partner-turned-husband. Randi has committed his whole life to debunking frauds and exposing those who use their tricks to exploit others for fame or money. He is an expert at shining a spotlight on liars and has taken some pretty drastic measures to accomplish his mission. The fact that he and Jose lived for so long not only lying about their relationship but lying about Jose’s very identity proves just how good he is at his craft. He has always claimed that he is a lier and that he is so good at it that you will never know that you’re being tricked. No one knew that he was lying about his life for a long time. I think that he is a very noble character. Not only has he used his expertise for decades advocating scepticism and accurate science practices but now, through this doc, he is advocating for himself and his lifelong partner by allowing their true story to be revealed. It is really quite inspiring to see someone who can live by his own rules. He expects transparency in his contemporaries and now, even though it has taken years, he can finally be transparent with himself.