Mr. Movie: Mirren & McKellen shine nothing else does in ‘The Good Liar’

This is the most disappointing movie of 2019. And considering the considerable acting talent involved, and the quality of the director, define that disappointment as huge.

Helen Mirren is Betty. She’s a widow with considerable assets who decides to put herself back on the dating market. In her search, Betty decides to do a date with the very fascinating and quite slick Roy Courtnay. He’s played by Ian McKellan who wowed us all as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movie series.

Both actors could play furniture in a movie and blow our minds.

That’s an odd statement but in the case of “The Good Liar” furniture and the accompanying wooden image best defines this movie and the quality of the acting. With almost nothing original to do, Mirren and McKellen are stuck uttering cliche lines in a plot that is as disingenuous as the two main characters.

McKellen’s Courtnay is — of course — a scammer who makes his living stealing huge sums of money from not-so-bright victims. He’s also a violent man who thinks nothing of killing anyone getting in his way.

That might include Betty’s often intrusive and over-protective grandson.

Mirren’s Betty is just the opposite of Courtnay. She’s sweet, loving, somewhat gullible and the perfect target for Courtnay and his partner. It’s the sweetness that begins to tug at Courtnay’s close to non-existent conscience.

This is a set up for a perfect thriller but director Bill Condon isn’t quite able to get there. This, too, is a disappointment. He’s usually quite brilliant. Condon did Disney’s live version of “Beauty and the Beast,” the highly thought of “Dreamgirls” and won an Oscar for the “Gods and Monsters” screenplay.

Proving that no one is perfect, Condon also did the last two Twilight movies.

“The Good Liar” adds to that proof. What almost saves Condon is Mirren and McKellan. They could — again — play furniture and win award nominations. Mirren and McKellan manage to be incredibly good in spite of a very lame, and way-too-predictable screenplay.

So if you want to see the movie just for the acting, go for it. In my book great acting is just not enough. A good liar — yes — a good movie? No.

▪ Rated R for mature themes, language and some violence. It’s playing at the Fairchild Cinemas Pasco and Queensgate 12s, at the AMC Classic Kennewick 12 and at Walla Walla Grand Cinemas.

▪ Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5

This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie: Mirren & McKellen shine nothing else does in ‘The Good Liar’."