A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I'd never heard of this movie until it showed up on premium cable TV. I'm so glad it did, but wish it had gained the respect and popularity it so deserved. The young men and woman actors captured the despair, fear, and hopefulness of what the young refugees must have experienced perfectly. The one scene in this movie that touched my heart more than any in this, or any other movie, was the one where the orphans are settling into thier new home on the first night. It is just getting dark and you can see the worry on thier faces. I myself have been in a new place/situation many times in my own life. This scene reminded me vividly of what I'd almost forgotten. I remembered being in a new place, lying there as it was just getting dark, and feeling so afraid and longing for people and places I loved. No matter how happy one might be to be in a new place, that fear and longing are such a strong feeling. I thought Reese, though a good actress overall, over-acted a bit in this film. Her dialog AND her delivery, were a bit too trite. Doesn't take away from the movie though. I highly recommend it to everyone.

It's not often we're treated to special story telling such as this. Producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (among others) have brought together a strong band of talent to give us a filmic treat. Actress turned Emmy Award winning writer, Margaret Nagle spent years honing her above-average script for this interesting fact-based film.More remarkable are the performances of some of the Sudanese cast members (including the juniors), whose own life experiences reflect the difficulty of survival, against deadly odds in this war-torn nation. These performances are sincere reflections of their own extremely difficult journeys to attempt resettlement in the USA. Some will make it, many wont. On arrival in America they're greeted with yet another traumatic experience - how to integrate into a culture that's peopled by those who have little knowledge of your past horrific living conditions and where 'plenty' has become a rarely appreciated element of daily life. Culture shock in the extreme!. Some maybe too cynical to accept certain situations within this productions artificial interpretation of reality, but the writers have clearly attempted to uphold enough integrity to allow most viewers a genuine understanding of what those less fortunate have to endure.British born Ugandan actor Arnold Oceng shows how essential good casting is for bringing life and commitment to a production of this stature. As mentioned, the Sudanese performers are superb. Ger Duany as Jeremiah, brings personal emotional power to his character, as does Emmanuel Jal. Both these men are ex-boy soldiers with many ugly real life memories between them. Kuoth Wiel as the sister who is separated from her only remaining family, imparts genuine warmth to her role. Canadian director and winner of various awards Philippe Falardeau guides his sterling cast with knowing skill and just when you feel he's slipping into the realm of cliché, manages to come back on track. Fellow Canadian Director of Photography Ronald Plante, turns in his usual award nominated visual power - even his hand held shots have a smooth quality that never detract from the above average storytelling - while Composer Martin Leon adds nicely to the poetic feel of this harrowing, gentle, and at times humorous experience. It's also good to see talented Reese Witherspoon putting her name to a relatively background role in this uncommon work. This movie's recommended to those tired of the sometimes jaded run-of-the-mill commercial movie fare. No over-the-top Academy Award fanfares here, this one stands on its own simple strength.

The Good Lie becomes its own lie when viewed as the overt Cultural Marxist propaganda that this film makes no secret of being. Seeing that "muh egalitarianism" is all the rage for White Dildocrats who wish to signal their moral superiority to the world, it's no surprise that this turd in the punchbowl wasn't billed as a Comedy or a Fantasy. I can only take refuge in the thought that this movie stunk less than the refuse...um, refugees rather...that were hired to act in it. If you are wondering whether that guy you met on match is an utter tool, sit him down with this baseless multicultural fairytale and if he finishes it, that's a positive test result. This movie is a case study in agitprop done poorly.

While its very much cut from the same cloth as films like The Blind Side and its story reeks of Hollywood sap, you'd be hard pressed to not find enjoyment in this based around real life stories The Good Lie, a film that more than likely bypassed cinemas near you upon release last year and failed to find an audience in any capacity.Produced by the Academy Award winning team of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, The Good Lie certainly has pedigree behind it and with the true story of The Lost Boys Of Sudan as its base, it's hard to know exactly why the film failed so dismally when it was rolled out towards the later end of last year.Reviewed well and rated highly by audiences, one suspects that The Good Lie has the potential to be a slowly building sleeper hit in the years to come and with a tale so easy to like as this, it will be a film that brings both smiles and tears to many different people the world over even though its somewhat twee handling can hamper the films emotional engagement and some scripting scenario/acting turns dampen the films overall quality.The biggest success found within the Good Lie lays entirely on how central group of uprooted refugees led by Arnold Oceng's determined Mamere and Ger Duany's God fearing Jerimiah adapt to life in the land of opportunity in America. There's simple joys to be found in the sincere questioning these kind hearted souls ask and director Philippe Falardeau does a great job of handling his largely unknown cast in the way in which this is portrayed. The top billing of Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon is a little bit of marketing ploy here as a warning as she is largely a bit part player to the Sudanese squad and her role is a little too much "Sandra Bullock" to really work.An enjoyable, often funny and occasionally moving tale with call backs to real life trials over adversity, The Good Lie never becomes anything akin to other classic such tales but it's certainly a film worth tracking down. A quality production that deserved more credit than it ever got upon release, The Good Lie is just the type of Hollywood ilk that we need more of.3 1/2 McDonalds trips out of 5