REEL FANS:A bit better than average ‘Hoax’

Daily Pilot staffer Sue Thoensen went to Edwards Island 7 to get moviegoers’ opinions of “The Hoax,” starring Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden.

Based on a true story, “The Hoax” was author Clifford Irving’s attempt in the early 1970s to write an “authorized” biography of recluse Howard Hughes, based on letters he said he received from Hughes — which he had actually forged — but which passed handwriting analysis tests.

Irving (Richard Gere), broke and fearing he was drifting into obscurity as an author, conspired with his research assistant, Richard Susskind (Alfred Molina), to write the biography of the reclusive billionaire.

The two were able to convince publishing giant McGraw-Hill that the manuscript was authentic. The deal was signed, sealed and delivered — along with an advance for almost $1 million — and the book was published before Hughes came out of hiding to denounce it as a scam at a public news conference.

“I thought it was a strange movie, but I liked the characters. I liked the flashbacks especially — I thought that made the movie real. I thought Richard Gere did a great job and that all the actors were very well cast for their parts. I liked when they [Gere and Molina] were writing the book — how they incorporated all the idiosyncrasies of Howard Hughes. I think his [Irving’s] ego kept getting in the way. And he got so involved, he lived it and started to think he was Howard Hughes.”Grade: B-

Nancy Brundage

Newport Beach

“I thought it was a real strange movie, and I’m not sure I liked it. I really didn’t know who Clifford Irving was in the first place, and I don’t think Clifford Irving knew what was real and what wasn’t. The music was really good, and I’m glad they wrapped it up at the end and let us know what was happening. I thought the other actors did a good job also. I just don’t think I liked the story line. I thought it was hard to follow.”Grade: C

Barb Mayes

Newport Beach

“The movie was a little difficult to follow — it was a little disjointed. I didn’t know the story at all coming in — I like to go in cold. I knew Clifford Irving was an author, and that it was taken from a true story. The acting was very good — I’m a Richard Gere fan. I’m having difficulty finding a good movie to see these days, and I thought maybe Richard Gere would come up with a good one, but it was just average for me. Very, very slick operation — the guy [Irving] had to be really intelligent to pull the whole thing off, but that didn’t come through in the movie.”Grade: C

Barbara Reich

Irvine

“I t was a very interesting movie in that I could remember the actual case, and to see the drama behind it was entertaining. At the end, you felt like you’d seen a man [Irving] who had a lot of potential completely fall apart and become more like the person he was writing about — being very paranoid and afraid of the world. I always like Richard Gere, and everybody was very good. I followed the story line just fine — showing the desperation that we go to, how you get in over your head, how you would do anything to get out of where you’ve gotten to, to go back to where you were, and then it’s too late.”Grade: B-

Colleen Wilson

Huntington Beach

“I enjoyed the movie. To compare it to the history, the time that it took place, it kind of brought back some of those memories and put it in perspective. I remember that the story was a news item but not the specifics, especially how it related to Nixon. The acting was good, and I’m a Richard Gere fan. It was interesting the way they interplayed Richard Gere’s character paralleling Howard Hughes’ demise, and the way he [Irving] just internalized [Hughes’] whole personality.”Grade: B-

Betty Hinchman

Dana Point