Did a 14-year-old write this "Big Fat Liar"?

OK, perhaps that's a bit harsh . . . to 14-year-olds. At least they wouldn't be so dumb as to pad out an already slight comedy with musical montages and a plug so shameless that it makes the whole film seem like a feature-length advertisement for a California theme park.

That theme park is Universal Studios, which not-so-coincidentally is the distributor of "Big Fat Liar."

To be fair, this family comedy isn't completely painful. It's just rather leaden and dull, which comes as at least a small surprise, considering the film's talented cast, led by "Malcolm in the Middle" star Frankie Muniz. He plays the title character, Jason Shepherd. Jason's a pathological liar, which gets him in trouble with bullies and at home and school.

His latest fib is a real whopper. Claiming that his father is ailing, Jason fails to turn in an important creative-writing assignment for school. Unfortunately for Jason, he's finally been called on the carpet by his parents and teachers and is given one last chance to make up the assignment. But en route to school, he's nearly mowed down by a limo containing Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), a fast-talking Hollywood producer who reluctantly agrees to give him a ride.

He also swipes Jason's paper, which he hopes to turn into a movie that can save his career. That's no help to Jason, who is facing the prospect of summer school. So he flies off to Hollywood, dragging along his best friend Kaylee (Amanda Bynes from Nickelodeon's "The Amanda Show") to try to persuade Wolf to come clean.

It's clear that the filmmakers are trying to evoke comparisons to "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Unfortunately, the dumb shenanigans here are more reminiscent of the "Home Alone" movies, and only slightly less mean-spirited.

Worse, the cast is all over the map. Normally, Muniz has charm, but here he comes off as rather smug. And the perpetually smirking Bynes is only slightly better.

So you can almost forgive comic character-actor Giamatti for going so far over the top as he tries to overcompensate for the rest of the performances. But he's never been this unfunny.

"Big Fat Liar" is rated PG for slapstick violence, mildly vulgar humor and scattered use of mild, religiously based profanity. Running time: 88 minutes.

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E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com