Drama
United States of America
The movie is set in the 1960s and follows the life of 17-year-old Karchy Jonas, a Hungarian immigrant living in Cleveland, Ohio. Karchy is an aspiring journalist who dreams of writing for Rolling Stone magazine. He is a loner who idolizes Billy Magic, a local DJ who is known for his charismatic personality and love of rock and roll music.
One day, Karchy wins a contest on Billy Magic's radio show and becomes friends with the DJ. Billy takes Karchy under his wing and introduces him to the wild world of rock and roll, which includes drugs, alcohol, and women. Karchy becomes enamored with the lifestyle and begins to drift away from his own goals and values.
As Karchy becomes more immersed in the entertainment world, he discovers that Billy is involved in payola, which is the illegal practice of accepting money or gifts in exchange for playing certain songs on the radio. Karchy is offered money to keep quiet about the illegal activity, and he initially refuses. However, as he becomes more entangled in the world of corruption, Karchy begins to compromise his morals and values.
Throughout the movie, Karchy is torn between his desire for success in the entertainment industry and his loyalty to his own beliefs. He ultimately decides to come forward and expose the corruption, even though it means risking his friendship with Billy and the potential for his own success in the industry.
The movie stars Brad Renfro as Karchy, Kevin Bacon as Billy Magic, and Calista Flockhart as Diney, Karchy's love interest. Telling Lies in America was directed by Guy Ferland and was released in 1997.
