The Liars' Club

Nearly a success, but a film that fails due to important factors being invisible at times. "The Liars' Club" is a film about a high school quarterback (Brian Krause) that has the world on a string. He is about to graduate and a scholarship to Notre Dame is likely to mean the start of an imminently great life. However, one drunken night turns that around as he rapes friend Shevonne Durkin at a local party. Durkin is in a dilemma and it appears that she may point the accusing finger at the young star. Mutual friends Will Wheaton, Michael Cudlitz, Aaron Eisenberg, and Soleil Moon Frye (yes, of "Punky Brewster" fame) learn of Krause's and Durkin's relationship at the party. Krause admits that he had sex with Durkin, but denies the rape charges. The tension builds as the group tries to hide the situation from Krause's girlfriend (Jennifer Burns) and the possibility of Durkin going to the authorities becomes a major concern as well. Cudlitz believes that Durkin must be scared into staying quiet and accidentally stabs the young lady. The group of friends now must stick together to save Cudlitz and keep Krause out of the line of fire as well. "The Liars' Club" is one of those could-have-been films that fails due to typical teen film clichés that get in the way of some good performances and some legitimate chemistry among the key players. Krause, Burns and Cudlitz are particularly good, but the others struggle to keep the intensity up. The direction becomes a bit unsteady mid-way through and it feels like the screenwriters did not really know how to bring everything together in the end. For the budget and the lack of important resources, "The Liars' Club" is still a noble and interesting work. However with all this said, the film still fails to be as good as it likely could have been. 2 stars out of 5.