Occasionally one has to wonder about a film with a powerful true story and a famous face associated with it. Such is the case of The Good Lie, produced by Ron Howard and Brian Glazer, and featuring an Oscar winner in its midst. It tells the story of Mamere (Arnold Oceng), Jeremiah (Ger Duany), Paul (Emmanuel Jal) and Abital (Kuoth Wiel). As children growing up in a Sudanese village, they were overrun during the Sudanese Civil War, and their displacement led them to set out on foot to find a refugee camp, where they stayed for almost two decades, before eventually getting the chance to come to America. Abital was relocated elsewhere, but the other three went to Kansas City, were they met Carrie (Reese Witherspoon, Mud), who managed to get them jobs, but their acclimation proved difficult for personal reasons.

Written by Margaret Nagle and directed by Philippe Falardeau, the story behind The Good Lie is a strong one, and using newcomers Oceng, Duany and Wiel turns out to be an excellent decision. Their exposure to America is not one played to laughs, they simply do not know the world they get thrown into, and Carrie at first feels this orientation which has been forced on her as an inconvenience. But as she learns more about the boys' ordeal, the more she seems to temper her approach to them. Combined with her boss Jack (Corey Stoll, House of Cards), it makes for decent viewing for the most part.

However, decent does not equal effective when it comes to the film. The story in The Good Lie tends to meander quite a bit, taking its sweet time to get to whatever form of story ‘conflict' they want to get to. I get that there is time that must be granted to having Mamere, Jeremiah and Paul to and in America, but the third act goal is a bit lengthy and at times trite.

Perhaps more concerningly is that Witherspoon seems to be unsure of what her role in The Good Lie is, largely because the film doesn't. Her transition from indifferent American to a more involved one with a trio of Sudanese is abrupt and assumed too much. It is one thing for Mamere, Jeremiah and Paul to get to America and want to try and remain involved with their homeland. The time was put into that. Far less is the time that Carrie puts into it and this, it tends to mock itself in the process.

There are moments within The Good Lie which are emotionally effective and the performances of Oceng, Duany and Jal are fine. But the ancillary material surrounding their characters' stories is told not very well and tends to check off boxes on some sort of imaginary checklist when it comes to "emotional cinematic storytelling," which makes it more of a film with some undelivered promise rather than anything long-lasting.

We get The Good Lie in 1.85:1 widescreen and with the AVC codec, and as it turns out it is not bad. The outdoor exteriors look amazing, though the image detail in those shots and in exteriors tends to fluctuate on consistency. Colors in Africa look great, whether it is greens, browns or sunsets, or even in the yellows of the Waffle House sign (they have those in Kansas City?). In tighter shots, facial pores or individual hair is discernible on occasion, and film grain is present at times in the feature as well. It is very good viewing material on this Blu-ray.

DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless surround for The Good Lie, with the results being pretty nifty. Things start early from a dynamic perspective, when a military helicopter zooms in low past the children in the village and shows off the subwoofer early, and the subsequent explosions and mortar fire are shown off. Past the initial action of the soundtrack, things are generally quiet though then the theater does have to show off, whether it's gunfire later, it manages to deliver that sound clearly, with effective channel panning and directional activity. Really good work from Warner.

Not a heckuva lot. "The Good Lie Journey" (16:19) is little more than a featurette on the story and the film, with thoughts on the material by the cast and crew, who share their requisite thoughts on one another, along with the decision to shoot in South Africa. Nothing earth-shattering to experience here honesty. Fifteen deleted scenes (15:06) include a little more on Mamere's character development, but nothing worth writing home about. There is a standard definition version of the film available here, and a digital copy available via Ultraviolet.

Rather than being an excellent, feel-good story, The Good Lie feels like two-thirds of a good movie, with a last third that is almost indescribable in how little it actually accomplishes. And it has Oscar winners behind (Glazer and Howard) and in front of (Witherspoon) the camera and its disposal. Technically the Blu-ray looks good and sounds better, though could have used some work on the bonus material. Its story should be seen by more eyes, though I would hope there are better stories out there to expose yourself to.