Lying Flatt Synopsis.

 Lying Flatt Synopsis.

Lying Flatt is about Lester Flatt, a gay, fat, sharp-tongued, seventeen-year-old frontman of his New Jersey-based rock band, Bad Decisions. He’s also a compulsive liar, a Red Hot Chili Peppers superfan, and a social pariah desperate to leave his hometown and become a rock legend: as his alter ego, Mack Lasher. Lester’s earnest hope, dreams of escape, and hatred for who he is define him, and his story encapsulates what it felt like to be an aspiring rock star in the unforgiving 1980s. Struggling with body dysmorphia, imposter syndrome, and queer identity, Lester wants to stand out amongst his hair-metal peers, whom he resents and feels above. But he only feels worthy of being a rock god with his brother Kevin by his side, while also desperately clinging to his double life as the great Mack Lasher, who is a Friend of Iggy Pop and a long-established rock n roll icon who he lies about being, and tells tall tales of his exploits often, on and off stage. Lester’s life is pretty awful at the start, with constant bullying from his parents, his classmates, and the assholes at the local record store who mock him for even trying to be a rock star. Only his brother Kevin believes in him, but that's not enough anymore.

But Lester’s whole world is turned upside down when he starts a secret sordid affair fictitious relationship with Rubin, an Axl Rose-inspired hair-metal smoke show who’s the Hottest guy in school and Bad Decisions' main rival, Rubin Smith is the lead singer of his own popular hair metal band, Rolling Veins, on the brink of breaking in. Lester Egar to prove his gay rock god presence in his own band (all of whom, are using the band to get laid with girls as rock stars do, and the still closeted Lester Grows is jealous.) so he hooks up with Rubin regularly behind the scenes while Bad Decisions practices for the Battle of the Bands, their last-ditch attempt at fame and fortune. But despite warnings about Rubin’s shady past, Lester is too blinded by his first taste of love. He ultimately ignores his bandmates until the night of the Battle, when everything goes to hell and ends in betrayal and heartbreak, causing Bad Decision to break up and Lester to hit rock bottom.

Now alone, and as low as he’s ever been, with no band, no win, no lover, and no future, Lester in all his pain, learns the wrong lesson from everything that went down. Now, He’s convinced, no one can truly love him. And if they do, they're lying. So, all he has to do now is…just learn to lie better, become someone worth loving and worthy of rock n roll respect for once, someone like Mack Lasher, not just on stage, but…full time. It was an inevitable transition for him, as he’s already been lying about Mack for years and he’s already had a practice run, embodying Mack in New York’s punk scene, already getting addicted to the Rush. Kevin, feeling guilty, begs Lester not to hate himself and go down this path, but Lester, who has by now fully become Mack, has already made up his mind. But, Despite all his struggles, he's determined to rock. No matter what or who he has to lie about to do it.