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But it‘s also like spending nearly two hours with someone you can‘t stand.

That person would be Clifford Irving - at least, Irving as he‘s portrayed by Richard Gere in “The Hoax.” The film focuses on how (and why) Irving wrote a biography of reclusive tycoon Howard Hughes that supposedly was based on conversations he‘d had with Hughes. It wasn‘t. Irving used other sources for some information and then just made up everything else.

The movie begins by depicting the circumstances that set Irving‘s scheme in motion. It‘s the early 1970s, and Irving thinks he‘s going to get a big contract to write a novel for McGraw-Hill publishing company. Instead, he‘s turned down at the last moment and left back at square one.

He comes up with a brainstorm: a supposedly authorized book on Hughes written with Hughes‘ participation. Given America‘s fascination with the man, it‘s a sure bet - Irving pitches it to McGraw-Hill as the book of the century.

And he cleverly pulls it off, using chutzpah and con-man maneuvers to convince the publishers and others that the book is legit. He gets a huge contract; Life magazine wants in on the story; everything‘s looking great.

That is, until things start going wrong.

That‘s essentially the story, but, of course, it‘s about a lot more. It‘s about the interaction between Irving and his easygoing best pal, researcher and partner in crime, Dick Susskind (Alfred Molina); between Irving and his wife, Edith (Marcia Gay Harden); Irving and his editor, Andrea Tate (Hope Davis); Irving and his mistress, Nina Van Pallandt (Julie Delpy). It‘s about Irving‘s growing obsession with Hughes. It‘s about how Irving starts losing his ability to separate reality from fantasy. And if that weren‘t enough, it‘s about a possible conspiracy in which Hughes actually uses Irving to get under the skin of Richard Nixon.

Could this be true? Who knows? After watching Irving in this film, it‘s hard to believe anything he‘s connected with, and “The Hoax” is based on a novel by Irving. In that way, the film is similar to George Clooney‘s adaptation of the Chuck Barris bio-of-sorts “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.”

That‘s not the problem with the film, though. The problem is how unappealing Irving is. It‘s possible that director Lasse - Come Home! - Hallstrom (“The Cider House Rules,” “Chocolat”) and Gere intended to present Irving as a likable rogue. Instead, he simply comes across as a self-important, obnoxious creep who lies to and manipulates everyone in sight. And the supporting characters aren‘t appealing, either, with the exception of Molina‘s amiable sap Susskind.

It‘s not that a film has to have likable characters in order to be worthwhile. But they should be at least interesting. After a while, Irving is just a bore.

Tim Miller is the Times' entertainment editor. He can be reached at 508-862-1140 or tmiller@capecodonline.com

RATING SCALE: Four stars (best) to bomb (worst)
RATING: R (for strong, graphic bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, some sexuality, nudity and drug use)
RUNNING TIME: 191 minutes