DVD Review #30 The Invention of Lying

-->

The Invention of Lying (2009) Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner Directed By Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson

The Invention of Lying is a fantastic idea, in fact the idea is so good it would be almost impossible to make a film that lives up to the idea…and Ricky Gervais proves this as the film comes up a bit short. Though Ricky had the best Golden Globe line of maybe all-time (I like a drink as much as the next guy…unless the next guy is Mel Gibson) he proves with this film he may want to stick to a shorter format when dealing with his kind of comedy (which is both intelligent and clever). I spent most of my time with this film pointing at the screen and thinking…wow how funny, as opposed to just laughing. That said I was still very happy with that reaction and think this film is worth seeing, though you don’t have to rush and you can even stop every once in awhile to grab a snack or watch an episode of The Office (The British version out of respect I hope).

The Invention of Lying is the story of Mark Bellison (played well by Ricky Gervais) who is a crap screen writer who lives in a world where no one can lie…ever…in fact they don’t even know what it is to lie…or have fiction…so of course their movies are just a man who is sitting around reading actual events that happened (hilarious…though it doesn’t make you laugh out loud…but so smart) and poor Mark gets assigned the crap 1300’s. On top of that Mark is also a bit fat and has a flat nose, so his luck with the ladies isn’t that great. He does manage to have a pretty good first date with Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner who is very good here), though she bluntly states that she can’t be with him because of the whole genetic code thing (she doesn’t want kids they are portly and have flat noses). One day Mark gets fired from his crap job and he doesn’t have enough money to pay rent…until he goes to a bank and tells the first lie ever. After that I think you can guess the direction…I will say the best bits are when Mark tells his dying Mom a lie about a man in the sky that takes care of you and gives you a mansion when you go up to see him…this of course leads to some trouble, as people over hear this and become interested, and obviously leads to Mark writing some directions from the man in the sky on some tablets…I mean on the back of Pizza boxes…so clever Mr. Gervais. Anyway it is a very smart film, but goes a little too sweet on us with the romance, to be honest I don’t know how else you end the movie that would have been better, but I’d love a chance to get drunk with Mr. Gervais and his comedy team to come up with better ways.

(The Shawshank Scale 1-10) Lots of great cameos and a clever three strikes and you’re out religious rule, that sounds a little California, but a smart funny comedy that isn’t as great as it should be…how could it be? How about a fair 5.5 on the scale…no I’m lying…take a 6.0, I may watch it one more time…and you should give it a shot as well.

Food For Thought: Ricky has an interesting supporting role in a film called Cemetery Junction (great title) and a little later has a film based on the book series Flanimals. Garner has the film Valentine’s Day which just opened and a little later shows off her butter carving skills in a film aptly titled: Butter.