Movie Reviews of The Invention of Lying
- The trailer for "The Invention of Lying" with Ricky Gervais made it seem like a humorous romp worth the price of an outrageous movie ticket, but when I walked out of the theater I was just scratching my head as to what I just watched and wishing I had just waited for the DVD rental. Jennifer Garner played his love interest, and although she's incredibly likable she played the role like a robot devoid of feelings until the end. Rob Lowe played the usual handsome competitive suitor, and I couldn't help but think that he must be the most handsomest man in the universe since he's the only one that keeps getting these roles. Gervais is a comic genius, but this movie about a man who's the only one in the world that can lie falls flat because it can't decide what message it wants to send. Did he want to say that lying sometimes is better than honesty so it doesn't hurt people's feelings? Did he want to say that religious people are a bunch of liars? Did he want to say that beauty really lies in the eye of the beholder? The movie had too many turns that kept running into dead ends. The movie had potential but in the end I'd say wait for the DVD if you're curious.
- It's no disaster. There are some funny bits. It starts well (or at least does after a hideously misguided voice-over explanation of the basic plot set-up) but the joke that everyone not only can't lie (lying doesn't exist you see, hence the title - obvious, right? So why the voice over explanation Ricky, why, oh, why!) but volunteers the truth, no matter how harsh, at every occasion quickly wears thin. He gets about 20 minutes out of it and some people handle it better than others. Curiously it is often the straight actors (like Jennifer Garner) that play it better and the comedians (like Tina Fey) who sound too much like they are delivering calculated lines to get a laugh - and therefore don't. I love Fey but every line of hers fell flat for me here while Garner sold the hell out of it. Perhaps it's the less comedic actors lose themselves more in the character and world and aren't trying for the gag, the laugh, just trusting in the script, etc. I don't know but it's noticeable time and again here.
A risky (for some American audiences) plot element involving his inadvertent creation of religion and the spiralling outcome of this is also amusing, but again it's funnier as an idea than in execution. Out-staying its welcome.
There are also some dynamite cameos, including two that had my laughing simply by their presence. A bar tender that joins Gervais and the excellent Louis C.K. in a scene is both funny by presence and in his dynamite delivery. I'm not going to say who plays it because if you're going to watch the film it was one of the highlights for me.
As was another cameo by a usually fairly serious actor (although he has shown a comedic side on occasion) as a traffic cop. Again just his presence is funny from the moment he walks on screen and the voice (cause you won't instantly recognise him) gives him away.
A scene with two Extras regulars is fun but feels out of place in the film, almost playing like an afterthought put in for faithful fans.
Amongst the other leads Garner triumphs, giving it her all and Louis C.K. is very funny, but Jonah Hill is underused and never hits the high notes he achieved in Funny People, while Tina Fey doesn't bring it (and i so wanted her to) and Rob Lowe really fails in an update of his Wayne's World character.
But ultimately this descends into sentiment and lacks resolve or real drama. It often feels like a string of stand-up one-liners extended into plot devices (as there is no lying movies are a guy -nice touch cameo from Christopher Guest as one such - reading a book on camera) that work once but then are repeated over and over, beating the gag into submission. Ideas like the use of lying to make people feel better are similarly used once to affecting and comedic effect but then overplayed.
And before you know it you're bogged down in a film about perception of others and looking beyond the surface that could have been reached by any number of devices, making the lying thing irrelevant!
- The Invention of Lying is comedy starring Ricky Gervais as the first person to tell a lie in a world of brutal honesty. I was really looking forward to this movie and expected it to be a modern day high concept comedy in the vein of Groundhog Day. I was very disappointed. For a movie with such a great premise, it certainly falls flat.
It starts out enjoyable enough, setting up the world and quirky premise with a great deal of humor and wit. About halfway through the film, things start to fall apart. It becomes a paint by numbers romantic comedy with most of the story told through mind numbing musical montages. Jennifer Garner's character is completely unlikable and a bore to watch.
I'd save this movie for a late night HBO fest.
- The invention of Lying
Romantic comedy -invention on lying --
Everyone--from politicians to advertisers to the man and woman on the street--speaks the truth and nothing but the truth with no thought of the consequences. But when a down-on-his-luck loser named Mark suddenly develops the ability to lie, he finds that dishonesty has its rewards. In a world where every word is assumed to be the absolute truth, Mark easily lies his way to fame and fortune. But lies have a way of spreading, and Mark begins to realize that things are getting a little out of control when some of his tallest tales are being taken as, well, gospel. With the entire world now hanging on his every word, there is only one thing Mark has not been able to lie his way into: the heart of the woman he loves.
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