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Title: The Invention of Lying
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, a use of the f word is what earns this movie it's PG-13 as well as some sexual dialog. Recommended for ages 13 and up. |
Though he may have created one of the biggest British television imports of all time in the critically acclaimed series “The Office,” Ricky Gervais has not had much success in the US. It’s a shame too because as far as comedy writers are concerned Gervais is not only funny and unique, but a tad on the ambitious side as well. His latest film in particular is an original called “The Invention of Lying,” in which a character named Mark (Gervais) lives in a world where no one can tell a lie. No one is really conscious of this, they just don’t tell lies. It’s world that is dull and brutal. People don’t hesitate to tell Mark that he is a fat loser. Coca Cola commercials sell their product by saying “You’ve been buying it all these years, so you might as well continue to do so.”
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Then one day Mark is fired from his job and is going to be evicted unless he can come up with $800 in rent. He only has $300 in his bank account but he goes to teller and something in his mind wakes up and he tells the lady he has $800 in his account. The teller assumes the computer is wrong and gives Mark the money, making him the first (and only) liar in the world. Now this is a remarkably good idea for a movie. One of the better “what if” scenarios. There is a lot of fun to be had in this premise, and for a long time I did have fun in the movie. But Gervais makes a huge, huge miscalculation near the end of the movie where Mark becomes rich and famous by creating “The Man In The Sky” - A.K.A., God.
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Though this situation is not without it’s charms it feels like a big bait and switch. More then once I was wondering how a charming comedy had turned into a not-so-subtle attack on religion. Was this even necessary? Did Gervais simply just not know where to take the movie after his mother died? I think there was enough conflict to be had in his relationship with the beautiful (but shallow) woman Anna (Jennifer Garner) to keep the movie going without all this. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention Anna. Anna is the attractive woman Mark has had a crush on for many years. Their first date doesn’t go well but subsequent dates go better. She starts to love Mark but her preference to have children with good genetics keeps her from being able to commit to a relationship with him.
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A situation like this should have been more then enough to make this a strong screenplay. Instead the movie falls apart near the end, making the stay at the theater feel long despite the fact that I was there for less then two hours. Ricky Gervais has written a screenplay that is very funny near the beginning and wholly original, but he doesn’t have the confidence to make it stick. I expect he will write more unique screenplays though, and eventually one of them will make him a star. For now though he’s too ambitious and not quite ready for what real movies need from him. The truth may hurt, but thankfully we can all learn from the truth, and I have faith so will he.
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