Rental: The Invention of Lying
Release Date: October 2, 2009 (DVD 2010)
Rating: PG-13 – language, sexuality, a drug reference and mature themes
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey and Louis C.K.
Writers/Directors: Ricky Gervais & Matthew Robinson
I am only going to write a quick review on this dark comedy by the usually funny Ricky Gervais and co-writer Matthew Robinson. I have always loved Gervais snarky and risky brand of comedy but unfortunately in this flick it falls kind of flat and un-funny not to mention hovering on the side of being a downer. The premise is really genius and could have turned out to be incredibly funny and smart but it gets fumbled by it’s own rules a lot of times and I found myself either scratching my head or just getting down right frustrated.
Set on the idea of a world where no one has ever evolved into being able to tell a lie, Gervais character becomes the poor schmuck who comes up with the first whooper and a whole mess of sometimes funny drama ensues. He falls for the painfully honest and mostly superficially rude Anna, played by Jennifer Garner, and even with his now charming ability to fudge the truth he still struggles getting the girl due to his apparently obvious “genetic” downfalls. I get the great concept of the film and it’s attempt at witty execution but when Mark (Gervais) starts to tell supposed “lies” about the afterlife and where they all come from it got a little too pushy for me. And of course the pizza boxes serving as a substitute for the ten commandments was really too much.
And I make no illusions on my personal beliefs on the spiritual subject, so I will be frank in stating that mocking any religion or the mere idea of belief in anything is offensive to me. There I said my peace. All faith-topics aside and non-included the plot was just not funny. It was depressing to see how cold and uncaring the world would be without the white-lies that give us comfort. Sure it’s taboo to condone lying for any purpose but I can admit that it can be a gray area and one that is completely necessary.
Bottom Line: NOT THAT FUNNY AND BORDERLINE OFFENSIVE
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