Someone told me after watching The Invention of Lying they didn’t think the filmmakers knew exactly what kind of film they wanted to make. I don’t believe this is the case. Instead, I think co-writers/co-directors Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson knew exactly what kind of film they wanted to make, but instead of taking that idea to the head of the class they stayed in the back row and everything just unraveled.
The idea behind The Invention of Lying is an alternate reality in which not only do people instinctively always tell the truth, they simply have no filter whatsoever. Without reason or request, anything negative about someone will be pointed out at random. No matter how long people have known each other and no matter how cruel. It’s a glitch in the premise that does offer some early comedy, but it’s a joke that wears thin really fast. But if you are looking for logic in this film there is little to be found. After all, in a world where you are the only one that can lie is there any way of convincing other people you aren’t telling the truth? Based on the rules set up here the answer is no, but rules are made to be broken and ignored, which wouldn’t be much of a concern if the film hadn’t gone off the rails long before we even get to the final moments.
On top of writing and directing, Gervais also stars in this comedy as Mark Bellison, a screenwriter who has just lost his job and has only $300 to his name. He finds himself facing eviction and heading to the bank to withdraw the rest of his money with the expectation he will soon be homeless. However, with the computer system at the bank down Mark is offered a chance to name his price. Knowing he only has $300 in his account he asks for $800, which he is promptly given and the world’s first lie is told and first and only liar is born.
Being a man of good moral standing Mark never uses his new found “power” for evil, beyond an early scam to earn some quick cash playing roulette at a casino, but a slip of the tongue finds him in trouble as he claims to know the truth about the afterlife. In the film’s funniest moment we see Mark holding a pair of pizza boxes and preaching to an audience of millions about the “man in the sky.” It was at this point I began thinking how risky a venture this film was for a studio feature, but it never went much farther outside of a few randy headlines.
A comparison to Monty Python’s Life of Brian is an easy one to make, but that’s on the most rudimentary of levels as Life of Brian took the idea behind its premise to the fullest extent while it seems The Invention of Lying has something to say, but is too scared to raise its hand and say it.
Gervais is easily one of my favorite working comedians right now. I loved the BBC “Office” to the point I have never even attempted to watch the American version and I thought his 2008 comedy Ghost Town was a fun one-time watch. However, here he seems handcuffed. Occasionally he has room to roam, but this film gets so bogged down in montages (I counted at least three, and one of them was to represent the changing of the seasons) and acoustic guitar there is little tolerance for much else once we get into the film’s second half.
Co-starring with Gervais is Jennifer Garner in a role that’s hard to nail down or even judge based on the film’s premise. Sure, people still have their sense of right and wrong, love and hate, but the fact they are forced to tell the truth it somehow makes the majority of people (at least those we see on screen) selfish ass holes. Garner’s character isn’t lovable or even likable and why Mark would want to spend time with her is unfathomable.
Rob Lowe and Tina Fey have small parts as two people that blurt out hateful things at Mark on a frequent basis and a fleet of additional cameos and small parts include Louis C.K., Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambor, Edward Norton, Jason Bateman, Christopher Guest and Stephen Merchant. Bateman’s great and Norton’s appearance is a bit surprising, but even with this kind of talent not a lot is brought to the table.
Unfortunately, I came away greatly disappointed with this film, primarily due to my love of Gervais. Things start off pretty well with cute ways of describing things such as a rest home named ‘A Sad Place For Hopeless Old People’ and the joke carries some weight for a second gag at a church later in the film, but at that point a funny sign can’t make up for the boredom that’s setting in.
The Invention of Lying ends up a misfire, but hold on as Gervais and Merchant team up once again in 2010 with Cemetery Junction, which I anticipate will prove the duo behind “The Office” are a comedic force to reckon with.
