The Invention of Lying (2009)

The Invention of Lying
2009
Comedy
Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner

While watching "The Invention of Lying" I did not laugh once. This is a problem because it is suppose to be a comedy. I think the idea itself is a good one but it just doesn't pan out here. For those that don't know the movie is about a world where no one has ever lied, until one guy figures out how to. I like Ricky Gervais in other stuff and he is probably the only good thing about this movie (even though he wrote and directed it so he is technically the worst thing about it as well), because there were a few times where he was doing his nervous rambling schtick where I smiled and almost laughed. I usually enjoy Jennifer Garner because she can pull of a very cute character rather well, but here she is mostly just eye candy (which she succeeds at). Then again it probably didn't matter who was cast in it, because the writing just falls so flat the entire time. I want to interview Gervais where he can't lie to ask him if he actually thought most of it was funny while filming to see what he would actually say.

One thing that bothered me was before lying is invented the people in this world don't just tell the truth, they go out of their way to say everything they are thinking. That is not the same thing as telling the truth. It reminded me a lot of "What Women Want" but with everybody saying their thoughts out loud instead of just one guy hearing them. So when a when two people meet instead of just saying "Hello" they say something like "Hello, I find you rather attractive and hope to have sex with you later." It is a lame joke that gets really old really fast, like in the first minute, and that is basically the only joke for the first half of the movie. The second half of the movie basically just makes fun of Christianity, which doesn't even bother me as Christian, it only bothers me because it wasn't funny. Watching Gervais trying to explain the 10 Commandments he makes up out of nowhere is about as close as this whole thing gets to funny, but it's not that close. The last 30 minutes drag on for way too long before coming to the completely predictable "happy" ending, but I don't really see many people caring what happens by that point.

Nice idea with great possibilities, but horribly executed. Maybe in a few decades a writer or director that can actually inject some humor into the outline can remake this movie and make a version worth seeing.

2 out of 5 Stars
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