THE INVENTION OF LYING
UNIVERSAL
RELEASED 2 October 2009
‘Ghost Town’ was a successful first bigscreen starring role for Ricky Gervais. It’s what’s termed a ‘high concept’ movie, where the whole movie is based around an unusual theme. In the case of ‘Ghost Town’, Gervais’ character had a near-death experience which resulted in him seeing dead people, most of whom were rather annoying. ‘The Invention of Lying’ (originally titled ‘This Side of the Truth’) takes place in an alternate reality where no-one ever lies. The reason why is never quite explained, it seems like people’s brains just aren’t wired the same as ours, but suffice to say, as Gervais’ character Mark Bellison finds himself jobless, homeless, and peniless, something in his brain fires off and he tells the bank clerk he has $800 in his account, knowing full-well he only has $300. Mark Bellison has just told the first lie in history. The computer says he only has $300, but the clerk realises it must be wrong and gives Bellison his money. Bellison’s world suddenly becomes a lot bigger. The screenwriting job he’s been fired from (they only make historical documentaries in this world as fiction is a lie) suddenly sees him rehired when he turns up with a history of the Black Plague that involves aliens from outer space (there seems to be something of a fault with the concept mechanics there because aliens are fictional, so no-one would know what an alien was - hmmm...). Money is no longer a problem, in fact anything Mark wants is now within his reach because a lie will get him whatever he wants. But Mark’s big dilemna is his failing pursuit of Anna (Jennifer Garner), who finds Mark’s new-found knowledge and fame appealing, but can’t get around the fact that he just isn’t marriage material, because she doesn’t want short, fat kids with snubby noses. Mark could tell Anna a lie...
‘The Invention of Lying’ is funnier than ‘Ghost Town’, and has a better concept (although the concept can be picked apart, as I’ve already mentioned with the aliens). Sight gags are common (a roadside motel bears the sign ‘A Cheap Hotel for Intercourse with a Near Stranger’) and even jokes about Coke and Pepsi appear in the movie - I’m not quite sure how they managed this. One joke sees Pepsi advertised as the drink to buy ‘when they’ve run out of Coke’!
Gervais is on top form, and unlike ‘Ghost Town’, where it seemed he was playing a subdued version of his natural comic persona, here he’s the ‘tubby, middle-aged loser’ (copyright Ricky Gervais) we all know and love. Watching Bellison invent God and then deal with the unending questions is probably the movie’s strongest section, and classic Gervais stand-up material. Gervais stands before a huge crowd like Moses bearing the tablets, only he has to make do with pizza boxes instead!
There are wonderful performances all round, with Tina Fey and Rob Lowe being the pick of the bunch. I don’t think any actor alive can play smarm like Lowe. There are also at least four brilliant cameos but I won’t give you any indication who they are, just that if you’re a Gervais fan, you’ll love them. As a point of interest, Gervais has a co-director credit on this movie. Not that it’s Gervais’ fault, but one negative I would mention about ‘The Invention of Lying’ is that it looks a bit cheap at times. There is little cinematography to speak of, although considering this is a comedy, it’s far from being the most important aspect of the film. Just saying...
Like 'Ghost Town', ‘The Invention of Lying’ is more intelligent and less corny than your average romantic comedy, but again Gervais doesn’t get to kiss the girl, which is frankly getting on my nerves. After the whole film is based around Anna not wanting to get together with Bellison because of his looks, surely they should lock lips in the end to confirm that love isn’t all about looks? Next movie Ricky, I want to see a love scene!
FOUR OUT OF FIVE