Review of The Invention of Lying

The Invention of Lying (12A)

Plot
In a world where people are unable to lie, put-upon screenwriter Mark Bellison (Gervais) is subjected to a daily dose of blunt-talking humiliation. Then he discovers he can tell a fib, boosting his love life and career, until complications arise in the form of a Man In The Sky�

Review
We’re not going to lie to you: The Invention Of Lying is bad. The Love Guru bad. Sgt. Bilko bad. David Brent’s stand-up bad. It’s so bad that it makes you think that Stephen Merchant — notable by his near-absence here, with first-timer Matthew Robinson sharing the writing/directing duties with Ricky Gervais — was the real brains
of his partnership with Gervais all along.

That the movie exists in a laugh-free limbo at all is a huge surprise, not just because of Gervais’ involvement, but because of the seemingly fail-safe premise. On paper, a reverse Liar Liar sounds promising, but in practice it’s not only massively flawed with contradictions galore (how can Edward Norton be a bent cop if bound to honesty?), but soon runs out of steam, like an improv-class exercise stretched way beyond its limits.

One major problem is that we’re not simply in a world where people can’t lie, but where they’re compelled to tell the truth, in the bluntest possible terms, regardless of the situation. While this is fine for a waiter admitting to sipping a drink, it leads to a succession of flat sketches, comedic dead zones filled with first-base insults. Did you know that Gervais is overweight with a snub nose? By the twentieth time that joke is hammered into the ground here, you will.

Gervais has, of course, traded in the comedy of embarrassment before, but in The Office or Extras, he’s always had sympathetic characters to bounce off. But The Invention Of Lying is peopled almost entirely by spiteful half-wits and antagonistic morons — Jennifer Garner’s love interest, for example, is a shallow narcissist who won’t shut up about genetics in a manner that would please Dr. Josef Mengele — and the result is a charmless affair. By the time the ramshackle plot detours into a hideously ill-conceived religious satire, as a Jesus-sandaled Gervais invents God, not even the regular interventions of his Amazing Comedy Friends (including Jason Bateman, Norton and, mugging shamelessly in a one-scene cameo, Merchant) can save a film that aims for the profundity of Groundhog Day, but doesn’t even come close to Multiplicity.

Verdict
Proof that when you aim for the stars, sometimes you find a black hole. Hopefully just an anomaly for the usually wonderful Gervais.

Reviewer: Chris Hewitt

Write Your Review
To submit your own review and rating please login or register.

Your Reviews

Average user rating for The Invention of Lying

I'd go for three and half stars if i could

No way is this a one star movie - thats ridiculous. Stupid even. As if the film couldn't have ben any worse! Its not the best comedy i've ever seen - but better than anything Will Ferrell has made recently, or Steve Carell, or Jack Black - honestly, you let some of those names get away with murder, give them two or three stars, but Gervais? Home grown talent making an original comedy that is, at the very least, decent!? Hang him out to dry. Stupid review. ... Read More

Ambition About me
14:25, 21 November 2009 \| Report This Post




Incredibly Harsh

Aaaaaaah, the joys of everyone having an opinion... String me up but I genuinely enjoyed this. I thought it was a nice slice of escapist comedy. A good poke at what life would be like without the ability to tell a lie. Which is all Ricky was aiming for, a sort of reverse Liar Liar, which also got panned by critics yet I also thoroughly enjoyed. I thought this was reasonably and consistently funny, quite charming and heartfelt. Hey, it isn't perfect, it does clearly have it's flaws, but what film... Read More

CIRVIRUS64 About me
11:25, 09 November 2009 \| Report This Post




RE: The Invention of Lying

Dissapointing. I have been a solid fan of Ricky Gervais ever since his hit comedy 'The Office'. Recently he has made some slips and has done some comedic mishaps, but i have let that pass before and believed that it is just a hiccup for the usally hilarious Gervais. However, when i saw 'The Invention of Lying' im thinking that Ricky's comedic stylings are wearing thin. He is even being taken off on the new 'The Impression Show' which highlights the repetitive antics of Gervais (such as diggin... Read More

robwillphill About me
19:19, 04 November 2009 \| Report This Post




RE: truly wunderbar
I love this film even more knowing that it winds up the bible bashers. Probably why it didn't do at all well at the us box office, ho hum. ... Read More

spamandham About me
17:15, 29 October 2009 \| Report This Post




Pretty Poor

I confess I had low expectations, but thought it might be suitable for a night out with the Mrs. I wisely suggested "Up" but she rejected that for this film. Sadly it does not work on any level, it is not funny and lacks charm with a strange change of direction half way through. As Empire has pointed out, it does not even remain true to the world it has designed, not only with the corrupt cop, but also a disconnect between the nerds who were in love (as pointed out on a park bench) ... Read More

bretty About me
14:07, 23 October 2009 \| Report This Post




RE: withdraw the Mengele comment - Garner is Jewish
Are you actually serious? First off, Garner is NOT jewish. She is a methodist. Secondly, the reviewer did not compare Garner to Mengele, he compared her character. You see, in the film, she's not playing Jennifer Garner, to simplify it, she's pretending to be someone else, acting I think its called. And I'm sorry, is it 1946 and we're not allowed to tell jokes about the holocaust? What age are you? I really think that if you contact the editor you WILL get Chris Hewitt fired, in fact, i think t... Read More

dankeane About me
18:53, 16 October 2009 \| Report This Post




Dire. Not totally, but pretty dire.

It's a 10-minute funny sketch dragged out over 2 long, long hours. You could completely miss any given 20 minutes and drop back into it - it's that plodding and slow. Shame - I loved Ghost Town (minority opinion, I know!) ... Read More

babylion About me
18:54, 11 October 2009 \| Report This Post




RE: withdraw the Mengele comment - Garner is Jewish
L: gavmeister Not only is this review poorly written, it contains a totally unacceptable comment, comparing Jennifer Garner's character to Josef Mengele because of her obsession with genetics. Firstly Jennifer Garner is Jewish, can you imagine how horrific this would be if she read it. Second, it insults Mengele's victims and jewish victims of the Holocaust. Thirdly it is historically inaccurate - Mengele horrific experiments were partly purely sadism, partly to find out about physi... Read More

spamandham About me
14:36, 11 October 2009 \| Report This Post




withdraw the Mengele comment - Garner is Jewish

Not only is this review poorly written, it contains a totally unacceptable comment, comparing Jennifer Garner's character to Josef Mengele because of her obsession with genetics. Firstly Jennifer Garner is Jewish, can you imagine how horrific this would be if she read it. Second, it insults Mengele's victims and jewish victims of the Holocaust. Thirdly it is historically inaccurate - Mengele horrific experiments were partly purely sadism, partly to find out about physiology, not genetics or euge... Read More

gavmeister About me
10:21, 10 October 2009 \| Report This Post




RE: HOW DO I GET THESE 2 HOURS BACK
gavboy7 - you sum up exactly how I feel. I want my money back. I love Ricky Gervais, loved The office, Loved Extras, find his stand up hysterical. HATED this film with a passion. It is my second worse ever film after 'Year One'. Reasons - well does lying make you clever then and being able to tell the truth make you beyond stupid? I completely understand if you can't lie and someone says 'How are you?' You have to tell the truth so for example 'I a... Read More

bamba About me
21:04, 09 October 2009 \| Report This Post




Next Page