Nobody Falling for Invention of Lying

The invention of lying is ever so useful, and we have Mr. Bellison to thank for that. Written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson, starring Ricky Gervais (The Office) and Jennifer Garner (Alias, Juno and 13 Going On 30), The Invention of Lying is a comedy based on, well, the invention of lying.

The film begins by introducing you to a small, seemingly normal town; however, in this town everybody tells the truth. It’s not that they’re saints– their brains can’t conjure up a lie.

As the movie progresses, you meet Mark Bellison (Gervais), a depressed, fat, ugly man, who is about to get fired, and is going on a date with Anna McDoogles (Garner), a woman way out of his league.

One day, Bellison’s life changes when he tells his first lie. The bulk of the movie from then on is about the relationship between Anna and Mark, and his few friends and how he uses his unique power of fibbing to help improve his own life and the lives of others.

He uses his skill to spin a tale about life after death to comfort his dying mother and, as a result, the rest of the world thinks that he knows what happens to those who die.

Forced to continue his story, he invents ‘the Man in the Sky,’ a parody version of God. Eventually, he writes up rules (like the Ten Commandments) that people should live by. He gains much success and fights to win the affections of Anna.

While I did get a few laughs out of the film, it ran a bit long. The film runs for exactly 100 minutes, an hour and forty minutes. It’s hard to concentrate on the story when there are parts of the film that seem to drag.

The movie is mostly based on one man’s life, but it occasionally alters between his small world and the so-called, ‘creation of a religion.’ Though some of the well played lines earned smiles and contribute to the plot, the rest was risky and non-directional. In my opinion, they could have easily gone with something else.

However, I feel obligated to give a shout out to the writers for creating a story with a plot based on the simple notion of honesty. Also, the actors did well and Garner surpassed my expectations for her in this film. Actors Tina Fey (Baby Mama), Jonah Hill (Superbad, Knocked Up, Funny People) would have been a wonderful addition to the story if they had more screen time. The jokes in the film are witty and creative; the laughs are based on awkward moments when characters spew the truth out in conversation.

Overall I believe that the film is worth seeing—when it comes out on DVD.

Photos:

• The Invention of Lying (Internet)
• The Invention of Lying 2
• The Invention of Lying 3
• The Invention of Lying 4