The Invention of Lying - I’d lie for you (and that’s the truth)

‘The Invention of Lying’ is, off the bad, one of those films you’ll either love or hate.  For a start, it stars British comedian Ricky Gervais.  And, if you don’t know who he is, you’re probably best looking at some of his stand-up routines or TV shows on Youtube before you invest your time (or money, if you decide to buy this film!) before watching.  Personally, I think he’s a comic genius; I love his style of comedy where he plays up his own status and ego, then balances it with poignant pathos.  But then he’s not for everyone – my Mum snarls every time she comes across a TV show of his, stating the fact that he’s too ‘full of himself to be likeable.’

Anyway, ‘The Invention of Lying’ is set in a – sort of – modern day America, only the population have never told a lie.  Now we get into the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ points of the film.  I like the concept.  I think it’s good.  However, if you think it through too much, you’ll start questioning how this can be.  And, whatever answer you come with, it doesn’t really make sense.  In this world, if you think someone is ugly, you tell them to their face.  That maybe true (from your point of view), but just because you can’t tell a lie doesn’t mean you HAVE to say everything out loud.

Ricky Gervais plays a down-on-his-luck kind of guy who, by some means (never explained!), learns how to lie.  The film charts his natural rise to fame and fortune where everyone believes everything he says.

The good points are that it’s funny.  Every activity he does is nicely executed and shows off what probably would happen in a world where the population lacks the ability to deceive.  Then you get to the bad.  Jennifer Garner.  I have nothing against her.  The trouble is that she’s not given that much to work with.  The film may be clever, but it’s little more than a romantic comedy.  Therefore, you have the clichéd love interest/plot.  Some may say nothing wrong with that, but Jennifer Garner’s character is one of the people who can’t lie, so many times she comes across as shallow and unlikable when she freely admits that she loves Gervais’ on-screen character, but won’t marry him simply because he doesn’t have good looks or money.  Hard to root for a heroine who says things like that!  Even in a world without lies most guys would move on if a girl said that to them!

Then you have the (so-called) atheist propaganda.  This is really where the film divides.  Gervais is an outspoken atheist and the film makes it quite clear that the concept on God (or at least the Christian one, in this case) is a ‘lie.’ A lot of mileage comes from this plot point and it’s quite an integral part of the story.  Therefore, if you personally don’t believe in religion then it probably comes across as funny, whereas if you do believe then this film is basically ninety minutes of someone mocking your beliefs.  It’s worth checking out some of the online arguments concerning this film before you watch.

However, at the end of the day, I stick with my original comments about Gervais being a comic genius.  Yes, the some characters may be a bit underdeveloped, the overall concept doesn’t quite hold up to scrutiny and the plot little more than a rom-com in disguise, but the film’s funny.  It made me laugh and as Monty Python’s The Life of Brian never offended me, this didn’t either.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one