In a world where truth prevails and the idea of a lie does not even exist, writer Mark Bellison is about to lose his job. With only the ability to write scripts based on true events of the past Marks hands are tied in the path to creativity. His hands are tied until he is fired and is almost forcefully evicted from his apartment owing to being a bad tenant who is unable to make his payments. This is when Mark Bellison for the first time finds an escape that we as humans righty thrive on today for existence; LYING.
Mark may not have a strong jawline or a fast metabolism however Mark surely does share with all of us the power of lying and the power it possess to fix or destroy ones destiny and others along with it. A term you all are comfortably aware as a white lie is where it all begins. To do a full circle and to realize the gravity of the crime and to seek forgiveness or even to repent is not a common attribute of man in the 21st century. This school of thought on its owns well could have been what motivated Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson to put the screenplay of THE INVENTION OF LYING together. If you as a viewer are able to understand this message then I would be correct in saying that Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson are successful in bringing across the intended theme. Sharing the spotlight in writing and directing are Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson whose sharp sense of humor is what keeps the if not bland comedy afloat. At a time where movies such as HANGOVER hit the box office it is indeed impossible to consider THE INVENTION OF LYING a worthy contender in its genre. However it most certainly does have an aura of Brit humor which is oddly a welcomed change in style to the regular cinema goer.
A lie can be as minute as lying about a color or lying to escaping murder or rape. In this case a lie would be if I am to state that Jennifer Garner made any contribution what so ever to the production. She instead entirely was the least interesting character to watch and sadly she almost shared an equal amount of screen time as Gervais. To act in a movie of this genre takes talent, to act in a comedy right beside a comedy royalty as Gervais puts extra pressure. Jennifer Garner isn’t certainly up for such a challenge.
Although the gist seem heavy it is without a doubt a motion picture hell bent on cheeky humor of Ricky Gervais and indeed a light hearted venture into comedy. One of my personal favorite comedians is Gervais and those of you who are fans of the man indeed should watch his comedy roadshows.
TITLE: THE INVENTION OF LYING
DIRECTED BY: RICKY GERVAIS and MATTHEW ROBINSON
STARRING: RICKY GERVAIS and JENNIFER GARNER
RATED: PG13
RATING: 06/10
100 minutes