Movie Grade: D+

DVD Features Grade: B

Overall Grade: C

I’m in a weird spot with this review because I’ve just watched Ricky Gervais host the Golden Globes and found him absolutely hysterical. His flippant attitude towards the entire Hollywood scene and those in it is incredibly refreshing and bold. Also the fact that he had a pint of beer with him throughout the entire broadcast made me like him even more. The problem I have is that I’ve never enjoyed any of his films or television shows. While everyone else was jumping on The Office bandwagon I was left perplexed and quite irritated by the entire style. I don’t enjoy uncomfortable humor and find it difficult to sit through slow moving comedies; Which brings us to The Invention of Lying.

The film is set in a world where humans haven’t evolved to the point where they are capable of deception. They always tell the absolute truth regardless of how harsh or insensitive it might be. (Which, if you ask me, sounds a lot like living in the UK… but I digress.) In this world people also lack the ability to hold back any truths that come into their minds. So it’s not just the fact that they won’t lie, they also can’t help from volunteering anything that comes to mind.

Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) through some weird confluence of brain matter develops the ability to lie when he’s faced with eviction from his apartment and the only thing that will save him is a lie to the bank teller convincing her that he did actually have enough money to cover his rent. After that it snow balls into many subsequent lies that turn him from an unemployed loser to a rich, successful man.

I really wish this had been funnier. I feel like the idea on paper sounded so fresh and so different that they jumped on it without realizing exactly how dull and boring life is without subterfuge. I mean, no lying means no acting, means no foreplay means no mystery. Everything is immediately out there on the table for everyone to see. It made for a very slow moving film and the dry whit that his series The Office is known for is present but not executed nearly as effectively. As I mentioned I personally am not a fan of that style of humor so it was definitely lost on me.

The performances were interesting to watch, although it seems like most of the actors assumed that not being able to lie also meant not being at all sophisticated or intelligent; Jennifer Garner had a complete deer in headlights expression on her face throughout almost the entire film. There were some actors who I think did a wonderful job of truly existing in this world like Jason Bateman as Mark’s mother’s doctor and also Edward Norton as an

odd ball traffic cop. But on the whole everyone seemed a bit lost.

There is quite a bit of social commentary going on here which I appreciated; particularly the bit about how easily led people are by the idea of “The Man in the Sky” or as we know it, religion. I certainly enjoyed seeing that idea brought to light but for some reason it just never hit properly for me. It did make me realize that as much as I despise lying there is a time and a place for it in society.

The special features on the DVD include the prequel to the film, The Dawn of Lying narrated by Patrick Stewart where the cast dress as cavemen and reenact the first instance of lying in history. A making of featurette with cast and crew interviews, Ricky and Matt’s Podcasts which is exactly what it sounds like and some additional scenes that played the same as the rest of the film. The one special feature that actually gave me a slight laugh was the outtakes reel that included some practical jokes that the cast played on each other. So while I didn’t enjoy watching the film it was clear they had a blast making it.

This is definitely not a film I’d watch a second time, although the promise of something different was appealing enough to justify that first viewing. I would wait for this to come to a premium channel near you rather than spending the money to own something you’d probably never end up revisiting.

Movie Grade: D+

DVD Features Grade: B

Overall Grade: C