| 22 February 2010
The Invention of Lying is the co-directorial debut of Mr. Ricky Gervais, that funny pudgy man behind The Office, Extras, and that one podcast. I've followed everything he's made except for that movie where he was a ghost. This film takes place in a world where nobody lies at all. Just think of it - no white lies, no flattery, no excuses - it starts to make my brain feel mushy after a while.
The film does a good job with poking fun at its premise, although my wife pointed out one point: just because you can't lie, doesn't mean you HAVE to tell everyone what you're thinking. There are all sorts of moments when people say things that are mildly inappropriate and therefore amusing, until you consider the fact that there is no way that the person should just blurt that out. Maybe if this was a world where everyone told the truth and they had no self control.
Secondly, although this film definitely has some new and clever ways of being funny, at its heart it is a romantic comedy. There is such a focus on finding happiness through finding love that there are so many avenues that don't get explored. Seriously, Gervais' character could have done all sorts of funny things like becoming a superhero or supervillain; instead, he gets misinterpreted as a religious figure and pines away for the ever-mediocre and buff-armed Jennifer Garner. I wasn't expecting for my world to be rocked with The Invention of Lying, but I think its preoccupancy with love and not much else left it a little too shallow for my tastes. Not a bad date movie, though.
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