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The Invention of Lying (12A)
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Dir. Matthew Robinson/Ricky Gervais, 100min, USA, 2009
Cast: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambor, Rob Lowe
Review by Matthew Rodgers
To say that this second outing as a leading man for Wernham Hogg’s favourite exile is as hilarious as the premise might suggest would itself be something of a lie. While similar in tone to the charming Ghost Town, this bears more of the hallmarks of Gervais’s successful brand of comedy; unfinished sentences, reliance on self deprecation, undoubted intelligence and, depending on your tolerance of his now patented shtick, extreme smugness.
The story is a somewhat biblical parable set in a distorted version of our own world; same clothes, same cars, same daily slog through the travails of life, but with one notable difference - the concept of lying doesn’t exist. That is until our “chubby” and “snub-nosed” loser Mark Bellison (Gervais), who is on the verge of eviction having just suffered the most honest dismissal at work and reeling from a date with his unrequited love (Garner), has an epiphany that means he no longer has to tell the truth. Cue trips to the casino, banks, hotel rooms with women believing sex with Mark will prevent Armageddon - oh, and the creation of a little lie called Religion. Heavy stuff eh?
The concept is high but extremely funny. Co-directors Gervais and Robinson cleverly squeeze all they can from the undeniably “one-trick” premise. The opening twenty minutes are stuffed with countless quips, mostly put-downs of Bellison himself (who has more than a whiff of Extras Andy Millman about him). But what will leave the biggest impression is the sudden and essential shift in tone at the half way mark.
Before it starts to get repetitive, Invention of Lying becomes theological, which would be a brave move by anyone, let alone the openly atheist Gervais. After a surprisingly affecting bedside exchange with his dying mother, Bellison thinks up “the man in the sky” to ease her passing and with this comes an allegory of faith that is both critical and commendable of religion in equal measure.
With a rolodex of admirers to call upon, the success rate of the multitude of supporting stars is patchy. Edward Norton is hilarious as an angry traffic cop and Jason Batemen makes the most of his single scene. Tina Fey though doesn’t fare as well. The promise of her high billing is unrealised with just a couple of brief and predictable set-pieces. And it must have been hard to juggle Christopher Guest, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, AND Jeffrey Tambor all in one movie. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Garner also struggles with a role that allows for very little character development. She is more a cathartic tool for Bellison’s character progression.
Formerly entitled The Other Side of Truth, the truth of the matter here is that The Invention of Lying is a mixed bag of jokes and starry/pointless cameos that’s still better than most movies that fib us into believing they’re comedies.
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