Rating: 4/5 stars
Directed by: Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner

In “The Invention of Lying,” everybody tells the truth, all the time, 24/7. People wear their emotions (and their intentions) on their sleeves. And as odd of a world as it is, it’s also a strangely comforting one. Want to know if your crush feels the same about you? Ask her. Actually, she’s more likely to notice your nervous flirtations and tell you outright before you get a chance to ask her. If you want to know anything, anything at all, you just have to ask, and you’ll never lose sleep over falsehoods because they don’t exist.

You get the point. This world should be wonderful, yet there’s something strange about it that keeps you at bay, because in the Land of the Truth-Tellers, deeper emotions are suppressed by superficial surveys. Marital decisions are based on looks, not love, and that leaves Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) in a tricky spot. You see, Mark, overweight and stubby-nosed, can make Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner) laugh, but he can’t match her superior genes. Mark faces his share of hardships: His coworkers hate him and, of course, tell him about it, his boss fires him, and he can’t pay the rent.

But in the Land of the Truth-Tellers, Mark has to have his back against the wall for him to do the unthinkable: lie.

He starts out with fibs but soon moves on to tall tales and finally fabrications, and why shouldn’t anyone trust him? No one has ever lied before. For the first 40 minutes or so, the jokes don’t stop, and Gervais’s comedic timing sure can polish the lesser gags. Garner holds her own, and her delivery, perky yet dead-pan, fits nicely with Gervais’ urge to understate.

When we watch a romantic comedy, we know the right guy will end up with the right girl, and if we’re lucky, two other couples will get married, too. Since romantic comedies all end the same way, what ends up separating them from each other is the opening act, the one section where the romantic comedy is allowed to stretch its legs.

In this regard, “The Invention of Lying” is more or less made of elastic. The premise is unique and bubbling with charm, and unlike most romantic comedies, it’s funny!

The problem comes where you’d expect: in the second half, when the film falls back toward convention. The movie tries all sorts of tricks to delay or veil what is the inevitable slowdown into corniness. The narrative becomes episodic. A parade of comedians make their cameos. But ultimately, Gervais and co-writer Matthew Robinson can’t sustain or rediscover the energy that came with their exciting beginnings. So while the first half bursts forth with a variety of observational humor, the second half adds nothing to the table but a bloated riff on religion that starts out hilariously but ends with a thud and a whimper.

Despite the ending’s faults, you’ll find yourself laughing as you leave the theater. “The Invention of Lying” is often funny, and occasionally hilarious, but at times, it lets its genre dictate where the plot should go.

1 Comments

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  On October 8, 2009 at 2:48 am rebeca said

  It was stars up with very funny way with amount of humors. But it became boring when it went towards religion and romance. No laugh after first few minutes. In midway movie felt like one of classical romantic film. But this is my most favorite movie which could amuse me lot even in first hour.

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Tags: Jennifer Garner, Matthew Robinson, Ricky Gervais, The Invention of Lying

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