The Invention of Lying

"The Invention of Lying" is a comedy directed by Ricky Gervais. It stars Ricky Gervais (BBC's "The Office" and HBO's "Extras"), Jennifer Garner ("Alias" and "Juno"), Jonah Hill, Rob Lowe, and Louis C.K. Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman, and Tina Fey also have small parts.

The movie takes place in a world where no one has ever told a lie. Everyone tells the truth and whatever they may be thinking at any given time. Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) is deemed by most to be a loser. He gets fired as a script writer for a film production company and goes on a date with Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner)...only to find out she never wants to go out with him again...because she wants a guy who has more attractive genes. He also is the first person to tell a lie. And of course the entire human race, according to this movie, is gullible beyond comprehension and believes everything he says. He then goes on to milk this for all its worth.

The idea of the movie is definitely a unique one. The movie had potential, but unfortunately the final product is not that great. The cast is great, but the script is lacking in many areas. At times the movie tries to be serious, but it isn't terribly convincing. The dialogue does not feel natural many times during the movie and the characters are never really fleshed out well and seem to move to fast into relationships and problem-solving in general. The ending comes too abruptly, it seems. Although the plot is definitely unbelievable, the characters could have been written more realistically so we might have more sympathy. A major part of the movie also came across as very sacrilegious...which usually is not a good thing in a movies...or anywhere for that matter. After a while the plot feels tired and just drags out like they all of a sudden they don't really know where exactly to go with this idea and great cast.

One of the funniest interactions during the movie is severely limited, between Tina Fey and Ricky Gervais. Tina Fey plays Mark Bellison's secretary who is quick to say how overqualified she is for her job and how happy she is that she will never see Mark again after he is fired. This scene between the two in a film studio office is one of the funniest in the movie. Unfortunately upon the scene ending Tina Fey apparently never returned to the set of "The Invention of Lying" and just started waiting for a pay check after delivering only a handful of lines. This is an unbelievable shame because she is a tremendously gifted comedic actress and would have added so much more enjoyment and laughs to the end result. Jason Bateman, as a doctor who is quick to tell people their loved ones are near death and Jeffrey Tambor, who plays the boss, at first to shy to fire Mark could have used more screen time. Both are also gifted at comedy, but once again limited.

The plot is good. The end result...okay...way better than that trainwreck of a movie..."Year One"...which no one should ever see...at least "The Invention of Lying" is a worth a rental...if only that. Tina Fey needs way more screen time...and the script could have been worked on...but what do you expect...most movies these days are awful anyway. 2 out of 4 stars.

-Joseph Sbrilli