Post by BIGFANBOY on Oct 1, 2009 16:09:35 GMT -5
THE INVENTION OF LYING
Review by Gary "The Greatest Writer in the World” Murray
I backtracked into the world of Ricky Gervais. After falling in love with The Office television series, I wanted to see the original BBC series. That led me to the madcap world of this British comic. His original version of The Office is twelve episodes of perfectly uncomfortable satire. His boss character is clueless and egotistical, thinking himself better than his surroundings - a brilliant stand-up comic stuck in the paper industry. The second series Extras was also just as cleaver, but skewered the entertainment industry and the notions of fame. Though he has done some films, none have matched the successes of his small screen entertainments. The latest is The Invention of Lying, one of the most un-even films of 2009.
The movie is a fable set in a world where lying has never been invented. Everyone states what is on their minds, no matter what the consequences. It is honestly to a fault. Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) is a screenwriter for a film company. Every film made is a lecture, with handsome executive behind it (Rob Lowe) and scholarly "readers" (like Christopher Guest) reading stories from history. Without lying, there is no imagination. Not very successful, Mark is stuck with the 1300's which is just The Black Plague. Everyone at the office knows that his boss Anthony (Jeffery Tambor) is going to fire him but doesn't seem to have the guts to commit to the deed. Mark's secretary Shelley (Tina Fey) shows her disdain for her boss with a perky smile. No one has any qualms about telling Mark he's a loser.
The film opens with Mark going on a first date with Anna (Jennifer Garner). She openly states that she is way out of his league, both in looks and success. They go to a restaurant and the waiter steps up and says “I hate my job”, before even saying hello. The date is a disaster.
When Mark does get fired, the landlord demands the rent. Going to the bank, he tells the teller that he wants to withdraw all his money. The teller tells him that the computers are down and asks him how much money he has in his account. He knows that he only has $300 in there, but the synapses in his brain go a different pathway and he tells her that $800 is in his account. The computer goes back up that instant and the teller says that he only has $300 in the bank... but gives him the $800 because there must be something wrong with the computer. No one has ever lied, and Mark has discovered a secret no one else knows or has even contemplated.
After trying to explain this new idea to his best buddy (Louis C.K.), our reluctant hero poses the question of what would you do if you could do anything. This leads him to his first major lie, telling a woman on the street that the world will end if she doesn't have sex with him. She asks, “Do we have time to get to a motel?” Though, at the motel, Mark cannot do the deed. It seems that he has a conscious. When this path of comic ideas is exhausted, the film turns with Mark telling his dying mother about the man in the clouds, just to make her less afraid of what will happen.
The film takes on a very religious bend with Mark becoming a prophet and delivering commandants on pizza boxes. This is blended with the romantic drama elements of Mark trying to win Anna who sees him as a bad genetic match, not wanting their children to be chubby and short.
Some of the details, both large and small, have to me noted. In his apartment is a dartboard, and beside it is the picture of that dartboard. Another picture is of a window which is beside that same window. The idea that imagination is a part of lying is a fine particular. Buildings have their stated purpose plastered on the walls. Even Coke and Pepsi are honest in their ads. Movies are all historical, all without dramatizations, implying that acting is a form of lying. But then it overtly states that religion is a form of lying. And that is where it takes the big leap of faith off the cliff.
The problem with this little film is that it takes too many turns, all sharp and without reason. Since Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson co-wrote and co-directed the feature, the blame has to fall squarely on their shoulders. The Invention of Lying never decides what kind of a flick it wants to be, and mines each comic vein past the point of finding the ore. The joke of being honest wears itself out very soon and they never replace it with any stronger material. The concept would have worked better as a Saturday Night Live skit. Oh yeah, they did that decades ago with the Liar character who was married to Morgan Fairchild. Which is weird because I'm married to Morgan. Sure, sure I am....
But some of the performances are wonderful, starting with Jennifer Garner. With her bright-eyed enthusiastic presence, she is just the kind of woman every man on the planet could and would fall in love with. Even when she is brutally honest, she does it with perfect flair. The film is so stocked full of cameos that to mention them all will deny half the fun of seeing this little movie. At just about every turn it seems that some established or up-and-coming star that shows up in a small role.
Ricky Gervais plays basically a version of his character from Extras melded with his last movie role, the sad sack. I know he can do this kind of a performance in his sleep and wish he would take on something more challenging. There is no demand in his role, his writing and his direction.
The Invention of Lying is less than the sum of its parts and nothing more than an interesting diversion. Really what I meant to say was that it is the most amazing film since Citizen Kane. Sure, sure I did....
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