The Invention Of Lying is the latest movie from the mind of Ricky Gervais (original creator of The Office).  The plot is extremely simple.  There’s an alternate universe where no one knows what a lie is and can only tell the absolute truth, then one day an out of luck loser after a horrible date, getting fired, and evicted, figures out how to not tell the absolute truth. You can view a trailer and a clip on

 

I have to admit that I was concerned about this movie.  I mean I love Ricky Gervais’ work and with something he both wrote and directed (along with Matthew Robinson) is bound to be good, but the plot seemed too simple.  It seemed like one of those SNL skits where they drag out something way too long.  I’m glad to say I was dead wrong. First oddly the movie seems a little more like something you’d encounter on Mr. Show rather than SNL.  There’s all kinds of social satire going on, later getting into religion, and an odd wackiness to the whole thing.

 

A lot of the comedy comes from the great performances.  It seems like this would be really easy to mess up if you read the lines just a little bit differently.  Gervais obviously is perfect, but more surprising were some of the other performances.  A lot of the movie rides on Jennifer Garner who pulls it off really well, especially in her first scene in which she talks about masturbation for a while. And the two are surrounded by a posse of great comedic actors, all who just seem to get it.  Even in tiny roles this movie is packed to the rafters.  Take for example Tina Fey as Gervais’ secretary who really is in one scene for all intents and purposes, but she totally owns it.  Rob Lowe does great playing, well Rob Lowe being a douche.  There’s far too many great actors to list, but check out the IMDb page and you’ll recognize most of the names.

 

The movie does start to drag a little towards the end when it becomes more serious and starts veering away from the broad comedy.  This is the movie’s weakness.  Even though there’s some great stuff like Gervais dressed like Jesus (you have to see the movie to understand), the serious love plot really does make everything much slower.  I felt like Garner’s performance also wavers here a bit.  And of course throughout the movie you can pick at some of the little things like just because they don’t lie doesn’t mean they need to say every thought they have, but that’s where a lot of the comedy comes from.  So suspension of disbelief is best.

 

If you’re looking for a good comedy, and won’t be offended by some religious satire, you should definitely check this movie out.  It’ll keep you solidly entertained for a few hours and sometimes that’s all we can ask.

 

It’s available for pre-order on Blu-ray, DVDand VODfrom Amazon. It comes out January 19th.

 

You can also get it on