Invention of Lying, The

What would you do if you could tell any lie and everyone in the world believed you? I think most of us would do whatever we wanted. I personally would try and get as much money and beer out of it as I could. We’d all find a way to exploit our new power in every way we could to make our lives easier or better. And while this concept is pretty solid, original and interesting fertile terrain to explore it might not have been best attempted in a comedy movie. But unfortunately that’s exactly what Ricky Gervais does in his new film “The Invention of Lying.”

In the film, Gervais’ character exists in a universe where no one has evolved the ability to lie until he does, and no matter what lie he comes up with everyone he lies to believes every word. This film starts out very funny but about a third of the way through it loses its focus and spirals into a true examination of what this world might look like. Sadly though, this examination lacks anything resembling comedy. It’s a shame really because it starts off quite good, but by the end of the film you are just praying it will end soon. It reminds me of films like “Defending Your Life” or “Sleeper,” but where those movies excel this movie fails. The movie seems to suggest that with everyone being honest the world is a miserable place, but instead of delving further half way through it becomes an ineffective satire of religion as a propagation of false hope, and then somehow by the end of the movie it seems its only purpose is to be a soap box for Gervais to complain about how unfair the world is because no matter how funny or successful he is he still cant get laid. The acting in the film isn’t good, even though the film has a couple notable cameos. The directing is dreadful; it lacks any semblance of vision. The only thing that redeems the film is the first twenty or so minutes, which hardly justifies the cost of a movie ticket.

There are too few laughs in this film to be considered a comedy. And in every which way it tries to be cerebral it’s a dismal failure. I was sad that the movie turned out to be such a disappointment because I truly believe that Gervais is a comedic genius, in a caliber all his own, but even geniuses take missteps. If this movie confounds you as to how Gervais was able to get financing for such a project then I recommend you check out the British version of “The Office” and in my opinion the even funnier and utterly brilliant show “Extras.” They will be a better use of your time and money and Gervais will still get paid; win-win.