The Invention of Lying

This movie was certainly not what I expected.  The basic concept begins "in a world" where no one lies and no one even understands the concept of "saying something that isn't."  Not only that, but everyone is brutally honest, saying whatever is on their mind, whether they were asked or not.  This is a world of dreary, bored people that are more often than not depressed.  There is also a distinct line drawn between "losers" and more successful people since apparently the only way a loser could become something more would be to lie about themselves.

British funny man, Ricky Gervais, stars in this distinctly English flavored romantic satire dramedy and also penned the screen play.  The story begins with Mark (Gervais) going out on a date with painfully out of his league Anna (Jennifer Garner).  Due to the nature of the world they live in, both know that the date is going nowhere before it even starts, but they proceed for the sake of it.  Though she admits to having a better time than she expected, Anna could never be with a loser like Mark and that seems to be the end of that.  Following that depressing scenario, Mark soon loses his job as a screenwriter due to the fact that his assigned material is not interesting enough since movies are simply someone recounting historical facts in a world where nothing is made up.  Jobless and broke, Mark faces eviction.  At the bank, getting ready to withdraw his last few hundred dollars, something somehow clicks and he simply tells the teller he has more money than he really does.  Not realizing it is possible to say something that isn't, she apologizes for the error and hands over the cash.  Mark suddenly finds himself in possession of a great power that allows him to do anything or anyone he wants by simply opening his mouth.

For Mark, lying produces pretty much nothing but good as he becomes rich and famous, and makes other people happy by telling them what they want to hear, regardless of truth.  He catapults through the rest of the plot, aided by a plethora of cameo characters from Tina Fey to Edward Norton (genius) and Jonah Hill to Christopher Guest.  Of course, what he really wants is Anna, but that's only to make this seem like a romantic comedy.  What this movie really is, is a satire surrounding what happens when Mark accidentally invents religion.

Normally I enjoy a good satire, but this one left a bad taste in my mouth despite the somewhat clever flavoring reminiscent of the late great Douglas Adams.  Maybe it had to do with the moral of the story being "lying is good" and "religion is probably just a lie someone told to make someone else feel better and it got a bit out of hand."  It had so much potential but ended up as a cheap shot at mocking Christianity while masquerading as a clever satire that was masquerading as a romantic comedy.  A good satire doesn't just make fun - it makes valid points, and I don't feel that this made many at all.

There were some parts I enjoyed, and even the irreverent comedy was done in that classy way that only the Brits can seem to pull off, but really, it felt like I was just watching something that was coming up with as many ways as possible to tell me I'm stupid for believing in God and/or bothering to worry about whether or not I'm telling the truth, and that made even the clever and funny parts less enjoyable.  I realize it's just a movie with a somewhat cheeky point of view, but that point of view still made it harder to enjoy.  If you want my rating of this based purely on technical merit as a movie, without my personal feelings involved you can add one star to my rating, but really, there are so many better movies.

**(2/5 stars)