The Invention of Lying

This review is going to sound much more negative than I intend it to be. On the other hand-who cares? I'm not exactly Mr. Sunshine to begin with, and you all know what you're going to get here. A real unvarnished look at the eternal heartbreak of the human condition. If that's too real for you, too bad. That's how I roll.

Anyway, Invention follows the very funny (I really mean that, not like late night hosts who introduce comedians they've never heard of use that description. I mean the fact that its been applied to Carlos Mencia shows they're a bunch of damn liars) Ricky Gervais, in an alternate reality where nobody in the world is capable of lying. Ricky's character gets into a bit of a jam with his finances and in a moment of inspiration he...introduces the idea of falsehoods (see I can restate titles to make it sound like I have an original thought). Being the only man in the world who can lie leads to some predictable developments - he gets lots of money, writes the greatest screenplay in the world, and invents religion before focusing his attention on wooing Jennifer Garner. The film has its fair share of funny sequences (I particularly enjoyed the bits about the film industry) but its one note premise eventually runs out of steam, and when it tries to introduce some real emotion into the third act I didn't really care that much. The film also is a bit lazy in its execution which mutes some of its comedic potential. There are at two extended montage sequences (always a shorthand for creative sloth) that I could've done without, and the film goes absolutely nuts with cameos that are not only distracting but feel like they makers were saying "This but may not be inherently funny on its own, but look there's Jason Bateman! You liked him in Arrested Development, laugh now!" I'm not your monkey, I laugh when I want to.

Like I said at the outset all that hostility makes it sound like I hated the film, which I didn't. Its moderately amusing, and doesn't overstay its welcome. Still it doesn't fully capitalize on the talent involved to rise above anything more than a mildly diverting comedy. I hope Ricky Gervais can find something better to do with his talents the next time out.