If you’re going to base a film on a clever concept, you need an equally clever script to back it up. Unfortunately The Invention Of Lying doesn’t have one. The film is okay, but it never really pays up on the promise of its central conceit. First-time feature writer/director Ricky Gervais (who co-directed and wrote alongside Matthew Robinson) shows promise, but it’s not the comic triumph many might have hoped for.
The film is set in a world where the gene for lying never evolved. Actually it’s not just lying that hasn’t been invented, as neither has the ability to do anything but tell the complete unvarnished truth, so that people feel the need to say whatever is on their mind, no matter how blunt and rude. I’m not entirely sure why being unable to lie means people can’t use tact, but in this film, they can’t.
After a particularly bad day, where Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) has a hideous date with the girl of his dreams, Anna (Jennifer Garner), and gets fired, he stumbles upon a concept nobody has ever thought of before – saying things that aren’t. From a simple, almost accidental first lie, Mark is soon up and running, telling all sorts of porkies, which of course everyone immediately assumes are true, because they have no experience of anything else. Mark uses his newfound talent to become a rich, famous screenwriter (films just involve people sitting in a chair reading historical facts, but of course Mark’s are rather more embellished) and get whatever he wants.
However, while he initially enjoys his new ability, things get far more complicated when he invents heaven to comfort his dying mother. From this he ends up pretty much creating religion, with the world immediately believing his lies about a man in the sky. He also starts getting closer to Anna, but she still can’t get past the fact that Mark is short and fat with a snub nose, while she thinks she ought to just go with the best genetic match she can find.
It’s a neat idea for a film, which raises all sorts of interesting possibilities, but The Invention Of Lying’s problem is that it doesn’t feel well thought out. There are great ideas about advertising in such a world (‘Pepsi – When they don’t have Coke’), and the idea of Mark inventing religion is kind of cool, but none of the concepts really go anywhere. As soon as you start thinking about what the film suggests a world without lying would be like, The Invention Of Lying begins to seem increasingly nonsensical and contrived (which of course it is, but a bit more thought could have hidden that fact better).
By the end it’s difficult not to just start thinking the whole thing is rather pointless, as the movie has precious little to say and does far less with its concept than it seems to think it has. Of course, all this could be forgiven if it was incredibly funny, but while it raises quite a few smiles, it’s rarely laugh out loud funny. In fact it almost feels like it’s constantly holding itself back, so that where it should be incisive and smart, for some reason it doesn’t want to go for the jugular. For example the invention of religion would seem a great opportunity for satire, but it’s all too safe and eventually the ideas the film is toying with disappear so it can move onto a dull, traditional rom com ending.
The Invention Of Lying is not all bad, as some of the film fairly amusing. Ricky Gervais is also pretty good, and shows that he can be extremely good actor if asked to do more than his usual gurning schlub act. There are also some neat cameos from the likes of Ed Norton, Jonah Hill, Christopher Guest, Tina Fey and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, although some of these talents are slightly wasted.
The DVD extras include a ‘Prequel’, which is actually the original opening sequence of the film before it got cut. It’s about cavemen learning how to lie and is presented here as if it’s a special little short of its own. However when you watch it you can see why it was cut from the movie, as it’s irrelevant and not very funny. There’s also a ‘making of...’ featurette, which, as you might expect, is largely about Gervais running around being annoying, and people trying to tactfully talk about the difficulties of working with him. The most entertaining feature is ‘Meet Karl Pilkington’, which follows Gervais’ friend (known for his round head and being a bit dim) as he travels to Boston to film a cameo in the movie. It’s a fun 20 minutes, with Pilkington once more almost absentmindedly signing up to be the brunt of Gervais’ almost sadistic attitude to those around him. In fact, as a man unafraid to unthinkingly say whatever is on his mind, it’s difficult not to wonder whether some of the ideas behind The Invent
ion of Lying are based on Pilkington. Deleted scenes, outtakes and a couple of podcasts round out the package. It’s a decent set of extras and worth taking a look through.
Overall Verdict: The conceit of a world where lying was never invented could make a great movie, but The Invention Of Lying is only an okay one.
Special Features:
‘Prequel: The Dawn Of Lying’ Deleted Scene
‘Meet Karl Pilkington’ Featurette
‘A Truly Honest Making Of Featurette With Ricky Gervais’
Rick and Matt’s Video Podcasts
Deleted Scenes
Corpsing and Outtakes
Reviewer: Tim Isaac
