Tina Fey Movie:

		List Price: $35.99		Label: Warner Home Video Salesrank: 4471 Released: January 19, 2010
		Our Price: $27.99
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
It's official: Ricky Gervais is a genius. He may not have cured cancer or discovered a new branch of mathematics, but having created The Office, Extras, and now The Invention of Lying has secured him a place in the history of comedy. The Invention of Lying imagines a world in which everyone unfailingly tells the truth; they don't even know what fiction is. Every thought, however humiliating or harsh, tumbles out unvarnished. Then one day, a desperate unemployed writer named Mark (Gervais) concocts a lie--and in a world where everyone is unfailingly honest, a lie is believed with total and absolute gullibility. Mark can get anything he wants...but the one thing he truly wants is the love of a girl named Anna (Jennifer Garner, Alias, Juno), and she's the one person he can't bring himself to lie to.

The Invention of Lying balances a brilliant overall idea with inspired comic bits and deft cameo turns by a star-studded cast (among the many famous faces in bit roles are Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, Jason Bateman, Christopher Guest, Tina Fey, Jeffrey Tambor, and more). The second half of the movie, which follows Mark's romantic pursuit of Anna, isn't quite as marvelous as the gradual unfolding of the situation and Mark's grappling with his strange new ability, but that doesn't keep the movie from being a unique and dazzling comedy. Simply not to be missed. Also featuring comedian Louis C.K., Rob Lowe, and Jonah Hill. --Bret Fetzer

The Invention of Lying [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Big Fan of Gervais, But Disappointed With 'Invention...'
2009-12-21 - First, what I liked about the film:
- Very 'smart' idea. The plot is high concept, but it is pulled off nicely.
- Some supporting cast members steal the show. Jonah Hill is funny (his part is way too small), and Ed Norton's cameo was excellent.
- Filming location was excellent! Though, I am biased with this point, as I grew up around there (Lowell, MA).

What I didn't like:
- The acting, in general, was not good. As someone else stated, Gervais let all the comedy/jokes go to others as he just reacted. It just didn't work. Garner was robotic as the love interest. Lowe was...acceptable...as the protagonist. Tambor was underutilized. Philip Seymour-Hoffman's cameo should have been bigger. It just seemed like having all these known actors was more of a boost to Gervais's ego than it was about adding something to the film. To further that, Louis CK's character was relatively pointless and wasn't all that funny for playing the dumb sidekick. There's no denying Stephen Merchant's chemistry with Gervais, so not using him for that role amazed me.
- The story, while a smart, new idea, was relatively boring and disjointed. Even at 90 minutes, the story tends to drag on and make it seem like its been playing for much longer than that.
- The end of the film was predictable and formulaic. Gervais reveals to Garner the 'truth' about his lies, and she seems unmoved at the revelation of his ability or what his decisions have caused, and the film ends 'Happily Ever After.' For such a high concept film, to have such a predictable, expected ending was a major disappointment.
- If Coca-Cola was first invented as a 'medicine' by John Pemberton, how is it that it ever existed (as, technically, its marketing as such would be a lie since it was never proven to be a medicine).
- It seems as though the movie acknowledges that 'love' exists in the lie-free world, but people ignore it over more common sense regarding passing on good genes or practical reasoning. But that implies that the person who marries for love is actually living a lie. I didn't understand that part of the film, as since they do end up together, does that mean Garner is lying to herself about being with Gervais? Does the movie say love is basically a lie? I don't see the relation between telling the truth and not being together for love.

In short, for someone of Gervais' talent, the movie was very flat. Its one of those films that may look like a grand idea on paper, but transferring it to film leaves a lot to be desired. After seeing it, I have no lingering question as to why the studio basically sat on the film for a year before releasing it, as it just wasn't that good. I do hope Gervais gets more opportunities to make his films, but if more of them are along these lines, I'll hope he sticks to podcasts and TV shows.

Do you know a liar like this? I do!
2009-12-13 - This is a very funny movie, especially because I have met people who lie so much that they try to recreate reality until it backfires. I appreciate the humor and absurdity that eventually becomes a spoof. Thank you for the levity when life with liars can get so intense.

This movie is BRILLIANT!
2009-12-13 - I loved this movie 100%! Fresh idea, funny delivery. Good acting.both Jennifer Garner and Ricky Gervais where amazing...Nice to just go out and laugh and not have to see people get killed. I also learned something.
There's plenty to enjoy, from Gervais' offhanded and charming performance to the strong supporting cast, including hilarious small roles for Lowe and Fey plus terrific cameos by Jason Bateman, Christopher Guest and other Gervais stalwarts.

Gervais plays screenwriter Mark, a "chubby little loser" who knows that the lovely Anna (Jennifer Garner) is out of his league as soon as they meet. She doesn't disabuse him of the notion. His life goes from bad to worse when he is sacked and faces the possibility of eviction.

Desperation is the mother of invention, and the world's first lie is told when he convinces a bank teller that there is more money in his account than appears on her screen. He now has discovered the ability to bend a trusting world to his will.

Gervais once again appears to be using comedy as therapy to work out his personal insecurities. His screen alter ego is consistently branded a fat, underachiever but you know the purpose of the film will be to celebrate the triumph of this underdog and ensure that he wins the love of a gorgeous woman.

The obvious scenario unfolds with a ready wit and an engaging sense of playfulness. I truly loved this movie!


Well made, but sad and hopeless
2009-12-06 - Is God just a desperate fib?

That's one of the main plot points in this movie, co-written and starring British actor/comedian Ricky Gervais.

The movie creates a world where everyone tells the truth - all the time, no matter what - with funny and often awkward results. Then Gervais' character stumbles upon telling the first fib.

After a few untruths, Gervais is confronted by his mother, dying in a hospital bed and full of fear for her future. In order to bring her some comfort, he drops what is presented to viewers as a big, fat, glow-in-the-dark lie: When her life on earth is done, his mother doesn't simply become nothing. She goes on to a happy existence living in a mansion and reuniting with all her already-dead loved ones.

Apparently, the world created by Gervais has no spiritual books such as a Bible, because this is amazing news to the hospital staff, who overhear the "lie" and demand to know more. Word spreads and soon, hundreds of people surround Gervais' house and he's forced to "create" a faith system with commandments (scrawled the back of pizza boxes) and a man in the sky dispensing favour and punishment.

One journalist, ignoring this very unfunny white elephant, wrote The Invention of Lying "recalls cinema classics like Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life - as much message as mirth." The message, according to this journalist, is lying isn't always a bad thing.

Unaware of Gervais' main plotline, my wife and I went to the theatre to watch this movie. When it finished, we walked out feeling sad.

For us, the message of The Invention of Lying is spirituality is a joke that exists only because we're all liars. And this is presented without a shred of evidence to back it up.

Where does the universe come from? The movie doesn't address this. What about a monumental figure like Jesus - his life and the revelations he told us about the nature of God? This is simply ignored. St. Paul, one of the writers of the Bible's New Testament, described how hundreds of people saw Jesus resurrected from the grave after his death on the cross. Apparently this doesn't matter, either.

How about the thousands of documented cases of near-death experiences that suggest an afterlife? They supposedly don't exist. A book like the Bible was written by more than 50 people over thousands of years; are they all liars? The casual, unspoken inference from Gervais is yes.

My wife's mother died not long ago and the hospital scene was a slap in the face for her (despite knowing the truth is quite different). Even for people who haven't lost a loved one recently, the message from Gervais is utter hopelessness. Unless we fool ourselves with a lie, all of us die and become nothing, he suggests. We'll never see loved ones again and we'll never meet God.

A classic along the lines of It's a Wonderful Life? Perhaps The Invention of Lying could have been that. But the former presented a compelling case for hope. The latter suggests only that we live for today and the person with the most toys when they die does, indeed, win. Win what, Ricky??

Mostly enjoyable and interesting
2009-11-24 - I enjoyed this movie, with the exception of the ending which felt artificially sweet. As a funny take on life through a particularly skewed lens this is a fun movie, but when it tries to be a romantic comedy it seems to veer off course a bit. I think if it had stuck with its strengths I might have rated it 5 stars. I know there are likely to be people arguing over whether the humorous assault on religion is offensive, but I won't weigh in on that. All I know is there were a lot of funny scenes through most of the movie so I liked it. Jennifer Garner was great, Gervais was pretty good too.