Ricky Gervais stars, writes and directs The Invention of Lying, which takes place in a world where everyone tells the truth all the time until the protagonist suddenly discovers lying, which leads to fame, success and money, but will it lead to love? It stars Jennifer Garner as his potential love interest. (Matthew Robinson also wrote and directed.)
The Invention of Lying’s main problem is that it is funny ha, ha and not funny literally laughing out loud. It is too bland to be an appealing rom com and waits too long to reach the heart of the movie, satire about society’s beliefs. The movie also seems sweeter than some of that satire demands probably because Gervais, like most entertainers, wants to be liked, and when the movie turns to examine religion, which is the best material in the movie, he would prefer not to have calls for boycotts and get the wrong kind of attention so he tempers it; however some of the best comedy sparks controversy and makes legends. Gervais settles for mediocrity and vanity. He had the idea and the material then ran screaming to hide behind convention’s skirts.
The Invention of Lying has so many hilarious throw away world building moments such as a bus advertisement that says, “Pepsi, when they don’t have coke,” or when people casually are standing outside their office absolutely devastated because they do not want to go in. Because the overall framework of the movie lacks any rhythm, they do not hit as hard as they should. Gervais starts the movie at a crisis point instead of establishing the rhythm of his day at work, with his friends and neighbor. He then completely changes course by succeeding as a screenwriter and becoming a messenger of God (hint: lead with the more fantastic profession) before descending into romantic tropes yanked out of The Graduate thus completely abandoning the trenchant commentary.
Gervais is clearly more comfortable as the focus of The Invention of Lying’s story. The protagonist’s appearance is ridiculed mercilessly throughout the film, but before the movie ends, of course his character ditches the cheap, baggy suits for something more tailored, darker and basically become Gervais. His character is even a screenwriter whose movies become hits. I know that you are supposed to write what you know, but come on. He has to start as the underdog because he does not want to even theoretically root against his character by later turning his fortune.
The Invention of Lying constantly criticizes society’s inclination to judge people on superficial qualities, but Gervais has so many blindspots that run along these same lines that it is hard to laugh with someone when they are oblivious to being complicit. Jennifer Garner plays his love interest, and she is not immune to being casually cruel to the protagonist yet he calls her kind. Why? Tina Fey who plays his assistant basically behaves similarly but is a shrew. Garner and Fey are both gorgeous and talented women, but because Gervais prefers conventional beauty, that beauty signifies character whereas we are supposed to look deeper at the protagonist’s inner beauty. Gervais trucks in the same gender bias that people have been promulgating since the dawn of time. Men deserve whom they deem as pretty women regardless of their looks, but what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.
Do not confuse my criticism of The Invention of Lying as a ding against Garner’s performance. Garner makes a terrific straight woman and finds ways, especially in a bench and mansion scene to unintentionally skewer the protagonist while being utterly sincere and genuine. It is very difficult not to wink at the audience, but Garner never hovers over the material or feels insecure about her character. Garner may be one of the best aspects of the movie in a film filled with comedic geniuses. If there was no dreadful, obligatory rom com story line, she would have made a better best friend than Louis C.K., and I am not blaming him for that performance because we now know that he is a dirt bag. It was not his fault that he was not given much to do. Others like Jeffrey Tambor, Rob Lowe and Jason Bateman find ways to sparkle with limited screen time. I would have preferred if Jonah Hill’s suicidal neighbor took all of Louis C.K.’s airtime. While I was delighted to recognize an unexpected Edward Norton appearance, seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman in a film when I thought that I had seen most of them and was never going to see him again gave the film a ton of undeserved points. The extras were superb.
The Invention of Lying also traffics in regional bias that disaster movies usually sport. For instance, in Independence Day, the US is the center of attention, and the rest of the world stops everything to watch what one white guy has to say. In this film, the Africans are once again in huts essentially holding spears. It is so hacky that I was not even angry just thought, “Of course.” Gervais is at his most fun when he speaks simple truths that make him the smartest man in the world, but it is hard to sustain that energy when he defaults to basic media settings. Little beats that show places around the world should also be ripe for satire and incisively skewer all societies. Choose an African country, find out something a skosh more elevated than a scene that could appear in a black and white Tarzan movie and roast the hell out of it. Or leave the around the world montage alone and prioritize by putting something funnier in its place. No comedy should have dead air.
If The Invention of Lying brilliantly succeeds, it is retaining the character’s likeability even though he is lying. He never feels like a con artist even though he is. Most of the lies are lies for self-preservation, lies to make others feel better or entertaining lies like fiction. There is one lie that comes too close to rapey, but he wisely punts before following through on the scene—would have been better to leave out entirely. Lying becomes an act of mercy and kindness. Maybe Gervais pulls punches for the same reason, and he is genuinely too sweet to succeed. Gervais could probably find a way to devote a movie to each deadly sin and tout its beneficial properties.
While I would not unequivocally recommend The Invention of Lying, it is definitely deeper than I expected it to be. Unlike most comedies that fail to coax laughter out of me that I forget, discard and disavow, this one had seeds of greatness though it ultimately disappointed. It would be a fantastic movie for a fearless filmmaker to rip off and redo who really wanted to go in on religion, but was not as humorless and angry as most public figures who act as if God steals snacks from the refrigerator, and they are on a mission to stop Him. As a Christian, I wanted him to go there, but he just settled down, got married and had a kid. Boring!