The Invention of Lying review

As it currently stands Ricky Gervais is my favorite working comedian. The reasons are simple. I like what he has to say. He's opinionated without being too pompous about it and finally he's just a damn good writer. "The Invention of Lying" is his first mainstream American comedic film in which he had a hand in writing and directing. He starred in last years quiet, mild success "Ghost Town" which was fantastic and if you've seen his tv work with Stephen Merchant (i.e. 'The Office' (UK version, although he does aid with the U.S. one and 'Extras') then you know just how clever and funny he is. With "The Invention of Lying" he helps create a well done comedy that feels like something almost Mel Brooks-ian in wit and humor. The world in which it takes place is a world in which people have never evolved the ability to lie. Thus there is no flattery, fiction or anything like it. Gervais' character Mark Bellison, a screenwriter for Lecture Films (it's films reflect the studios name) somehow manages to make the first lie which sets off a change reaction of good and possibly not so good things.

The key to Gervais' humor is his intelligence. There's a moment where he confronts something that he personality considers a lie and it's something that may make some people uneasy, but nothing something that's particularly uncommon. It's thus dealt with with in a funny, somewhat satirical way and it works. It's not terribly over the top and he gets his point across. The other key is his casting choices. If you've seen his show 'Extras', then you know some of the major names he can get to be involved in his projects. Here he out does himself by putting together a comedic cast of today's and yesterdays major players including, Rob Lowe, Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Louis C.K., Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Guest and hey just for shits and giggles four fucking great cameos by Jason Bateman, Stephen Merchant, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Edward Norton. And each are given a moment to impact the audience with humor, albeit in a much more high brow level then some will probably expect.

And with that I can't say it's a comedy everyone will like. I wouldn't really call it British humor for those who like to use that label, but it's a film where the humor is almost completely derived from it's plot which doesn't always mean a bunch of laugh out loud moments, but stuff that's exceedingly funny on a more subtle level... which could in turn make you laugh out loud, but some of your fellow theater patrons may wonder why you find it so funny. It's complicated. The opening conversation between Gervais and Garner is is hilarious and brilliant. At that point you realize how blunt a world they created and thus if it's a film you're going to enjoy. "The Invention of Lying" is definitly among the better comedies of 2009, but it is held back by some of it's meandering love triangle which transitions the second and third acts. Something that was a bit of an issue with "Ghost Town" as well. But all that said, it's a witty, snarky and brilliant comedy that's throughly worth seeing and will hopefully catch on so more people can experience good comedic writing since it seems 90% of successful comedies nowadays are generic garbage. See the trailer for the upcoming film 'Tooth Fairy' as a good example.

"The Invention of Lying" *** 1/2 out of ****