Movie Review: ‘The Invention of Lying’

Written by Charlie Salmans, Teen Times Reporter
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 05:00

“The Invention of Lying” opened in theaters on Oct. 2 earning a meager $7 million, something its distributor Warner Brothers is probably not happy about due to its star-studded cast. Additionally, the movie has not done great locally, as it seems that the majority of people surveyed haven’t seen it. But how successful the movie has been is not equal to how superb the movie was. It tackled many controversial topics while still being humorous.

“Lying” starts out with the main character, Mark Bellison (played by Ricky Gervais) explaining in a monologue that the world he lives in is a world where lying doesn’t exist, and where everyone tells the truth. He then says that this soon will change. Mark then meets up with his date for that night, Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner), who he has wanted to go out with for a long time.

We soon find out that in addition to having never heard of lying, people in this alternate universe have also never heard of holding back from saying things that are hurtful to others. This is blatantly shown when Anna openly remarks throughout her date with Mark that she is put off by his heaviness, and they will in all likelihood not have another date due to her desire for someone with DNA fit for her future babies. This scene happens to be the least funny part of the movie, as the filmmakers relied on awkwardness to try to be funny, and they failed.

As you can guess, Mark is miserable. To add to his misery, he has lost his job, and needs $800 to pay for his rent. Mark goes to the bank to pick up the $300 he has, far less than he needs, when he has an epiphany no one has ever had before. He decides to lie, and says that he really has $800. Since no one has ever lied before, the bank teller believes him instead of the bank computer. Mark is delighted about his newfound ability to lie, and tells the bartender and his drunk buddy about it, which sets up the scene for the first truly funny scene of the film.

All of a sudden, it seems like Mark has solved all of his problems. He never has to worry about money anymore, and he is much more comfortable around Anna now that he is able to lie, which has given him more confidence. Mark also gains fame for telling people that there is actually a “Man in the Sky” who is watching over everyone and deciding whether or not people can go to a “good place” or a “bad place,” basically heaven or hell.

Throughout the movie, the filmmakers tackled the idea that the world would be better without lying, but they also show that they think that Christianity is a lie. That is why many critics have called this movie a “smart comedy,” because it talks about controversial topics yet maintains its humor. Surprisingly, the fact that the comedy sort of masked an open criticism of Christianity makes it appealing to Christians, or at least two that I went with. They didn’t even complain about the jabs at their religion.

It is surprising that this movie hasn’t done well, because its humor seemed to appeal to everyone in the audience (except at the beginning). What’s more, there were well-known actors such as Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill (of “Superbad”), Jason Bateman (of “Juno”), Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, Edward Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman.