The Invention of Lying

Ricky Gervais is a comic genius. In my opinion, he is changing comedy and how we view it. Whether it's television (with The Office) or movies (with The Invention of Lying), his ideas are just so unique and hilarious that I can definitely see them influencing the path that comedy will take.

The Invention of Lying was such a good movie that I watched it twice in the two days I rented it. I never do that with movies. I like to watch as many movies as I can, so I rarely watch movies twice, let alone in two days. I thought that this comedy was SO radically different from others that I had to watch it again. I felt like I missed jokes and really wanted to revel in how funny and smart they really were. I am very impressed with Ricky Gervais and his innovative ideas.

So, the movie is essentially about what it sounds: a man who invents lying. That means that his surrounding world tells the complete truth. People are blunt and honest with one another. No one lies. There is complete faith and trust. No one would even THINK of lying. Except, Gervais's character does because he comes at a tough crossroads. He loses his job, and since he loses his job, he can't pay his rent. Thus, he is facing being evicted from his apartment. While at the bank, he has the opportunity to lie to get the money to pay his rent. Once he lies, he feels a monumental wave of an idea come over him: if he lies, he can get anything he wants.

The movie then goes through waves of his exploration of lying. He tries to lie to get sex, but he doesn't like doing that. Then he lies to get money at the casino. Then he lies to get his job back, and since his job is writing history, he makes up history to make the best movie ever and to earn the most money ever. He lies to try to get the girl even though Rob Lowe's character tries to get in his way. Except, the only thing he doesn't use is complete lies to sway the pretty girl to like him. Slowly, she does see the good in him even though she is so focused on reproducing and fears that if she reproduces with Gervais that her children will had pudgy snout little noses. That part, I find, to be utterly hilarious.

At the end, she does see him for who he is, and they do have a pudgy little kid with a snub nose. He then learns the trick from his father, so they will both be successful in their world.



Ricky Gervais's character is eventually discovered for knowing too many things which earns him more fame. When he tells his dying mother about how beautiful the afterlife is, he soon becomes the man who knows. He talks about what happens after death and what God is like. Could you imagine having to come up with that?

Anyway, the movie had so many excellent guest stars. They had Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jennifer Garner, Louis CK, Jonah Hill, Bobby Moynihan, Jason Bateman, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, Jeffrey Tambor, and of course, Ricky Gervais. They all did a FABULOUS job and were all hilarious. Edward Norton was really the surprise as the traffic cop.

The writers just did a really good job with creating jokes for their plot. Some movies have good ideas but they don't write good dialogue or scenes to go with it, but this movie really capitalized on its good idea. It was hilarious in every scene, and it even gets funnier when you watch it again to catch for jokes you missed. Overall, it was enjoyable on many levels. It was funny yet it had a good message.

But man! Budweiser must have contributed a pretty penny to the film. They were mentioned EVERYWHERE. That and Pizza Hut...

If you are a person who enjoys comedy as a genre of film, this is a must-see. You won't regret it.

So what do you think of The Invention of Lying?