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[HEADING=1]The Invention of Lying[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]2009, Ricky Gervais & Warner Bros.[/HEADING]
Starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner and Louis C. K.
[HEADING=3]Egotistical Gervais Outshines Extras and The Office[/HEADING]
Now I know that to many of the British die hard comedy fans out there, the above statement may seem incredibly bold to assume that one of Gervais' movies outshines two of the most critically acclaimed sitcoms to exist, but there is truth in what I preach.
At first, the world of no lying and simple truths seems a bit eratic and chaotic. You have people pleading their dissapointments of life, couples telling their partners that they don't really love them and Gervais repeatedly being called tubby in different ways. The interesting thing to note is that it was, of course, written by Gervais. This means that we get the same constant circuit of priceless sarcasm and standard "day-to-day" British wit. Gervais is one of Britain's most successful comedians and, whether you like him or not, his writing is pretty original.
Gervais' character develops and begins to learn how to lie after losing his job. Now, this is where the story comes in beautifully. There's nothing more human than nodding approvingly at one of Gervais' first uses of his ability to lie: he goes up to a woman passing by and the woman automatically says "Don't look at me, you're not attractive, get lost" and Gervais replies, rather well, "You need to have sex with me NOW or the world will end!" Of course, this isn't amazingly funny and is, by all means, very cliche. However, the woman then says "What, right now? Or do we have time to find a motel room?" and, brilliantly, Gervais says: "We have a little time."
The best thing about this movie is that while it has all the bits you could ever long for in a comedy (the clever wit, laugh out loud scenes and glorifying smiles) it also has a solid love interest, a moral teaching about greed and a very amusing friend named Greg, who is played wonderfully by Louis C. K. - an actor who I'd not really heard of before.
So, this movie pretty much throws everything into one, stirs it up and - script, plot and comedy wise - spills it out perfectly. However, this movie isn't perfect...
[HEADING=3] A Stylish and Fresh Bit of Writing[/HEADING]
One of the best things about The Invention of Lying is the above trio. We have the sadistic, sombre and sarcastic Gervais - who plays a failing "history" lecture writer - we have the fairly stupid, constantly drunk and rather amusing fellow that is Louis C.K.'s Greg - who plays Gervais' good old "pub" friend - and we have the genetics-obsessed love interest who's played fairly stupidly (in a good sense for the movies context) by Jennifer Garner.
As well as a good main character base, the writing introduces a plot that pokes fun at all contexts of life. Most notably the construction of faith, based loosely on Christianity, that Gervais reads out the rules of off of the back of some Pizza boxes. The scene that controversially pokes amusement at religion is actually pretty intelligent, bringing to light the number of life's unanswered questions.
However, it's not amazing. Trying to develop a world where everyone must tell the truth is bound to have some inevitable plot holes and, although the ending is amusing, it does fall flat on its face a bit.
All you truly come away with when you watch this film is that this was something different, something new and something that made sure you were going to laugh - and not cheaply either.
There's no real argument, no real "stand-up and take this" point to it all and not really any revolutionary acting - Gervais basically plays himself, but without the ego.
However, I cannot stress that - if you enjoy something funny and fresh - this movie is definitely a must see.
[HEADING=3]Overall:[/HEADING]
The Storyline: 8/10 - Original and fresh
The Characters: 7/10 - Gervais, C.K. and Garner are a well casted trio, but there's a few annoying characters too
Music: 6/10 - Nothing particularly special
Directing: 6/10 - Gervais isn't as good a director as he is a writer, but this movie has clean, well devised shots throughout
Comic Rating: 9/10 - very clever and witty, pure Gervais through and through (with a sprinkle of Stephen Merchant, naturally)
Attention Rating: 8/10 - Distracted me from everything else, so plus points
[HEADING=3]Rating: 44/60
"A Gem that's Not to Be Missed"[/HEADING]
FBN PREVIOUS REVIEWS:
Little Fockers [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.255847-FBN-Reviews-Meet-The-Parents-Little-Fockers-2010]
