Lying leaves much to be desired

By Jackie Ammons     10/8/09 7:00pm

Imagine a world where no one lies; where everyone says exactly what is on their minds. Everyone knows what their friends, bosses and significant others are thinking, making day-to-day activities simple and predictable.And, in the case of The Invention of Lying, exasperatingly unexciting. Despite its efforts at humor, the film, disjointed and bland, becomes as trite and boring as the world it tries to depict.

In this world in which everyone tells the whole truth and nothing but, Mark Bellison (BBC "The Office"'s Ricky Gervais) is an educational-history screenwriter whom Anna (Ghost of Girlfriends Past's Jennifer Garner) would never marry, as his DNA would certainly produce chubby, pug-nosed children. Poor Mark struggles with his work: His arch-office-nemesis ("Brothers & Sister"'s Rob Lowe) steals Anna and tries to marry her, his secretary (30 Rock's Tina Fey) hates him and his boss (The Hangover's Jeffrey Tambor) fires him. Mark's life seems dull and depressing until he one day discovers - actually, invents - the concept of lying. No one in his world has ever lied before, and he finds that lying can make the world a happier place while also making him a rich, famous man.

Gervais' humor is incomparable in "The Office," but his attempts at laughter inThe Invention of Lying are just bizarre. The 45-year-olds in the audience may find its comedy to be hilarious, but anyone who didn't drive to the show in a minivan will sit silently through the movie. Working primarily off of the fact that no one lies in Mark's world, the film uses blatant bluntness as the foundation for its humor. For example, on Mark's first date with Anna, the latter states right off the bat that she finds Mark to be fat and ugly and that she probably won't go on a date with him again. This try at comedy really isn't funny; rather, it is pathetic and awkward.

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The Invention of Lying attempts to reach beyond its failed endeavor with strange humor by projecting an underlying moral message. However, it injects so many moral themes among the humor that its message is rendered strikingly senseless. For example, Mark initially lies to his mother about a "Man in the Sky" religion so as to comfort her on her deathbed. This religion evolves into what appears to be a satire of Moses, with Mark prophesying to the world about the Man in the Sky by writing the 10 talking points of his theory on two Pizza Hut boxes. But instead of a pepperoni-induced pun, the scene comes across as stilted, trying too hard to be something it's not.

As mentioned above, one would expect more from Gervais, the film's star, director and screenwriter. Despite his popularity on the tube, his silver-screen humor is lost in translation, and his failed diversion into this alter-universe is rather odd.

Still, Gervais accomplishes at least one funny moment in The Invention of Lying: Following in the film's unflinchingly truthful theme, the retirement home Mark's mother lives in bears a large sign designating it as the "Sad Place for Old Hopeless People." Funny, yes, but all humor dies away when the audience finds out how depressing the retirement home really is.

While The Invention of Lying features talented comedians, these comedians have little genuinely funny material to work with. Gervais' truthful universe is a novel idea; however, the real truth is that The Invention of Lying isn't very exciting. Too bad Mark couldn't invent a better movie instead.

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