The great mind of Ricky Gervais (BBC's The Office, HBO's Extras) follows up the success of his first big-screen effort, Ghost Town, with an even better story in the quirky, honest comedy, The Invention of Lying. While the premise, a look at one man who discovers how to lie in a world where people are incapable of telling lies, at first appears absurdly whimsical, it provides the framework for Gervais to plumb the allegory for a spot-on critique of our world's blind-faith acceptance of illogical religious dogma and the difficulty we all have in accepting, and loving, people who are just a little bit different from ourselves.
This film has received a great deal of criticism because some of the characters go beyond simple truth-telling by blurting out their innermost feelings in a hurtful way...this on the surface may be unrealistic, but I find that it is consistent with Gervais' premise, as it shows exactly the way insensitive people would act in a world where lying is impossible...plus it yields some truly gut-busting comedic moments that are as cringe-worthy as any of Gervais' other creations.
The cast is simply perfect: Jennifer Garner is winsome as the love interest/best friend who is out of Gervais' league; Rob Lowe plays the perfect superficial jerk; Tina Fey is hilarious, spitting out blunt observations with venomous dead-pan timing; and Louis C.K., Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Jonah Hill are terrific as the loser buddies. And lastly, there's Ricky...once again playing the soft-bellied loser with a pug nose...a witty, intelligent observer for the everyman. While not quite as good as The Office, The Invention of Lying is every bit as funny and poignant as Extras, and is a triumph of subversive satire.
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| 4 STARS - COCONUT-OIL POPPED, DRIZZLED WITH FAKE BUTTER, CLASSIC THEATER TREAT |
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