The Invention of Lying,” was nowhere near the hilariously entertaining film the previews made it to be. Though the cast makes the movie sound promising, it’s not quite a blockbuster hit.
In the brutal world where no one can tell the truth, people not only are unable to lie but have the annoying habit of unexpectedly blurting out the truth. This is demonstrated when character Mark Bellinger (Ricky Gervais) is told upfront by the girl of his dreams, Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner), that she is out of his league and has no interest in seeing him again while on their first date. She continues to slam him throughout the movie by kindly pointing out that they are not genetically compatible simply because she doesn’t want “fat, snub-nosed kids running around.”
After being fired from his job as a lecture film writer for failing to come up with an interesting script about the black plague and being harshly rejected by his childhood crush, Mark tells the world’s first lie while emptying his account at the bank. With his pockets full and this newfound power, Bellinger sets out to improve all areas of his life.
After a tragic event occurs, Bellinger’s life gets turned upside down when the comforting speech he gave his mother accidentally gains him worldwide fame. He then continues to lie to maintain his credibility by telling the world about “the man in the sky” using his ideas taped to pizza boxes. When the film takes on this religious role the humor is almost lost as the laugh-out-loud moments are diminished to just moments that make you smile to yourself.
Though he never admits to lying to control his life, he teaches Anna the typical lesson that there is more to a person than meets the eye and inevitably wins her over.
Though the film was quite dull in the middle and was nothing spectacular, it had a good message and left the viewer smiling at the overall quirkiness of it.