The Invention of Lying (D or 1/4 stars)
'The Invention of Lying', directed by Ricky Gervais & Matthew Robinson, takes place in an alternate universe where human beings are simply incapable of lying. However, not only must they tell the absolute truth, but they seem (because the screenplay dictates it) to have diarrhea of the mouth, as well. It's not only enough to tell the truth, but to be brutal about it. An example of that brutality? Well, early on in the proceedings, Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) is about to go on a date with Anna (Jennifer Garner). She tells him that she's horny; and that he can wait downstairs while she quietly masturbates upstairs to get it out of her system. I sort of nervously chuckled. But it certainly wasn't funny, it didn't turn me on - in fact, it made me uncomfortable. Furthermore, it turned me off to one of the film's "protagonists". When one tells the truth, that doesn't mean they have to be disgusting, nasty, or rude. But apparently, in this script, that's exactly what occurs.
Mark is a loser. Why? Because every nasty supporting character tells us so (including his coworkers & mother). Mark is about to be fired from his job & evicted from his home. And Anna decides - during their date - that he is not a good match for her; too fat & pug-nosed. Furthermore, his secretary (an unappealingly bitchy Tina Fey) calls him a Fat Faggot. Nice, huh? I wanted to belt her one. Unexpectedly, Mark gains the power to tell a lie; which leads to his becoming the most powerful man in this universe. His mom (Fionnula Flanagan) gets ill, & he makes up a story about Heaven to comfort her on her deathbed. People overhear him (taking what he says to be truth) & from there, every human considers him a prophet. With time, Mark steals $$ from his bank, cheats at casinos, but rights himself when things go too far. All that said, will Anna ever come around & realize that maybe - just maybe - fat, pug-nosed, genetically-challenged, loser Mark really could be the one for her? But here's another question ... why in God's name would he love someone as shallow as her?
Don't get me wrong. The initial premise for this film is GENIUS. How fun is it to see politicians & advertisers lie? Who would ever vote for them or buy their product? I liked when Mark tells an attractive woman in the street that in order to save the world, they must have sex. So of course, she says yes. It's funny to see some of the situations that come from person A telling person B something honest when they don't want to hear it; only natural to react to that in a humorous way. And it's even interesting to see how Mark seizes this (religion-based) opportunity to lie for personal gain.
However, dishonesty reaping rewards is not the best message. Though the film is about 'telling the truth', most of the time, it's just people taking a proverbial sh*t on poor Ricky Gervais. The humor in this film (present early on, for sure) really dissipates by the midway point. Seriously, the story just drizzles away into cliched, sentimental nothingness. That kind of disintegration is both disappointing & annoying. And worst of all, I don't remember much about the film having seen it yesterday. The vacuous characters, blah setting, trite situations ... all an unfunny, mean-spirited, indistinguishable blur.
Mark is a loser. Why? Because every nasty supporting character tells us so (including his coworkers & mother). Mark is about to be fired from his job & evicted from his home. And Anna decides - during their date - that he is not a good match for her; too fat & pug-nosed. Furthermore, his secretary (an unappealingly bitchy Tina Fey) calls him a Fat Faggot. Nice, huh? I wanted to belt her one. Unexpectedly, Mark gains the power to tell a lie; which leads to his becoming the most powerful man in this universe. His mom (Fionnula Flanagan) gets ill, & he makes up a story about Heaven to comfort her on her deathbed. People overhear him (taking what he says to be truth) & from there, every human considers him a prophet. With time, Mark steals $$ from his bank, cheats at casinos, but rights himself when things go too far. All that said, will Anna ever come around & realize that maybe - just maybe - fat, pug-nosed, genetically-challenged, loser Mark really could be the one for her? But here's another question ... why in God's name would he love someone as shallow as her?
Don't get me wrong. The initial premise for this film is GENIUS. How fun is it to see politicians & advertisers lie? Who would ever vote for them or buy their product? I liked when Mark tells an attractive woman in the street that in order to save the world, they must have sex. So of course, she says yes. It's funny to see some of the situations that come from person A telling person B something honest when they don't want to hear it; only natural to react to that in a humorous way. And it's even interesting to see how Mark seizes this (religion-based) opportunity to lie for personal gain.
However, dishonesty reaping rewards is not the best message. Though the film is about 'telling the truth', most of the time, it's just people taking a proverbial sh*t on poor Ricky Gervais. The humor in this film (present early on, for sure) really dissipates by the midway point. Seriously, the story just drizzles away into cliched, sentimental nothingness. That kind of disintegration is both disappointing & annoying. And worst of all, I don't remember much about the film having seen it yesterday. The vacuous characters, blah setting, trite situations ... all an unfunny, mean-spirited, indistinguishable blur.