The Invention Of Lying

By: Mel Campbell
Article published: 26th Nov 09

What:
The Invention Of Lying

Where:
In cinemas November 26

Watch Trailer:
Here

Win:
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Co-written and directed by its star Ricky Gervais, The Invention Of Lying has a kick-arse premise. In a parallel world in which people don't so much tell the truth as share their every thought, downtrodden Mark Bellison (Gervais) miraculously discovers he can say whatever he wants... and everyone will believe him implicitly.

Now's his chance to turn his shit life around: get back his screenwriting job, become rich and famous, and woo the sparky Anna (Jennifer Garner) away from his horrible co-worker Brad (Rob Lowe). But when he tries to comfort his dying mum (Fionnula Flanagan), Mark inadvertently ends up inventing religion, as well.

It's rather LOLsome, and there's plenty of subversive potential in presenting "the man in the sky" as a giant porky-pie. But by its third act the film seems to run out of puff, degenerating into a bog-standard rom-com about whether Anna can stand having Mark's fat, snub-nosed babies. Ultimately, the best fun is spotting the stunt cameos. Tina Fey, John Hodgman, Martin Starr, Edward Norton, Jonah Hill, Jason Bateman, Christopher Guest and Philip Seymour Hoffman look like they had fun too.