226. The Invention of Lying (2009)
Yeah, I'm disappointed you're early and not really looking forward to tonight in general, but the thought of being alone the rest of my life scares both my mother and I equally.
Title: The Invention of Lying
Date Watched: 6/15/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: N/A
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 6
Synopsis: In a land where no one lies, one man discovers the secret and uses it to create religion.
The Good: Frequently pretty funny.
The Bad: Too little material for a feature-length. Probably too clever for it's own good. Smarter than it is good, if you get what I mean.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Blockbuster going out of business.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: I could see myself watching it again, I guess.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Jennifer Garner has some strange facial expressions.
Other Impressions: It's always tricky moving from one medium into another. Ricky Gervais's stand-up is hilarious, mainly because of the character he creates. I know many love The Office, but I couldn't really get into it and, though The Invention of Lying is really funny, the story elements fall flat and drag the movie down. My main issue is that the movie is too nice. It has a good premise, takes it in an interesting direction, but holds back instead of going for the jugular.
I guess this is social satire, sort of, showing how necessary it is for us to lie during day to day life, but, as a result, the characters become cardboard cut-outs. Compare this to Pleasantville, where the seemingly one dimensional characters become more real as they discover themselves throughout the movie. Jennifer Garner, especially, is forced into an impossible position, playing a completely uninteresting romantic lead. She's not a horrible actor, but with the material she's given, she comes off as one.
And, because of the weak writing, it's hard to understand why our lead pursues her with such vigor. Gervais's "nice guy" character probably reveals more about the writers than they intended it to, and I know that this kind of movie requires a love story or something to hold it together, but it's frustrating that it adopts the structure of a romantic comedy because there is so much potential here.
What would happen to a "nice guy" if he really could get away with any lie that he wanted to? At first he might hold back, but wouldn't it be more interesting to see him corrupt himself one little lie at a time while people continue to worship him? Even the religious angle seems more cutesy than it should be, especially since Gervais's stand-up (not to mention his Twitter account) is absolutely ruthless.
But the movie is funny. It's worth watching, especially if you really aren't doing anything better. I didn't regret the 90 minutes, but I'm of the belief that if you're going to go through the effort of making a movie, you might as well try and make it the best one you can. And The Invention of Lying never comes close to reaching its potential.
The List
Title: The Invention of Lying
Date Watched: 6/15/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: N/A
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 6
Synopsis: In a land where no one lies, one man discovers the secret and uses it to create religion.
The Good: Frequently pretty funny.
The Bad: Too little material for a feature-length. Probably too clever for it's own good. Smarter than it is good, if you get what I mean.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Blockbuster going out of business.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: I could see myself watching it again, I guess.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Jennifer Garner has some strange facial expressions.
Other Impressions: It's always tricky moving from one medium into another. Ricky Gervais's stand-up is hilarious, mainly because of the character he creates. I know many love The Office, but I couldn't really get into it and, though The Invention of Lying is really funny, the story elements fall flat and drag the movie down. My main issue is that the movie is too nice. It has a good premise, takes it in an interesting direction, but holds back instead of going for the jugular.
I guess this is social satire, sort of, showing how necessary it is for us to lie during day to day life, but, as a result, the characters become cardboard cut-outs. Compare this to Pleasantville, where the seemingly one dimensional characters become more real as they discover themselves throughout the movie. Jennifer Garner, especially, is forced into an impossible position, playing a completely uninteresting romantic lead. She's not a horrible actor, but with the material she's given, she comes off as one.
And, because of the weak writing, it's hard to understand why our lead pursues her with such vigor. Gervais's "nice guy" character probably reveals more about the writers than they intended it to, and I know that this kind of movie requires a love story or something to hold it together, but it's frustrating that it adopts the structure of a romantic comedy because there is so much potential here.
What would happen to a "nice guy" if he really could get away with any lie that he wanted to? At first he might hold back, but wouldn't it be more interesting to see him corrupt himself one little lie at a time while people continue to worship him? Even the religious angle seems more cutesy than it should be, especially since Gervais's stand-up (not to mention his Twitter account) is absolutely ruthless.
But the movie is funny. It's worth watching, especially if you really aren't doing anything better. I didn't regret the 90 minutes, but I'm of the belief that if you're going to go through the effort of making a movie, you might as well try and make it the best one you can. And The Invention of Lying never comes close to reaching its potential.
The List