The Invention of Lying

The Invention of Lying

Ricky Gervais’ second effort at filmmaking comes in the form of The Invention of Lying, a largely average affair which does nothing but prove that the chubby comedian is far better suited to podcasts and television.

The premise is that of which in a world based upon the foundation of blunt truths and a lack of belief systems, Mark Bellison (Gervais) utters a single lie which causes the whole world around him to change, for everything he says is taken as gospel. Bellison soon becomes a makeshift Messiah, millions hang onto his ‘commandments’ and in an attempt to find true love, he realises that no one’s life can be perfect.

There are problems, contradictions and sheer cock-ups in this flop; what is essentially an extension of Gervais’ largely undeserved ego. The lie which changes the course of the film is hopelessly unrealistic (apparently a bank clerk would believe a customer over its own accountancy system with no questions asked), and simply sets the standard for the rest of the farce. Gervais’ quips, sampled from The Office and Extras come across as tired and predictable, and the standard of acting across the board is embarrassing, with extras seemingly plucked from the streets given their enthusiasm and shockingly unbelievable performances.

Gervais’ take on the belief system will likely shock many Christians, his belief that the omnipresent figure who controls the (though he never refers directly to him as God) is a prick, and his unsubtle reference to himself being God – a phase in which he is clearly portrayed as a lazy layabout – place Gervais in a very bad light.

Ego aside, the film is badly contrived, presents few moments of emotional involvement, and the lead characters are too archetypal and bland to truly care about. Perhaps the icing on the cake – and not in a positive sense - is Stephen Merchant and Shaun Williamson’s cameos in a poor flashback effort, a scene which not only exudes low budget and tongue-in-cheek poor acting, but also adds a layer of pointlessly tacky additions to what is already an unnecessary and woefully below-average production.

3/10