Well, yeah, when Ricky Gervais shows up again tonight, chances are he and Jon will go with the Professional Funnymen Are Pals Chit-chat routine. But here's some stuff about the movie anyway.
The Invention of Lying doesn't open until October 2 (well, Sept. 25 in the early-open cities), but it's been playing at the Toronto International Film Festival these past couple days, so reviews are starting to show up. RottenTomatoes only has a couple, but Gervais' site has links. You might have started seeing commercials, too. Here's the synopsis (via RottenTomatoes):
From Ricky Gervais, the award-winning creator and star of the original BBC series "The Office" and HBO's "Extras," comes the new romantic comedy "The Invention of Lying," which takes place in an alternate reality where lying--even the concept of a lie--does not exist. Everyone--from politicians to advertisers to the man and woman on the street--speaks the truth and nothing but the truth with no thought of the consequences. But when a down-on-his-luck loser named Mark suddenly develops the ability to lie, he finds that dishonesty has its rewards. In a world where every word is assumed to be the absolute truth, Mark easily lies his way to fame and fortune. But lies have a way of spreading, and Mark begins to realize that things are getting a little out of control when some of his tallest tales are being taken as, well, gospel. With the entire world now hanging on his every word, there is only one thing Mark has not been able to lie his way into: the heart of the woman he loves.
The first mention that Google found me was this snippet of someone-told-me, from Musto's Village Voice blog:
The Ricky Gervais movie is painful. Very long torture time at 90 minutes. I had to run to pee--and I didn't have to pee--ten minutes before the end because it's so stupid.
Nothing else was quite so harsh, but, well...
The first half-hour of "The Invention of Lying," co-directed and co-written by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson, is so sharply fresh, clever and laugh-out-loud hilarious that you can't help but wonder how they'll sustain it for another hour.
To be honest, they can't.
But even when it's merely mildly amusing, this inspired parable, set in a parallel universe where only the truth is spoken, is so wittily winsome you'll readily cut Gervais and Robinson some slack if they don't quite succeed in going the distance.... ~Hollywoodreporter.com
For me, THE INVENTION OF LYING was a truly frustrating experience, as there's a great deal of genius on display here. I bet that, in script form, this read as one of the smartest, most thought provoking comedies ever made. However, as a film, it doesn't quite hit the mark. ~joblo.com
After letting it sink in for a few days, I honestly believe that "The Invention Of Lying" is a more scabrous, despairing portrait of human nature than "Anti-Christ" is.
But, you know... funny
...The premise is deceptively simple: in a world where lying was never invented, what happens when someone lies for the first time? In this world, keep in mind, there is nothing that is not literally, almost bluntly true. No slang. No fiction. No subtext. And, in what suspect will be the most difficult material for some people, no religion....
..."The Invention Of Lying" may not be an easy, broad, comfort-food comedy, but it was never designed to be. However, I doubt even Matt Robinson could have known when he started writing the first solo draft of the script precisely what the end result would be. "The Invention Of Lying" is the smartest comedy of the year, and each and every laugh lands like a punch, bruising even as it entertains. ~hitfix.com
...The movie itself probably could have been better, because the production values leave something to be desired--this is a fairly bland and ordinary-looking film--and it doesn't take long for it to expend its high concept premise of a world where everyone tells the truth, except Ricky's character Mark...
Gervais and Robinson use the concept of a world with no lies to explore a couple clever ideas like how advertising might work if it were to be truthful. The premise really starts to gel when Mark effectively creates religion by telling the world about the "Man in the Sky" and his plans for everyone. It's a very funny scene that plays to the strengths of Gervais' stand-up act where he's able to interact with his audience. (It's also funny to watch this sequence after watching the earlier Creation, since that's a movie about a man who effectively debunked the existence of a higher power.)...
...Gervais' fans will probably forgive some of the weaker moments and the extended lulls that plague the film, although this is clearly not the movie that will finally break him through to the non-cable crowd. Essentially, it's an okay film with a funny premise that offers enough laughs to excuse the weaker direction...~comingsoon.net
So, well, maybe it's a 'kill some time' film. Possibly with a future in the Sophisticated College Kid market.
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