The Invention of Lying takes place in an alternate reality in which lying - even the concept of a lie - does not even 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 (Ricky Gervais) 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 realise 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.
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"I don't believe he's leading man material, he's better placed in small bursts"
The Invention of Lying is mediocre at best. It has an interesting premise and clever moments with the advertising but overall I felt it was poorly executed.
Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner have great chemistry onscreen but I don't believe he's leading man material, he's better placed in small bursts. I didn't find the film laugh out loud funny, there were some chuckles at most.
The support cast do well, notably the well placed cameo from Tina Fey and Rob Lowe stands out as a complete jack ass in the film, he plays basically the polar opposite to Gervais, he's rich, successful and hung up on looks and genetic compatibility.
There is a pivotal emotional scene that really stands out but after that the plot gets silly and seemingly drags out to an anticlimactic end. A big grin for the fans but two thumbs down for those who are just tired of Gervais' ambitions.
All in all it's not as good as it could have been.