Karen and Robert Discover The Invention of Lying

Karen – Thumbs Up. 

I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. I had to try and stop laughing because I was so loud and I didn’t want my neighbours to throw their popcorn at me.

Now generally speaking, I don’t really like funny movies all that much. In fact I told Robert that I had no interest in seeing this movie. I’m not really a Ricky Gervais fan and in most Hollywood comedies I usually find myself incredulous that people around me are laughing. But this time, it was me with all the chuckles.

The premise of a world where no one lies, or has a concept for anything but pure truth, was such a deeply funny notion that it just kept fuelling one great moment after the next. The opening scene of Ricky Gervais on a date with Jennifer Garner where every character spoke aloud whatever was true for them, lead straight from a hilarious conversation about masturbation to a waiters confession of his inadequacies and indiscretions. It is so good because you know most of what is portrayed really is true so much of the time, yet while we all know it, no one would ever dare say it. This airing of the unconscious was almost Woody Allen like in its endearing and revealing dialogue. 

Numerous cameos by the likes of Tina Fey and Philip Seymour Hoffman added to the fun. And while it’s true the storlyline wasn’t brilliant, the basic elements held together and moved us quickly from one laugh to the next. If you are looking for a light good time, this film delivers.

Robert – Thumbs down  

Klunky. I’m so disappointed because I love Ricky Gervais. I’m a huge fan of his comic sensibility and his perception of human nature, but this film just came off as a personal pet-peeve fest. The concept of a man who lies in a world that always tells the truth is a difficult premise to buy into at first, and doing so makes the first fifteen minutes fun, but everything that plays out after that just feels forced and overly-conceived. Yes, there are a few flashes of brilliance that shine out of the idea, but the naivety of the characters quickly flattens the potential of every scene as it drifts to a predictable conclusion. I really wanted to like this film, but if I told anyone they should go and see it, I’d be lying.