chase3001

I did a quick search and did not see any existing thread on this movie. Looks very funny.

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In an alternate reality, 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 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


Loved the response to the line about the world ending.

Breakfast with Girls

Nice, I liked Ghost Town.

RagingBull80

I'm a big Gervais fan and heard about this a while ago and have been waiting for it for some time. That said, I think the trailer looks decent.

Louis C.K.

Supermallet

This is Gervais' big screen directing debut (he co-directed The Office and Extras with Stephen Merchant, IIRC). I don't know why they changed the name to be so damn literal, though. It used to be called The Other Side of Truth. Oh well, still looks hilarious.

Dr Mabuse

I'm going to see this.

What a talented fella Gervais is.

Cardsfan111

My thoughts exactly...

RichC2

Just read Roger Ebert's review, the movie actually sounds more interesting now.

cungar

62% on Rotten Tomatoes so far. Even the good reviews are tepid

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/invention_of_lying/

islandclaws

Looks funny to me. I'll prob check it out.

Zen Peckinpah

I'd see it, it's just that the title is horrible compared to the original, This Side of the Truth.

Patman

A 45 minute screenplay idea stretched out far too long. Didn't hate it, but didn't love it either, it just got a bit tedious in the last 2/3 of the film.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

Wolf359

I really enjoyed Ghost Town and I wanted to see this when I thought it was a silly romantic comedy. Now that I found out what it is really about, I pass.

RocShemp

I was even more intruiged when I found out what it's really about. I'm just sad to read so many reviews mentioning that it doesn't have enough bite, given the subject matter.

dhmac

I think The Invention of Lying is a better title than that. (That one's even tough to say! Try saying it 3x in a row to see what I mean.)

RyoHazuki

Saw it last night and thought it was a big let down. First and foremost, it's just not very funny. I kept expecting them to just cut Gervais loose but he never really gets a chance to shine. They kinda wanted to take the film in a dramatic route but they really didn't establish a firm enough ground to do that. I also disliked the blantant Pizza Hut product placement. I usually don't mind it that much but this came at a very pivitol point in the movie. Overall just very disappointing.

RocShemp

That's a shame. The concept has a lot of potential and Ricky Gervais seems perfectly cast as the lead.

Giles

funny, I thought the movie was very funny in a oh so subtle way, not like what current US comedic films do. [gross out moments, excessive dumb dialogue/expletives - 'In the Loop' was the best recent movie where the use or overuse of creative expletives was it's best aspect] I wasn't sure if I thought it was outright funny or just plain offensive when Tina Fey character called Rickey Gervais' character a - I got the sense that audiences didn't know how to respond to the 'comedy' which is based on a topic that ticks nearly everyone off,

calhoun07

Man, that's the general consensus I've been getting around here from folks who have seen it too. Folks who usually go for Gervais' brand of humor as well.

I don't know...I thought this movie would be something worth checking out, but the more clips I see I don't think that the main point in the movie is that everybody tells the truth, it's that they don't have any filters in saying things that are blatantly rude. It's as if they are saying if people walked around telling the truth all the time, they would be assholes and inconsiderate all the time. I guess that's how it has to play in a "comedy" but I don't think that's how things would really be in a world where there was no lying.

And the other disappointing thing I am hearing is that the movie seems to have a chance to tackle some more tough subjects (IE, the invention of "Heaven") but devolves yet again into another rom-com. Gee, I already saw that with Click, a movie that actually had a decent premise but was, in the end, just another romantic/family comedy.

I wish Gervais would go back to doing what he does best: TELEVISION!

Crocker Jarmen

I really enjoyed the movie. I hadn't seen any of the ads for it, so I had great laughs at many of the jokes I imagine were in the trailer.

The movie is nothing earth shattering, just good entertainment. There were two main things that kept the movie from reaching that next level. 1- The over use of musical montages, and 2- I didn't find anything special about the girl he was in love with. Other than being beautiful, the character didn't come across as being special. In fact, she seemed vapid and unlikeable.

My greatest pleasure was the short scene reuniting two actors from Gervais series Extras. It was great seeing those two together again.

Daytripper

I didn't like this film at all. First, I thought it was poorly directed. The pacing was so off. But I also thought it was unpleasant experience. People speaking their mind and nothing they said was nice. Unless it was about themself. And poor Ricky Gervais. "You're a loser". "I'm not attracted to you". "She also thought you were an overweight homosexual" (referring to Tina Fey). To which she responds "Actually I said I thought he was a fat faggot". Ugh.

asianxcore

Saw the movie tonight with a couple friends. Definitely enjoyed the first half of the film, but not so much the last half.

I liked both Gervais and Garner in their roles.

Jon2

All things considered, I think that, along with the Coke, Pepsi and cereal spots, were more than just your typical product placement. Coming from an ad background, I'm rather surprised the companies involved went along with it.

I found the movie to be rather humorous for the most part.

NoirFan

Gervais should really stick to television shows.

DVD Josh

I saw this last weekend. Meh, is about all I can say. This would have likely been a decent TV series though. As a movie, it doesn't work so well.

DRG

It had some good moments, but it also had plenty of issues. Every character was either pitiful or arrogant... weak or strong... surely even in a lie-free world you'd have some character shading. The premise also doesn't take into account insanity, misconceptions, and other 'accidental dishonesty'.

I agree that Ricky's love for Jennifer didn't really have much foundation, but this shows the biggest problem in this world: personality doesn't seem to exist... largely because humor and charm can't exist without some degree of lying. Neither can romance, really. So what is love based on? It's an interesting concept, and one I think the movie only touched upon.