The Invention of Lying

The Invention of Lying is like Jim Carrey's Liar Liar on Steroids. Rather than just one man telling the truth no matter how hard it hurts, everyone in this films' world does so. Ricky Gervais' character, as a chubby man with a snubby nose, is on the losing end of all this truth telling. But then he learns how to lie! Deception opens doors for Gervais' career, popularity, and romantic life. With everyone else so gullible, the sky is the limit for this fomer loser!

Of course, things get quite out of hand when Gervais tells his dying mother that, rather than nothingness, the afterlife is a wonderful place. The doctors, nurses, and soon the whole world want to hear more of this new information. Gervais invents the idea that there is a man in the sky that is in control of the world, but has trouble filling out this newly invented theology. His life gets even more complex as he begins to see the value of truth in relationships. Is it better to live a 'perfect' lie or an authentic reality?

I'd imagine that some Christians might find this film offensive in that it implies that the 'man in the sky' is the product of human invention. But we should not discount the reality that some religions (and aspects of all religions) are man-made. Technically the film does not deny the existence of God... the people of that world simply didn't have any information about such a being (and when they got some, it was made up).

All in all, the movie was worth watching and I'd recommend it to people who like my kind of movies. I like Gervais style of humor and there were quite a few funny lines. I doubt anyone would say the movie was all that it could have been, though, and at certain points the blatent honesty was either crude or annoying. Overall, I think Liar Liar was more funny and perhaps even more thoughtful.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10