Review of The Invention of Lying (2009) by Matt G — 02 Oct 2015

"Hi, I'm Bob I'm the spokesperson for the Coca-Cola company. I'm here today to ask you to continue buying coke. Sure it's a drink you've been drinking for years, and if you still enjoy it, I'd like to remind you to buy it again sometime soon. It's basically just brown sugar water, we haven't changed the ingredients much lately, so there's nothing new I can tell you about that. We changed the can around a little bit though. See, the colors here are different there, and we added a polar bear so the kids like us. Coke is very high in sugar and like any high calorie soda it can lead to obesity in children and adults who don't sustain a very healthy diet. So that's it, it's coke. It's very famous, everyone knows it. I'm Bob, I work for coke, and I'm asking you to not stop buying coke. That's all. It's a bit sweet. Thank you.".

The Invention of Lying is one of the most original films I've seen for a long time. From the brilliant mind of Ricky Gervais, comes a film set in a world where nobody lies, until a loser (Gervais) invents lying and soon becomes the most coercive and compelling man in the world. After a "little white lie" that he expresses to his mom on her death bed, the whole world is looking up to him, expecting great quality of him, and his ideas.

The casting was very unusual, it starred Ricky Gervais as Mark Bellison, Jennifer Garner as Anna McDoogles, Louis C.K. as Greg, Rob Lowe as Brad Kessler, Jonah Hill as Frank, Jeffrey Tambor as Anthony, Fionnula Flanagan as Martha Bellison, Tina Fey as Shelley, and Christopher Guest as Nathan Goldfrappe. Even though it's a quirky cast, it was well executed.

Normally, I wouldn't discuss the script, but I'm giving myself an exception. The script for this film was one of the funniest I've ever seen. It's not flawless, but it's good enough to keep the audience well entertained. Sure it's incredibly predictable, but who cares?

Obviously, the acting cannot be taken seriously. As for Ricky Gervais, I don't care if he plays the same role in his films, he's downright hilarious! This is one of the most underrated films of all time. It's at least good for a one time watch.