The Invention of Lying

A great satirical concept does not always make for a good movie; witness this unfunny travesty from Ricky Gervais, about an alternate world where people are hurtfully honest. When he loses his job, loser Mark (Gervais) randomly realizes that he can do what others can’t: He can lie. After using his newfound “talent” for nothing but personal gain, his mother has a heart attack. As she lies dying, he tells her about a beautiful but ridiculous-sounding place in the clouds where people go when they die. (It’s heaven. Get it?) After others overhear and spread the word, Mark finds fame as an unwilling prophet for “religion.” If Lying hadn’t tried so hard to be an anti-religion commentary, and if the filmmakers hadn’t resorted to stunt casting, perhaps it could have succeeded. It seems Gervais is never going to translate in the United States, which is a shame—his British work is biting, witty and succinct. This movie is none of those things.