The Invention of Lying Review

What I was surprised to find watching <em>Invention of Lying</em> was the theology question it presented. I just suspected a safe little movie about people who didn't know any better than to tell the truth all the time. It was something that made me think, and that was something I just wasn't expecting.

Ricky Gervais stars as Mark, a somewhat ne'er-do-well type of guy. He goes on a blind date with Anna (Jennifer Garner), and as is the custom in the strange land they live in, she is brutally honest about what she thinks of him and her expectations. She tells her mom on the phone, right in front of him, that she won't be sleeping with him and that he has a fat, frog face. This strange world they live in is one where no one can lie. Everyone always tells the truth.

Not only can they not lie, but fiction hasn't been invented either. This means all movies are basically documentaries. Mark works as a screenwriter, but struggles, because he's been asssigned to to the 13th century, and enough interesting things just haven't happened in that time period. His arch nemesis, Brad (Rob Lowe), does much better and is much more successful with the Napoleon era.

Behind in his rent by $800, but only having $300 in his account at the bank, Mark goes to withdraw it, and when the teller asks how much he wants, he says $800. She tells them they thought he only had $300, but it must be their mistake, and gives him the $800. He walks out discovering something interesting, that he doesn't always have to tell the truth. It completely changes Mark's life. He creates a fictional account of the 13th century, one that is much more successful, and it makes him more successful, and that in turn has Anna being more interested in him.

When the story takes a really interesting turn is when Mark tells someone he cares for very much to not fear death, as there's another world out there that she'll go to when she dies, and what he basically does is describe Heaven. Word gets around, and he becomes a hero to everyone, as the happy dolts that they are basically accept his story here as the truth.

While it upset me at first, I came to see the deeper meaning in it. At first I was thinking they're basically calling out knowledge of religion, the Bible, Heaven, God, etc., a lie. But then I saw that they weren't calling it that, but noting that we are all ready to believe this and aren't happy dolts, but happy and safe with the knowledge of what we accept as the truth. It's one of those movies that makes you think, and it was a nice surprise after what I was expecting.