the invention of lying

the invention of lying is about a world without lies: people not only always tell the truth but they believe everything they hear and say because they know it is the truth.  it is a land of no imagination.  ricky gervais created this world, a feat which does take imagination, there's just not enough to make a whole movie. the invention of lying is a half of a movie. it has a funny premise that works for awhile and then goes nowhere for a long time. this movie is too long. there is a whole storyline that should have been edited out as it adds nothing but time and for a comedy that's death. timing is the key to anything funny. there are a lot of nice surprise cameos that i won't spoil for you if you decide to see it, but even they all happen in the first half of the film.

the invention of lying is also sometimes awkward. while i like ricky gervais, i have to remember that he is the creator of the office- the original british version, which i don't like because it's mean and has 30 minutes of awkward situations which for me is not a funny combination. some of this theory of comedy has spilled into this movie.  not only does everyone tell blunt truths, but they do it compulsively as though the whole population has blunt truth turrettes- they constantly spit out awkwardly inappropriate things.  sometimes it is very funny, but when it's not it's like someone throwing a log under the wheels of a car as it's going down the highway- very jarring and completely unnecessary.  it ruins the flow of the film. with some good editing, this film could have been saved.                           

at 12.00 for a movie ticket nowadays, save your money for a whole movie. unless you find a bargain matinee for 6.00, then it might be worth it, laughs are precious and we need to grab them when we can.