Ricky Gervais‘ The Invention of Lying is a comedy that takes place in an alternate reality in which the human species has never discovered how to deceive one another. In this reality, Coca-Cola’s advertising slogan is “Please continue buying Coke–it’s very famous” and its competitor’s is ”Pepsi–when they don’t have Coke.” Films are produced, but without any capacity for invention or creativity, they merely consist of a handsome reader speaking to the camera about true historical events. Some of these events seem less probable in a world where no one can lie, of course–would the Black Plague have raged for so long if no one could spread the rumor that the cats were responsible? But what Gervais really created here is more of a satirical thought experiment (á la Idiocracy), hardly to be confused with true speculative fiction.
This world may seem pretty cold and harsh in the film’s opening segments, but amidst the cruel and unflinching honesty being flung everywhere (particularly by the more attractive and successful characters), there are some lovely little moments that a lot of viewers might miss. For example, when Gervais’ character visits his mother (Fionnula Flanagan) at a retirement home (a building emblazoned with the words “A Sad Hopeless Place for Old People”) and tells her that he loves her, you know that he’s being completely honest. Love and sweetness have a hard time finding expression in this world, but they do exist. But the titular event occurs about a half an hour in, when it suddenly occurs to him to tell a lie to a bank teller and she accepts it as the truth even though her computer contradicts him. Thus he has gained a superpower that can earn him fabulous wealth and success. It enables him to befriend the woman he longs for (Jennifer Garner), though she still can’t bring herself to consider him as a mate. As a result of telling one crucial “white lie,” he ends up inventing religion.
This last plot point will surely upset some. Gervais is certainly making the case that religion depends on deception for its very existence. But as incisively subversive as this movie can get, it never seemed to me that his goal was to attack the believers among us. Rather, he’s pointing out that lies can often be the lubrication in our society that make life livable. I also think he perhaps meant to craft a subtle parable about the mechanics of Darwinian evolution and adaptation. While it seems intuitive to many that “survival of the fittest” means that the strongest or fastest are naturally the best, Darwin really meant that an organism need only have traits that allow it to flourish and survive, whatever form those traits may take. Gervais undergoes a mutation in this world and acquires a new, valuable trait. While everyone around him intuits that he is a weaker, less intelligent individual and therefore will not be selected for reproduction, this new trait in fact makes him substantially more successful in his environment, and the likelihood that will appear in the next generation is much greater.
But enough about all that stuff. I really thought this was a very funny movie, though I acknowledge that not everyone will agree with me–some may in fact be offended. I certainly found it to be the most surprisingly thought-provoking comedy I saw in 2009, one that I pondered for days after I left the theater. After all, as Gervais proved at the Golden Globes on Sunday, he has a great propensity for provocation. It just depends on whether you want to be in on his joke. – [DVD]
Comedy/Fantasy/Romance

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 1/19/10

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